Daily tips for August 19

Racing for August 19

Horse racing: Echuca (Vic), Goulburn (NSW). Harness racing: Albion Park (Qld), Globe Derby (SA), Menangle (NSW), Pinjarra (WA), Yarra Valley (Vic). Greyhound racing: Albion Park (Qld), Angle Park (SA), Ballarat (Vic), Bathurst (NSW), Geelong (Vic), Launceston (Tas), Northam (WA), Nowra (NSW), Shepparton (Vic), Wentworth Park (NSW).

Not much of interest in either of today’s meetings so I thought I’d share some fascinating information gathered by Dave Duffield and the team at Champion Picks, which was published last week. We all have jockeys and trainers that we follow or avoid but, from a punting perspective, who are the most profitable? Champion Picks’ assessment was based on the results punters achieved when backing these riders and stables and was based on Profit on Turnover with a proportionate staking approach. “It is not possible to simply bet blind and make money. The results below are intended as a discussion point and as a prompt for deeper analysis,” Duffield said.

Among metro jockeys, the standouts were Glen Boss ("fantastic year following on from a very poor one"), Craig Williams (pictured – "champion"), Michael Rodd ("excellent performance once again") and Vlad Duric ("returned in fine form") while Luke Nolen ("really struggled this season") and Craig Newitt ("second worst profitability among the top 10") were surprise money munchers. Other names who emerged positively once provincial races were thrown into the mix included my favourite whipping boy Brad Rawiller, Dean Yendall, Damian Lane, Daniel Stackhouse and Ryan Maloney.

The metro trainers worth following included Darren Weir and Mick Kent ("much improved and highly profitable"), Anthony Freedman and Danny O’Brien ("well above the benchmark") and David Hayes ("massive improver to be basically break-even"). Robert Smerdon ("big drop off for followers of this stable"), Robbie Griffiths ("second straight year of poor returns"), Peter Moody and Peter Snowden ("narrowly below the benchmark once again") were among the worst performers. Anthony Freedman rated well when all Victorian meetings were considered while, incredibly, Darren Weir’s provincial/country starters showed a huge loss on turnover in contrast to his metro runners.

• For those looking for a quality tipping service at a reasonable price, I can highly recommend Champion Picks and the ratings service provided by professional punter Rick Williams. Check out championpicks.com.au.

CFL (week 8) for August 19

Edmonton Eskimos (1-5) @ Toronto Argonauts (4-2), Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Monday, August 19, 9.10am

Injuries have not slowed the Toronto Argonauts, who are on a dominating three-game winning streak. The Argonauts will try to win four contests in a row for the first time since 2007 when they host the struggling Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday. Toronto running back Chad Kackert is out with a knee injury and starting quarterback Ricky Ray has missed most of the last two games, but the Argonauts defense – led by linebacker Robert McCune and defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell – allowed just 25 total points in the last two wins, giving backup quarterback Zach Collaros a chance to win. Ray (knee) should be ready for Sunday and is on a career-best pace when healthy, completing 113-of-148 passes for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Running back Curtis Steele has done a good job replacing Kackert, recording 116 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman, who has been battling injuries all season, might be cleared to play on Sunday. Inman has eight catches for 118 yards and one touchdown in his second season.

The Eskimos must feel a little snake-bitten after losing each of their last two games on the final play – a failed one-yard run against the Montreal Alouettes and a missed 50-yard field goal against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Edmonton entered its bye week mired in a four-game losing streak and will be without linebacker JC Sherritt, who suffered a broken thumb against Hamilton. Sherritt, who set a CFL record for tackles last year with 130, anchors the Eskimos’ defense, and his absence puts even more pressure on quarterback Mike Reilly, who helms the league’s worst offence. Sherritt could be out anywhere from two to six weeks, leaving Edmonton’s defense in the hands of linebacker Damaso Munoz, who leads the team with 41 tackles. The Eskimos’ defensive line has combined for 12 of the unit’s 14 sacks. Reilly has connected with slotback Fred Stamps for 401 yards, but only four Edmonton players have more than 100 receiving yards thus far. Reilly has also ran for 208 yards, second to running back Hugh Charles, who has 294.

Suggested bet: Toronto -8 (two units @ $1.87) LOSE, game total +51.5 (one unit @ $1.91) WIN (33-36)

NFL pre-season (week 2) for August 19

Indianapolis Colts (0-1) @ New York Giants (1-0), Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, Monday, August 19, 9.05am

The Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants meet in a preseason duel at MetLife Stadium in the penultimate game of week 2 in the NFL pre-season. The Giants won their opener, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 18-13 at Heinz Field while the Colts hosted Buffalo last Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium and fell hard, being beat 44-20 by E.J. Manuel and the Bills. Without question, this contest will feature two of the game’s best quarterbacks with Andrew Luck and Eli Manning dueling it out, likely for a majority of the first half before the back-ups take the field. Few teams have such high expectations as Indianapolis, which comes into the 2013 season following a playoff berth in Luck’s rookie campaign. The Colts stunned many last year, improving from a 2-14 record in 2011 to 11-5 and a wild card spot in the AFC playoffs. The key for Indianapolis will be its defence, which added LaRon Landry in the off-season. Landry should help to shore up the secondary which wasn’t always up to par in 2012, yielding 236.8 passing yards per game, 21st in the league.

Perhaps the biggest concern is the front seven however, which ranked 29th in the league against the run. Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin was brought in to stuff the middle, but the veteran has struggled recently, this being his fourth team in as many years. New York is playing in the extremely wide open NFC East, where it seems any team, maybe save the Philadelphia Eagles, could win it. Head coach Tom Coughlin is entering his 10th season with Big Blue, making him the longest tenured coach of any team currently with the exception of Bill Belichick. After missing the postseason last year, Coughlin and co. are eager to get back into the dance. The biggest concern for the Giants is also defence after the unit ranked 31st. New York brought in Cullen Jenkins and Keith Rivers to shore up the front seven, but is more depending on holdovers such as Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul to step up and be healthy. Pierre-Paul is still recovering from back surgery, but it’s believed he’ll be ready for the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

Suggested bet: Giants -2 (one unit @ $1.95) LOSE (20-12)

MLB for August 19

Seattle Mariners (56-66, 25-34 away) @ Texas Rangers (71-52, 35-26 home), Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX, Monday, August 19, 5.05am

Every time Yu Darvish takes the mound, the Texas Rangers realise they might be witnessing history. Another victory, however, would simply be good enough against the Seattle Mariners. Coming off another near no-hitter, Darvish looks to win his career-best fourth straight start and lead AL West-leading Texas to its 16th victory in 19 games in Arlington. After tallying 13 runs and batting .224 while dropping four of their previous five against the Mariners (56-66), the Rangers scored five times in the second inning off Felix Hernandez and had an eight-run eighth en route to their highest total of the season in yesterday’s 15-3 win. Former Mariner Adrian Beltre had two more hits, raising his average to .444 during a nine-game hitting streak versus his old club. He’s also batting .460 in his last 14 games overall. Texas (71-52) likely won’t need another big offensive performance with Darvish (12-5, 2.64 ERA) on the mound Sunday. Darvish again neared perfection in his last start; striking out a career-high 15 and allowing one hit in eight innings of a 2-1 win at Houston. Carlos Corporan ended the no-hit bid with a home run with one out in the eighth.

The All-Star right-hander also came close to a perfect game in his first start of the season before Houston’s Marwin Gonzalez singled with two outs in the ninth inning. He joined Nolan Ryan as the only pitcher in team history to have more than one start of at least eight innings with one hit or less. Now all eyes are on Darvish as he looks to improve on his 4-1 record and 1.31 ERA in five starts since missing two weeks with an upper back strain. He leads the majors with 207 strikeouts and opponents are batting .186 against him – among the lowest marks in baseball. The Mariners counter with Erasmo Ramirez (4-0, 7.06) hoping to avoid their 14th loss in 21 games. The right-hander was tagged for four runs and seven hits (two homers) over 5 1/3 innings in a 5-4 win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday. He fanned a season-high seven, giving him 27 KOs over 27 2/3 innings in five starts. Ramirez gave up two runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings in a pair of relief appearances at Texas last season.

Suggested bet: Rangers -1.5 (three units @ $1.81) LOSE (4-3)

Other tips

IL: Rockies @ Orioles -8.5 $1.83 LOSE (2-7)

AL: Royals @ Tigers -1.5 $2.20 WIN (3-6)

AL: Blue Jays @ Rays WIN $1.68 WIN (1-2)

AL: White Sox @ Twins WIN $1.80 LOSE -8 $1.95 WIN (5-2)

AL: Astros WIN $2.53 @ Angels WIN (7-5)

AL: Indians @ Athletics -7.5 $2.02 LOSE (3-7)

AL: Yankees @ Red Sox WIN $1.81 LOSE +9.5 $2.11 WIN (9-6)

NL: Giants WIN $1.60 LOSE @ Marlins +7 $1.95 WIN (5-6)

NL: Dodgers WIN $1.93 @ Phillies LOSE (2-3)

NL: Nationals @ Braves -7.5 $1.78 WIN (1-2)

NL: Diamondbacks WIN $2.19 @ Pirates WIN (4-2)

NL: Cardinals WIN $1.60 @ Cubs WIN (6-1)

NL: Reds @ Brewers WIN $2.37 LOSE +8 $1.87 WIN (9-1)

NL: Mets WIN $1.77 LOSE @ Padres +6 $1.70 WIN (3-4)

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