Daily tips for October 1

Racing for October 1

Horse racing: Kilmore (Vic), Goulburn (NSW), Townsville (Qld), Tamworth (NSW). Harness racing: Menangle (NSW), Albion Park (Qld), Echuca (Vic), Gloucester Park (WA). Greyhound racing: Devonport (Tas), Gawler (SA), Goulburn (NSW), Traralgon (Vic), Ipswich (Qld), Lismore (NSW), Warragul (Vic), Gosford (NSW), Townsville (Qld), Mandurah (WA).

Daily tips

Kilmore R2 #6 Lady Rapunzel (E/W 1x3) 1st ($3.70/$1.50)

Kilmore R5 #7 I Mattah (E/W 1x2) 3rd ($1.90)

Kilmore R6 #3 Get Pronto (E/W 1x3) 2nd ($1.50)

Tamworth R2 #6 Goodbye Kevin (E/W) 1st ($12.60/$3.40)

Tamworth R5 #8 Rollicking (win) LOSE (U/P)

Tamworth R7 #1 Ladyinxs (E/W 1x2) 1st $3.70/$1.70

Goulburn R2 #1 She’s Saintly ABANDONED

Goulburn R5 #6 La Charge ABANDONED

Goulburn R7 #3 She’s Trendy ABANDONED

Townsville R2 #5 Little Ducati (win) 1st ($2.10)

Harness racing tip: Echuca R4 #1 Attack On Command (win)

Greyhound racing tip: Gosford R7 #2 Speed Queen (win)

MLB for October 1

AL wild card playoff: Tampa Bay Rays (91-71, 40-41 away) @ Texas Rangers (91-71, 46-35 home), Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX, Monday, October 1, 10.05am

Just when we thought the MLB regular season had come to an end … this is a must-win scenario for the Tampa Bay Rays and host Texas Rangers if they wish to advance to a second must-win situation. The two teams tied for the second American League wild-card spot and will break the tie for the right to meet the Cleveland Indians in Wednesday’s one-game round. Texas has won seven straight games and Tampa Bay has won eight of its last 10 contests. The 22-year-old Rangers rookie Martin Perez (pictured, 10-5, 3.55) won seven of his last nine decisions as one of Texas’ most-reliable starters over the second half of the season. He didn’t face the Rays this season and his lone career outing against them was a five-inning stint last season in which he gave up two runs and seven hits. Perez has allowed three or fewer runs in nine of his last 11 starts.

Rays ace David Price (9-8, 3.39 ERA) starts for the visitors while Texas announced that power-hitting outfielder Nelson Cruz will be activated for this game. Cruz’s 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs ended Sunday and he has fared well against Price, going 6-for-12 with two homers against the left-hander. Price didn’t face the Rangers this season but has traditionally struggled against them, going 1-4 with a 5.98 ERA in eight career outings. After being sensational in July and August, Price was 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA in five September starts. He has pitched at least seven innings in four of his last six turns. I’m siding with the Rangers here – the Blue Jays had a tough time in Toronto and their confidence looked shot. At a pick’em price and playing on home field, I’m expecting a Texas win by a score of 4-2 to earn a shot at the Indians.

Suggested bets: Texas WIN (3.5 units @ $1.94) LOSE, game total -7.5 (1.5 units @ $1.87) WIN (5-2)

NFL (week 4) for October 1

Miami Dolphins (3-0, 2-0 away) @ New Orleans Saints (3-0, 2-0 home), Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA, Monday, October 1, 10.40am

Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins is used to flying under the radar as part of the much-hyped NFL quarterback class of 2012. That will certainly be the case for the second-year signal caller on Monday night when he brings his unbeaten team into New Orleans for a prime-time showdown with Drew Brees (pictured) and the undefeated Saints. Miami is seeking its first 4-0 start since 1995 and will try to knock off an NFC South power for the second straight week. Miami opened some eyes by winning at Indianapolis in Week 2 and made a loud statement last week by erasing a 10-point second-half deficit to knock off Atlanta, which is expected to battle the Saints for the NFC South title. Tannehill threw the winning TD with 38 seconds left and is completing 66.4 per cent of his passes despite getting sacked a league-high 14 times. The Dolphins are still searching for consistency from high-priced free-agent wideout Mike Wallace and running back Lamar Miller, but the defence ranks eighth in the league with an average of 17.7 points allowed.

The return of head coach Sean Payton from a one-year suspension due to the Bountygate scandal has the Saints back on track after a 0-4 start torpedoed their 2012 season. Brees has surpassed 300 yards in each of the first three games, but the biggest change for New Orleans has come on the other side of the ball. The Saints allowed an NFL-worst 440.1 yards per game and ranked 31st in points allowed (28.4) last season, but they are yielding only 12.7 points so far. Brees has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and had three touchdown passes in last week's 31-7 rout of Arizona, but he has also been picked off four times. Part of that is due to a punchless running game that is producing only 85.7 yards, but tight end Jimmy Graham has four TD catches and is coming off back-to-back monster games after battling an ankle injury through much of last season. The Saints' best move of the off-season was bringing in defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who implemented a 3-4 scheme that has New Orleans yielding 295.7 yard per game – fourth in the league.

Suggested bets: Saints TT +28 (three units @ $1.87) WIN, Miami +7 (one unit @ $1.95) LOSE (17-38), Brees +327.5 yards passing (one unit @ $1.87) WIN (413 yards)

EPL for October 1

Everton (2-3-0) v Newcastle United (2-1-2), Goodison Park, Liverpool, UK, Monday, October 1, 5am

If Newcastle United is to end the last remaining unbeaten record in the Premier League then Alan Pardew’s side will have to become the first to score at Goodison Park since March in the top flight. Everton hasn’t conceded a league goal at home since Robson Kanu scored for Reading. Seven hours and six minutes have since elapsed, with West Ham, Fulham, QPR, Manchester City, Stoke City, West Brom and Chelsea all drawing blanks.  In fact, only Wigan under Roberto Martinez has won at Goodison Park in 2013, and that was in the FA Cup. Newcastle’s record in the top flight isn't great at Goodison Park; they’ve won just one of their last 10 league trips but last season played out an entertaining 2-2 draw. Demba Ba got both the goals on that Monday night 12 months ago but now the focus is on another Senegal striker, Papiss Cisse. He ended his 11-match goal drought on Wednesday at St James’ Park to help Newcastle into the last 16 of the Capital One Cup.

The priority for Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is a top-10 league finish but Everton have their sights set higher. Everton is undefeated at home in the league this calendar year, a run of 11 matches. If they extend their unbeaten run it will be the first time they have started a season without defeat in seven matches since 2006. Everton went on to finish in sixth position that season. The Toffees have averaged the most possession in the Premier League this season (59.4 per cent). Leighton Baines has scored an unsurpassed six direct free-kicks in the EPL since the start of 2008-09. Baines has scored 21 Premier League goals since his top-flight debut in 2005 – John Terry (22) is the only defender to score more in that time. If declared fit, Gareth Barry (pictured) could become the 10th player to make 500 Premier League appearances here while Romelu Lukaku has scored four goals in his last four Premier League appearances.

Suggested bets: Everton WIN (three units @ $1.61) WIN, correct score 2-1 (one unit @ $6.25) LOSE (3-2)

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