Daily tips for October 7

Racing for October 7

Horse racing: Randwick (NSW), Swan Hill (Vic), Ipswich (Qld), Strathalbyn (SA), Muswellbrook (NSW). Harness racing: Albion Park (Qld), Globe Derby (SA), Pinjarra (WA), Stawell (Vic). Greyhound racing: Albion Park (Qld), Launceston (Tas), Nowra (NSW), Wentworth Park (NSW), Angle Park (SA), Geelong (Vic), Ballarat (Vic), Shepparton (Vic), Bathurst (NSW), Northam (WA).

If there’s a prize for the luckiest bloke in racing, it has to go to Damien Oliver (pictured). No questioning his skill in the saddle, which has earned him Australian Racing Hall of Fame status, but I’m in the minority of those who think he should have been either rubbed out of the game altogether, or entering the second year of a long suspension. Instead, Oliver is back riding after serving a 10-month suspension for betting on Miss Octopussy in a race at Moonee Valley in 2010 in which he rode sixth-placed Europa Point. The month-a-year punting brigade prefers the image of Oliver portrayed of the sugar-soaked rendering portrayed in the movie The Cup. Oliver has now landed the plum ride of the spring when he takes over the saddle on Fiorente for the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, replacing Nash Rawiller who has been sacked following his ride in Saturday's Turnbull Stakes, where he finished fourth behind Happy Trails. Rawiller made it clear at the start of the spring carnival that he wanted to follow Fiorente's every move towards the Melbourne Cup, giving up opportunities to ride in the Golden Rose and at Epsom Super Saturday to ensure he remained with the Gai Waterhouse-trained import. Saturday’s ride may not have been Nash’s finest but hardly deserved sacking. Despite his best efforts, Rawiller will now be forced to find another mount for two of Australia's most prestigious races.

Daily tips

Randwick R1 #2 Index Linked (E/w 1x2) 2nd ($1.60)

Randwick R3 #2 Onemore Eightmore (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Randwick R8 #13 Monbazillac (E/W 1x3) 2nd ($1.80)

Swan Hill R3 #4 Grade (E/W 1x3) 2nd ($1.60)

Swan Hill R5 #4 I’ve Got Chins (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Swan Hill R8 #9 Zoria (E/W 1x4) 3rd ($1.50)

Ipswich R5 #6 County Commands (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Ipswich R7 #10 Special Lie (E/W 1x3) 1st ($3.60/$1.50)

Strathalbyn R5 #3 Auto Pilot (win) 1st ($2.90)

Muswellbrook R4 #2 Hot Diggity (win) LOSE (3rd)

Muswellbrook R7 #4 Socks The Fox (E/W 1x2) 3rd ($2.00)

Harness racing tip: Stawell R6 Boxed Trifecta 1/3/8 1-8-3 ($60.60)
Greyhound racing tip: Shepparton R11 #1 Sofa So Good (win)

NHL for October 7

Anaheim Ducks (1-1-0) @ Winnipeg Jets (2-0-0), MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, Monday, October 7, 10.10am

The high-scoring Winnipeg Jets are on the verge of the best start in franchise history. They, however, will have to contain fan favorite Teemu Selänne (pictured) if they hope to stay unbeaten. The Jets try to open 3-0-0 when they host Selänne and the Anaheim Ducks. After rallying to beat Edmonton 5-4 in Wednesday’s season opener, Winnipeg held on for a 5-3 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday. Devin Setoguchi, who scored twice over a three-minute stretch early in the third period, combined with Evander Kane for three goals and three assists. The Jets, who spent 11 seasons as the Atlanta Thrashers before relocating to Winnipeg in 2011-12, have never won their first three games. The Jets have taken four straight from the Ducks (1-1-0), most recently winning 5-3 on December 17, 2011 in Selänne’s return to the place where he started his career. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer scored a career-high 76 goals during his 1992-93 rookie campaign with the Jets.

Selänne ranks 11th all-time with 675 goals, six behind New Jersey’s Jaromir Jagr for the most among active players. Selänne, who is likely to rest in at least one game during the team’s 12 back-to-back sets, will be on the ice after sitting out a 4-3 overtime win at Minnesota the night before. With Selänne out, Mathieu Perreault stepped up yesterday, delivering the game-winning goal with 4.9 seconds left in OT. Nick Bonino, Saku Koivu and Jakob Silfverberg also scored for Anaheim, which bounced back from a disappointing 6-1 loss at Colorado on Thursday. After Viktor Fasth surrendered all six goals against the Avalanche, Jonas Hiller made 30 saves in his season debut. Hiller is 0-1-1 with a 3.09 goals-against average against the Jets. Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec, who enters with a shaky 3.50 GAA, has never faced the Ducks. He is 6-1-1 with a 2.57 GAA in his last eight home starts dating to last season.

Suggested bets: Winnipeg WIN (two units @ $1.70) LOSE, game total -5.5 (one unit @ $1.91) WIN (3-2)

Other tips

Flyers @ Hurricanes WIN $1.71 WIN +5.5 $2.03 LOSE (1-2)

Canucks WIN $1.87 WIN @ Flames +5.5 $1.95 WIN (5-4)

MLB playoffs for October 7

NLDS game 3: St Louis Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA, Monday, October 7, 6.35am (series tied 1-1)

Pittsburgh has come alive during the franchise's unexpected revival. After the Pirates wrested home-field advantage from the St Louis Cardinals, they look to get a leg up in the National League Division series when they host Game 3 of the best-of-five series. The Pirates earned a split in St Louis and have the luxury of turning to ace Francisco Liriano (pictured), who won all three starts against the Cardinals this season in dominant fashion, giving up only two runs and 10 hits in 24 innings for a microscopic 0.75 ERA. He’s also not lost at home since June 1. A freak accident while goofing around with his kids on Christmas Day left Liriano's verbal agreement with the Pirates in doubt but Pittsburgh stuck with him. Liriano (16-8, 3.02) has been nearly unbeatable at PNC Park, logging an 8-1 record and 1.47 ERA in 11 home starts – and the loss was a 2-0 defeat in which he struck out 11. Liriano started 2013 with his right arm in a cast and his star-crossed career in flux.

St Louis followed up a crisp 9-1 victory in Game 1 with a ragged performance in Friday's 7-1 defeat, prompting center fielder Jon Jay to call Sunday's game a "must-win." The Cardinals have not fared well in Pittsburgh this season, losing seven of 10 while batting .227 with zero home runs. Cardinals RH Joe Kelly (10-5, 2.69 ERA) was inserted into the rotation in early July and won his first eight decisions en route to going 10-2 as a starter. Although he went 2-2 in his last four starts of the season, Kelly beat the Pirates three times in the last two months, allowing a total of two runs over 18 innings. He was 5-1 with a 1.08 in seven road starts, including two victories at Pittsburgh. Kelly appears immune to pressure. He made seven appearances out of the bullpen during the Cardinals' run to the NL championship series last fall and seemed to enjoy the heckling he received from the San Francisco fans while warming up a few feet from the stands.

Suggested bets: Pittsburgh WIN (2.5 units @ $1.67) WIN, game total -6.5 (1.5 units @ $2.05) WIN (0-2)

Other tips

NLDS Game 3 (series tied 1-1): Braves @ Dodgers WIN $1.68 WIN +6.5 $1.91 WIN (6-13)

NFL (week 5) for October 7

New England Patriots (4-0, 2-0 away) @ Cincinnati Bengals (2-2, 2-0 home), Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH, Monday, October 7, 3am

Referring to an offence that failed to get into the end zone last week as “explosive” might sound strange, but New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (pictured) isn’t about to underestimate the Cincinnati Bengals. Belichick knows Cincinnati (2-2), which has scored 54 points in two home games, has the potential to put points on the board. That’s especially true with the anchor of his defensive line likely out for the rest of the season. New England seeks its first 5-0 start in six years at Paul Brown Stadium while looking to keep Cincinnati’s offence sputtering despite the absence of Vince Wilfork. The five-time Pro Bowl selection suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in last week’s 30-23 win over Atlanta, leaving a defence allowing 346.0 yards per game without one of its top players. The Patriots have won seven of the last eight meetings with the Bengals, including all four with QB Tom Brady under center. He’s completed 69.7 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns in those match-ups.

If the Bengals’ offence looks anything like it did last week in a 17-6 loss to Cleveland, the Patriots may not have much to worry about. Cincinnati committed two turnovers and tallied 266 yards, including 63 on the ground. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who played four seasons with New England and had a 1008-yard campaign in 2010, rushed only six times for 13 yards. Andy Dalton had another rough day, going 23 of 42 for 206 yards and an interception, while A.J. Green caught seven passes for 51 yards and is averaging only 46.0 over the last three weeks. Cincinnati ranks 22nd in total offence (327.5 yards per game) with six turnovers over the past two weeks, including two interceptions and a pair of fumbles from Dalton. The concern from the Cincinnati offensive coaches is not just missing receivers, but being off target by five yards, which causes pass catchers to snap their head around wondering what happened. This has become most noticeable when Dalton lacks a solid running game and he’s forced to throw down after down.

Suggested bets: Game total -45 (three units @ $1.91) WIN, New England WIN (one unit @ $1.83) LOSE (6-13)

Other games

Kansas City Chiefs @ Tennessee Titans +2.5 LOSE +38.5 WIN (26-17)

Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins -43.5 LOSE (26-23)

Jacksonville Jaguars +11 LOSE @ St Louis Rams +41 WIN (20-34)

Seattle Seahawks @ Indianapolis Colts +2.5 WIN +43.5 WIN (28-34)

New Orleans Saints @ Chicago Bears +50.5 LOSE (26-18)
Philadelphia Eagles +1.5 @ New York Giants WIN (36-21)

Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals +1 WIN (6-22)

Denver Broncos -7.5 LOSE @ Dallas Cowboys +55.5 WIN (51-48)

Houston Texans +5.5 LOSE @ San Francisco 49ers +42.5 LOSE (3-34)

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders -45 WIN (17-27)

EPL for October 6-7

West Bromwich Albion (2-2-2) v Arsenal (5-0-1), The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, UK, Monday, October 7, 1am

What a difference a signing makes! He may have cost £42.5m, and it’s highly likely he wasn’t even Arsene Wenger’s first choice from Real Madrid’s stock of available talent but the capture of Mesut Özil (pictured) looks more and more like a masterstroke with each passing game. The German international's arrival has revitalised the Gunners who lead the EPL by two points. Arsenal returns to The Hawthorns less than a fortnight after their last visit in the Capital One Cup. The recent cup visit resulted in a 4-3 win on penalties for the Gunners (the match finished 1-1 after extra time), but it’ll be a different line-up this time as Wenger's side go for an 11th straight win in all competitions. Arsenal travel to the West Midlands having won their last eight away matches in the league, and their recent record at The Hawthorns is good, too, winning on three of their last four visits.

But while much of the pre-match attention in the national media may focus on Arsenal ahead of the game, West Brom were the star turn in the Premier League last weekend with their superb 2-1 win over the champions Manchester United at Old Trafford. It doubled Albion’s win tally for the season, and coming on the back of a 3-0 home win over Sunderland was further evidence they are perhaps settling down after a rocky start that had seen just two points accrued from the opening four games. Albion have lost two out of three at home so far, but face this test in much better shape than they would have been just a couple of weeks ago. West Brom lost two of their first three home matches this season – their only win came against bottom club Sunderland. The Baggies have scored fewer than half as many goals as Arsenal (6:13) in the Premier League this season.

Suggested bets: HT/FT double – Arsenal/Draw (0.5 units @ $15.00) LOSE (West Brom/Draw), Both Teams Score (3.5 units @ $1.57) WIN (1-1)

Other tips

Norwich City v Chelsea BTS $1.91 WIN (1-3)

Southampton v Swansea City -2.5 $1.91 WIN (2-0)

Tottenham (to nil) v West Ham United $2.15 LOSE (0-3)

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