Daily tips for October 8

Racing for October 8

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

In Sunday’s edition of the Herald Sun, readers were informed that Tyson Beckford (pictured) would be attending the Melbourne Cup Carnival. I wouldn’t know Tyson Beckford unless he was wearing his mesh “I am Tyson Beckford” singlet, and given the section of the paper this story appeared (Confidential), one can safely assume that Tyson Beckford is not a racehorse trainer, owner or jockey. Thanks to the Google machine, I was able to deduce that Tyson is an “American fashion model, actor, host of Make Me A Supermodel and has appeared in a Britney Spears video”. It’s one aspect of the Melbourne Cup Carnival that frustrates me. Racing spends little time in the mainstream media spotlight each year and on four of our premium days of the year, that spotlight is shared with a bunch of C-list ring-ins that the VRC, its sponsors and media partners feel obliged to trot out to maximise exposure. Of course, Mr Beckford may be an astute follower of thoroughbred racing although I suspect he couldn’t tell a colt from a gelding … actually, that’s probably not the best analogy.

And that’s why Caulfield Guineas Day is my favourite meeting of the spring. It’s a bit early in the season for the dial-a-celeb crowd but the champions of the turf are out in force. The crowd of 25-30,000 is enough to make it feel like a major raceday but not to an extent that you don’t spend all day in queues at the bar, tote window or men’s facilities. The Melbourne Racing Club has also enhanced an already excellent card with the addition of the Blue Sapphire, a $250,000 race for three-year-old sprinters heading to the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Derby Day. Atlantic Jewel will take centre stage in the Caulfield Stakes – her last hitout before the Cox Plate while the Toorak Handicap has been the domain of some of the great milers since the 1880s. Then there’s the Guineas – set weights for 3yo colts over 1600 metres with the winner assured a place among the greats of racing (and a tidy stud career) alongside Mahogany (1993), Red Anchor (1984), Manikato (1978), Luskin Star (1977), Surround (1976), Sobar (1972), Vain (1969), Tulloch (1957) and Ajax (1937). See you Saturday at Caulfield – Tyson, you’re invited too!

Daily tips

Echuca R1 #9 Red Bomber (E/W 1x3) 1st ($3.30/$1.60)

Echuca R6 #5 Speckie (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Echuca R8 #1 Dalkeith Dancer (E/W) 2nd ($2.70)

Nowra R3 #2 Sansui Drawing (win) 1st ($2.10)

Nowra R4 #7 Spice Of Life (win) 1st ($4.00)

Nowra R5 #5 Geometry (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Harness racing tip: Gloucester Park R3 #4 Bettor Dreams (win) 1st ($1.50)
Greyhound racing tip: Warragul R4 #1 Prince Mata (win) 1st ($1.80)

NHL for October 8

New York Rangers (0-1-0) @ Los Angeles Kings (1-1-0), STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, October 8, 12.40pm

The Kings and Rangers haven’t met since New York was the opponent two seasons ago in Los Angeles’ home opener. The next five games for Los Angeles (1-1-0) are also against Eastern Conference teams. The Kings began their Stanley Cup-winning campaign two seasons ago with a 3-2 overtime win over New York. Ryan Callahan scored the Rangers’ first goal of that contest, and first-year coach Alain Vigneault believes he will have his captain back on the ice. The forward missed New York’s 4-1 loss on Friday at Phoenix after off-season shoulder surgery. Vigneault said he will start Callahan on the Rangers’ third line, and the coach is more concerned about a penalty kill that allowed the Coyotes to convert one of three chances. He believes that unit needs to block more shots. The penalty kill could be in the spotlight here since Los Angeles is 3 for 8 on the power play.

The Kings are back home after winning 3-2 in a shootout over Minnesota on Friday before falling 5-3 at Winnipeg the next night. Jonathan Quick started both games although he was replaced early in the third period against the Jets. He faced an average of 28.0 shots after the Kings limited opponents to 25.0 a season ago for the NHL’s third-best mark. The Rangers are looking for offense from Rick Nash, who scored once in 12 playoff games for New York (0-1-0) last season. Nash, who assisted on Marc Staal’s goal in the opener, has not scored in his last five games versus the Kings. The Kings haven’t lost a home game in regulation against the Rangers since December 29, 2001, going 3-0-2 in the past five meetings there. I’m not expecting that statistic to change here, with the Kings set to fortify the STAPLES Center in 2013-14.

Suggested bets: Kings WIN (two units @ $1.70) LOSE, game total -5 (two units @ $1.91) WIN (3-1)

Other tips

Devils @ Oilers WIN WIN +5.5 WIN (4-5)

NFL (week 5) for October 8

New York Jets (2-2, 0-2 away) @ Atlanta Falcons (1-3, 1-1 home), Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA, Tuesday, October 8, 10.40am

The Atlanta Falcons have made three straight post-season appearances and won a pair of division titles in that span, but they are venturing into must-win territory in this Monday Night Football match-up with the New York Jets. The Falcons already trail NFC South front-runner New Orleans by three games and will be out to avoid a third straight defeat for the first time since 2007. Matt Ryan (pictured) threw for a career-high 421 yards in last week’s 30-23 loss to New England but the offence has been inconsistent without a healthy Roddy White (10 catches) and running back Steven Jackson, who will miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury. Wideout Julio Jones leads the league with 481 receiving yards. Atlanta's troubles can largely be attributed to its inability to convert in the red zone. The Falcons, who failed to score a touchdown on five of six possessions inside New England’s 20 last week, rank 29th in the league in red-zone production (at 38.9 per cent). But a bigger issue has been a defence that has yet to hold an opponent under 23 points, has produced only seven sacks and is allowing 26 points and a robust 393.3 yards per game.

New York, and rookie quarterback Geno Smith in particular, hardly looked ready for prime time against the Titans and managed only a single touchdown for the third time in four games. Smith won the QB job when incumbent Mark Sanchez suffered a serious shoulder injury in the pre-season. He committed four turnovers that Tennessee turned into 28 points, and needs to curb this string of mistakes after throwing eight interceptions and turning over the ball 11 times through four games, tying for the league lead. New York has some injury concerns of its own with starting receivers Santonio Holmes (hamstring) and Stephen Hill (concussion) banged up. If they can’t go, David Nelson could be thrown into the fire after signing on Wednesday. Running back Chris Ivory (hamstring) is also uncertain to be available, but Mike Goodson is set to debut after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. This looks a really tough spot for the Jets – they’ve ridden their luck in the first month of the season but I like the Falcons to kick-start their campaign here and cover the two-score line on offer.

Suggested bets: Game total +44 (3.5 units @ $1.91) WIN, Atlanta -10 (1.5 units @ $1.95) LOSE (30-28)

MLB playoffs for October 8

ALDS game 3: Oakland Athletics @ Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, Tuesday, October 8, 3.05am (series tied 1-1)

The Oakland Athletics are matching the vaunted Detroit Tigers’ rotation pitch-for-pitch. After settling for a split against Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the Athletics will attempt to take the series lead when is shifts to Detroit for Game 3. Tigers pitchers have notched 29 strikeouts in the first two games but the offence produced only two extra-base hits – both in the first inning of Game 1. Detroit finished near the top of the majors in most offensive categories during the regular season and scored three runs in the first inning of Game 1 only to be held scoreless in the following 17. Oakland did not exactly tear the cover off the ball at home either, but Stephen Vogt got the hit that counted with his walk-off single in Game 2. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera managed two hits in the first two contests and continues to battle groin and abdominal injuries.

Athletics RH Jarrod Parker (12-8, 3.97 ERA) went 19 starts in between losses before falling flat in September. The 24-year-old allowed seven earned runs and failed to get through five innings in two of his last three starts. Parker made two starts against Detroit in the 2012 ALDS and lost both, surrendering a total of seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits in 12 2/3 innings. Tigers RH Anibal Sanchez (pictured, 14-8, 2.57) led the AL in ERA and finished strong by going 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA in five September starts. The Venezuela native struggled at home against Oakland on August 26, yielding four runs on five hits in five innings. Sanchez made one start against the Athletics in the 2012 ALDS and suffered a loss despite giving up just two runs in 6 1/3 frames. I’m expecting the Detroit bats to have their way with Parker to again take the lead in this intriguing series.

Suggested bets: Detroit -1.5 (two units @ $2.40) LOSE, game total +7 (two units @ $1.83) WIN (6-3)

Other tips

ALDS Game 3 (Red Sox lead 2-0): Red Sox WIN $1.93 LOSE @ Rays +7 $1.91 WIN (4-5)

NLDS Game 4 (Pirates lead 2-1): Cardinals WIN $1.86 @ Pirates WIN (2-1)

NLDS Game 4 (Dodgers lead 2-1): Braves @ Dodgers WIN $1.68 WIN +7.5 $1.91 LOSE (3-4)

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