Begrüßung » brunt of the impact

California Chrome is the 3-5 morning line favorite to become the 12th Triple Crown winner in racing history. However, the last seven odds-on Belmont Stakes favorites have failed to win and complete the magnificent feat. You can watch the Belmont Stakes on TSN this Saturday, with coverage beginning at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt. One has to go all the way back to 1978 when Affirmed held off Alydar at 3-5 to find the last odds-on betting choice to grab hold of the final leg of horse racings Triple Crown. In fact, Affirmed was the fourth straight odds-on winner following the footsteps of Seattle Slew (2-5), Bold Forbes (4-5) and Secretariat (1-9). Between the years 1958 and 1971, only one of eight odds-on betting favorites in the Belmont came home on top - Damascus (4-5) in 1967. Finally, half of the first 14 odds-on choices crossed the wire first. Overall, this type of favorite holds just 12 victories in 33 overall starts. It must be mentioned that there were two odds-on choices in 1957. Gallant Man (19-20) crossed the wire first while Bold Ruler (17-20) finished third. The bottom line is there have been only 12 winners out of 32 races since mutuels began in New York in 1940. Thats a 37.5 percent winning percentage. Moreover, of the 19 horses in line for the Triple Crown sweep, just six came home victorious. That amounts to a 33 percent winning percentage. Five of the Kentucky Derby-Preakness winners ran second in the Belmont Stakes with Real Quiet (4-5 in 1998) coming the closest, losing by a nose to Victory Gallop. The four others were Pensive (1-2 in 1944), Tim Tam (3-20 in 1958), Sunday Silence (4-5 in 1989) and Smarty Jones (2-5 in 2004). Three more finished third - Northern Dancer (4-5 in 1964), Spectacular Bid (1-5 in 1979) and Pleasant Colony (4-5 in 1981). Five finished off the board, including Big Brown (2008) - the last horse vying for the Triple Crown that ran in the Belmont (Ill Have Another in 2012 was injured and did not race in the final leg). There also is another key factor that plays against California Chrome and that is field size. The six Triple Crown winners between 1941 and 1978 won the Belmont Stakes against a combined 27 other horses, which amounts to an average of 3.5 horses per race. The 13 horses that failed to win the Triple Crown had 110 challengers, which means those colts ran against an average of 8.5 horses per race. This year, the Belmont Stakes has a field of 11, which ties for the second- most entrants behind the 1971 edition when Canonero II finished fourth at 3-5. The 1966, 1981 and 1998 renewals also had 10 other horses competing against odds-on Derby-Preakness winners Kauai King, Pleasant Colony and Real Quiet, respectively. All three of those horses lost the Belmont Stakes. California Chrome is by far the most talented member of this 3-year-old crop. He owns tremendous tactical speed, which should place him on or just off the early lead. Only Samraat and Tonalist, and to a less extent, General a Rod, have decent gate speed, so jockey Victor Espinoza will not have much of a crowd in front of him. We will see if the colt is good enough to overcome what so many have failed to accomplish over the last 36 years. THE PRETENDERS There are two horses that have no business being in the race - Matterhorn and Matuszak. The former has not won since last November while the latter hasnt won since September. Three other colts have better bodies of work than that pair but should still finish off the board. They are General a Rod, Commissioner and Samraat. General a Rod has the pedigree to be successful at the 1 1/2-mile distance, but he sure does not run like it. It is true he had a terrible trip in the Preakness, but dont look for any improvement from a horse that might not have been entered in the Belmont if his stablemate, Intense Holiday, did not come down with an injury. Commissioner showed more speed in the Peter Pan than he ever had before, but that may have occurred due to the sloppy Belmont surface that day. An argument could be made that a horse not expected to vie for the early lead could jump up and do so and this colt might be the one. Either on the pace or off, dont expect the Todd Pletcher-trained 3-year-old to be around when the true running begins. Samraat ran a very good fifth in the Kentucky Derby - his second straight loss after opening with five wins in his first five outings. His breeding does not suggest he will appreciate the added distance, so it is best to side with others. INTRIGUING POSSIBILITIES Commanding Curve comes into the Belmont Stakes off a second-place finish to California Chrome in the Kentucky Derby. He is one of four horses in the field to have run in the Derby and pass the Preakness. Commanding Curve also had the easiest of trips in the first leg of the Triple Crown, unlike a few others entered in the Belmont. The son of Master Command has been training well and certainly is a horse to use in the exotics. However, he is doubtful to cross the wire first. Ride On Curlin represents the closest finisher to California Chrome considering the latter has strung together six consecutive victories. Nevertheless, the Belmont Stakes will be Ride On Curlins fourth race in the last eight weeks and that might be too much, especially on the heels of a 1 1/2-mile event. THE FINAL FOUR Filling out the final spot in the superfecta will be Tonalist. The Peter Pan winner has done nothing wrong as a 3-year-old, winning two of three starts with a second to Florida Derby winner Constitution in his only other race - an allowance event on a speed-favoring Gulfstream Park track. Three main reasons why he wont hit the board are: 1. his lack of experience (four career races), 2. he will be on the pace and will use too much energy trying to square off with California Chrome, and 3. breaking from the No. 11 post position will make for a longer trip into the first turn. Medal Count ran a very good eighth in the Kentucky Derby considering Danza cut him off approaching the eighth-pole. His momentum was completely stopped and he still finished less than two lengths from finishing fourth. The Dale Romans-trained son of Dynaformer not only should love the 12 furlongs, but he also has been working well at Churchill Downs. Finally, he has had five weeks off after racing three times in a month. That leaves California Chrome and Wicked Strong as the two most probable winners. Not surprisingly, they are the top two choices on the morning line. Wicked Strong has been working out on the Belmont training track, but he is one of only three horses in the field with a win over the main track (Samraat and Tonalist are the other two). The fourth-place Derby finisher broke poorly from the far outside post position on the first Saturday in May and was caught very wide going into the first turn. He eventually closed from 14th to a fourth-place finish at the wire. A better trip is expected on Saturday. Its been 36 years since Affirmed last won the last Triple Crown. Among the horses that have failed have been speed types (Smarty Jones, War Emblem and Sunday Silence), stalkers (Big Brown, Funny Cide, Silver Charm and Spectacular Bid), middle movers (Real Quiet and Charismatic) and closers (Pleasant Colony and Alysheba). California Chrome falls into the first category. If the pace is slow, he might be on the lead. If not, look for him to sit a couple lengths off, as he did in the first two Triple Crown races. A victory on Saturday will put to rest all the talk of having to alter either the distances or the span of time in between the three races. A loss and the discussions will ignite once again. Will he win? That is the million dollar question. Is he a good bet to cross the wire first at odds-on? History says no. THE BELMONT WAGER This will be a winning season regardless of what happens since the $50 wager on the California Chrome-Ride On Curlin exacta came through for a cool $455 return. With a mythical $100 Belmont Stakes wager, bet $35 on a Wicked Strong- California Chrome exacta and $30 the other way. In addition, bet $15 on a California Chrome-Medal Count exacta and $10 the other way. And just in case the favorite fails to fire, use Wicked Strong and Medal Count in a $5 exacta box. Billy Hamilton Braves Jersey .J. Mayo made seven three-pointers and scored 25 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20, and the Milwaukee Bucks placed seven players in double figures in a 130-110 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 11th straight game on Monday night. Mike Soroka Braves Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. https://www.cheapbraves.com/813o-peter-m...sey-braves.html. CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. A. J. Minter Braves Jersey .ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan. Hank Aaron Jersey .The league also seems to have a fairly active Twitter account www.twitter.com/bikinihockey that features the description “We provide a positive alternative to the hockey community and a venue for adult female hockey athletes to continue in their sport.DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Just look for a big smile atop a compact five-foot-nine, 155-pound body. The 28-year-old Florida native is also hard to miss on the field -- an elegant, mobile shortstop with a slick glove. A career .230 hitter in the minors, Diaz is not likely to stick with a major league club that already has a superstar at shortstop in Jose Reyes, the versatile Ryan Goins at second base and Maicer Izturis as a utility infielder. But his skills are appreciated and have been on display again in the Blue Jays organization after a one-year stint with the Boston Red Sox and former Jays manager John Farrell. "Id heard about them," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Diazs fielding talents. "Everybodys always said youre not going to find a better shortstop or defender, period. You can put him anywhere out there and hes definitely shown that this spring." Diaz has appeared in the infield and outfield this spring, often as a late inning replacement. He has turned heads with a nifty double play and scored the 10th-inning game-winner on some aggressive base-running in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday. As of Wednesday, he was hitting .077 with one hit in 13 at-bats this spring. He knows defence is his ticket in baseball. "Ive always love to be out there making plays and doing acrobatic things," he said. "Luckily thats kept me in the game for as long as it has." He was given No. 1 to wear by the Jays, the same number as former great Tony Fernandez. "Its a honour to be wearing that number," he said. "He was an unbelievable shortstop." A 12th-round pick -- 360th overall -- by the Jays in the 2006 draft out of North Carolina State, Diaz is happy to be back in the Toronto fold after his year away. "It feels like I never left," he said. "It feels like home. I was here for seven years and then I took a little hiatus with the Red Sox for a year." Boston had its moments, however. He was called up to the majors for the first time, "which was amazing," he said. He saw action in five games, with four at-bats. He had no hits but scored two runs. "I was there for a week .dddddddddddd. Fortunately Im going to get a World Series ring and all that so Im really excited about that. It was a good time," he said. Coincidentally, Diazs debut in the majors came against Toronto and he threw out Reyes from third in Torontos first at-bat. He also scored the winning run against the Jays. These days his locker is just down the row from Reyes in a largely Spanish-speaking neighbourhood of the clubhouse. With a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother, he grew up with Spanish as his first language. "This is my corner. These are my people," he said with a grin. Diaz says he tries not to think of where he might end up. The goal is the big leagues and the plan is to play as well as possible. After that, que sera sera. "Make sure youre healthy and just try to be ready when the time comes," Diaz said by way of summary. "Im just out there trying to show I can help the team in any way possible." Away from the field, Diaz is married with three daughters -- 10, eight and 16 months. The family makes its home in Dunedin with his wife and daughters joining Diaz "wherever Im at," when school breaks for the summer. "By now, theyre used to it ... Its a crazy fun life," he said. But it has not always been fun for Diaz. In 2011, he was one of the final cuts out of the Jays major league camp. He went to double-A ball and then triple-A in Las Vegas. "I was doing really well," he said. "I went to have dinner, took a cab and woke up in a hospital." There was an accident and Diaz suffered a concussion, lost some hearing and his two front teeth, among other injuries. His wife, then his fiancee, was on the side of the cab that got hit and took the brunt of the impact. She suffered broken ribs, a torn spleen, separated shoulder and cuts. "It was pretty ugly," he said. "But luckily were healthy now." The injuries also took a toll on his playing career. "That took me out of it for a couple of months," he said. "That window, I felt like, was a good chance of being called up at the time." Two false front teeth have not impacted Diazs smile. He seems to savour every baseball moment. ' ' '