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Though it is sometimes overshadowed by more famous tracks back East like Churchill downs and Belmont Park, Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California has a rich and fascinating history. Located 20 miles north of San Diego and known for its iconic slogan “Where The Surf Meets the Turf”, Del Mar has not only hosted the best horses and jockeys on the planet but a ‘who’s who’ of show biz elite.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was founded in the mid’30s, and they immediately turned their attention to building a world class horse racing venue. The names that were instrumental in the creation of Del Mar include a whos who of American entertainment–most notably Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) and Jimmy Durante. At the time the facility opened thoroughbred horse racing was the second most popular sport in America behind major league baseball, and Del Mar’s show biz roots further helped secure its place as an important stop on the racing circuit.

The show biz legends that have been Del Mar regulars could fill a book. Bing Crosby was one of catalysts behind the building of the facility, and he personally greeted guests on opening day. During the late 30’s/early 40’s it hosted stars such as W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Red Skelton, Ava Gardner and Paulette Goddard.

In’38, Del Mar hosted an internationally anticipated match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. This event drew a record crowd and gained worldwide notoriety for the track. Seabiscuit won the $25,000 winner-take-all duel by a nose, and would forever be enshrined in the annals of American popular culture. Horse racing at Del Mar continued to be a smash until the facility went dark in’41 due to World War II. It would remain closed until’45, and for a time was used as a training facility by the military.

After the war, Del Mar reopened with a bang. The track reopened the day after Japan formally surrendered to Allied forces, and on that day Del Mar attracted over 20,000 fans through its gates who wagered what at the time was a record $958,476. The postwar prosperity was also a boon to Del Mar, which also benefitted from the Santa Fe Railroads daily Racetrack Special that brought bettors down from Los Angeles to enjoy a day at the track. During the latter part of the decade a new crop of Hollywood glitterati would flock to Del Mar, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney John Holmes, Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante. Durante would become such a regular that the turf course at Del Mar would later be renamed in his honor.

The annual race meet at Del Mar remains a highlight of the summer to this day. Del Mar remains one of the top tracks in the country, and have recently upgraded their facility with a state of the art grandstand and was one of the first tracks to install a new synthetic racing surface.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Frank Trigg dominated tough veteran Falaniko Vitale wire to wire en route to a unanimous decision victory at Strikeforce: Payback. Trigg essentially dictated where and when the fight occurred, and Vitale had no response whatsoever. The CompuStrike stats clearly underscored Triggs superiority in the fight, giving him a lopsided 41 to 7 edge in strikes landed.

In the co-main event, Duane Bang Ludwig earned an explosive TKO win over Sam Morgan. After an evenly contested first minute, Ludwig quickly took control with a series of Muay Thai knee strikes which set up a perfectly placed bodyshot to the liver that floored his opponent. Ludwig quickly pressed his advantage and never gave Morgan a chance to recover. Still feeling the effects of the liver shot, Morgan ate another hard punch to the solar plexus and gasping for breath was forced to tap out under the barrage of strikes.

In perhaps the most entertaining bout on the card, highly touted Billy Evangelista survived his second big scare in as many fights to remain undefeated. After a split decision victory over Nam Phan in June, Evangelista found himself in grave danger of a TKO loss early in his bout with tough veteran Luke Caudillo. Caudillo”who goes by the nickname Lil Hulk”opened the fight with a flurry, knocking Evangelista to the canvas three times in the opening minute. Via some combination of wits and toughness, Evangelista managed to survive the barrage and began to take over the fight late in the round with his superior technical striking. He landed a nice combination late in the frame that knocked Caudillo down, which improbably earned Evangelista an even round after being on the brink of a stoppage loss.

As the rest of the fight unfolded, Caudillo made the mistake of becoming a headhunter looking for a KO punch which allowed Evangelista to take over the fight. Evangelista continued to score with crisp combinations and as the bout progressed demonstrated his superior conditioning”a major factor at the high altitude of the Broomfield, Colorado fight venue. Evangelista would eventually earn a unanimous decision victory. Good display of toughness and resolve by up-and-comer Evangelista, and a nice showing by rugged vet Caudillo in the loss.

A highly anticipated womens match took place early in the evening, with former Hooters waitress Michelle The Karate Hottie Watterson easily defeating an overmatched opponent in Tyra Parker. Parker, whod lost her pro debut six weeks ago, may have been rushed back into action too quickly but she came out fighting gamely swinging for the fences with wild, powerful punch attempts. Watterson easily figured out her opponent, however, and The Karate Hottie quickly took over with her more disciplined striking approach.

The event marked Strikeforces first visit to Colorado, and another in a series of very entertaining fight cards. Scott Coker and his team deserve a lot of credit for their matchmaking”even in the lower card fights they have a knack for putting together bouts that more often than not are exciting and competitive. Strikeforce is clearly a promotion on the rise, and could be the USA’s #2 group before long.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer specializing in mixed martial arts, judo, soccer betting, clogging and model railroading. He is a well known expert on sports betting and has made countless TV and radio appearances. He lives in Southern Nevada with his Filipino houseboy, three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

When legendary quarterback Brett Favre announced his return to the NFL from what has become a seemingly annual flirtation with retirement, many second guessed the Minnesota Vikings’ decision to sign “The Gunslinger”. On Sunday, Favre and the Vikings answered those critics in the best way possible-with a lopsided 34-3 beatdown of the Dallas Cowboys. Favre threw 4 touchdown passes in the victory and the Vikings’ defense sacked Dallas QB Tony Romo six times in the blowout. Minnesota will now face the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game.

NFL football betting fans also cashed tickets on the Vikings as -3 point home favorites. This was the shortest pointspread of the divisional playoff weekend and many thought that Dallas’ momentum would carry them to victory. The 37 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 45.

After the contest, Favre boasted that a playoff run was a large part of his motivation to return to NFL action:

“”This is what I came back for. Probably the most fatigued I got today was celebrating. I feel like I’m playing the same way. I have the same enthusiasm. As long as I’m out there, the enthusiasm and the passion that you see is real. And I know the guys feed off of that. Fans enjoy that, because it is real and genuine. Today was like this season: It’s been wonderful.”

Former South Carolina Gamecock Sidney Rice caught three of Favre’s touchdown passes:

“Same ol’ Brett. He’s doing thing he’s done since he first came in the league: moving around, getting the ball out, breaking tackles and even running down the field and throwing blocks. That just shows you how big of a heart he has.”

Head coach Brad Childress mixed up a bunch of metaphors as he took a swipe at the prognosticators who picked Dallas to win:

“The Tasmanian devils were coming from Dallas that were about to bombard the state of Minnesota and run through us like Sherman through the South. All of us felt it quite palpably.”

Cowboys’ QB didn’t have much to say in defeat:

“Any time you come in with the expectations and goals we set and don’t accomplish them, No. 1, it’s frustrating. Right now, it’s just hard to think the season is over.”

Cowboys’ head coach Wade Phillips had a similar take:

“It’s like the elevator falling from the top. It’s tough when it’s over. If you don’t win it all, you have not reached your goal.”

The Vikings will now head to New Orleans for Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Saints. Minnesota is a +3′ point road underdog with the total set at 52′. The winner will advance to the Superbowl to take on the winner of the New York Jets/Indianapolis Colts contest.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Atlanta Falcons are off to a fast start this season, and on Sunday used a potent offensive attack to top the Carolina Panthers 28-20 at the Georgia Dome. QB Matt Ryan threw a career high three touchdown passes, including one to his new favorite receiver Tony Gonzalez. Beleaguered Carolina QB Jake Delhomme threw another interception for ten in his previous three games (including last years playoff loss to Arizona) but was otherwise much more effective passing for 308 yards and a touchdown.

NFL football betting devotees who invested in the Falcons as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the pointspread cover. The Falcons have won and covered both games this season for a 2-0 record both straight up and against the spread. The Panthers, meanwhile, have dropped both of their 2009 contests straight up and to the number.

The offseason acquisition of Gonzalez has worked to a benefit of both so far. In his first two games in a Falcons uniform the future Hall of Famer has 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Gonzalez wanted out of Kansas City to play for a contender, and hes found just that on a talented young Falcons team.

Gonzalez admitted that he was happy with how things have transpired thus far:

“Not a bad start at all. It’s just great to be part of a team like this.”

Gonzalezs biggest fan may be the guy charged with getting him the ball on Sundays. Quarterback Ryan was full of praise for his tight end in his postgame comments:

“He’s one of the greatest tight ends of all time. That was a huge pickup for us. He makes big plays for us in different situations when we need him. I’ve enjoyed playing with him thus far.”

Despite the loss, Carolinas Jake Delhomme was relieved to put the horrible performance of the opening week behind him:

“It couldn’t be any worse than last week. I felt good out there today. Last week, I put too much pressure on myself. This week, I got back to being just plain Jake.”

The Panthers will head to Dallas for a game against the Cowboys next Monday night. Carolina is a +9 road underdog in that contest with the total set at 46. Atlanta has a pair of tough road games on the docket, beginning this weekend against the New England Patriots at Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Falcons have been installed as +4 road underdogs with the total set at 44.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Thirteen workers flee drilling platform but oil company denies spill

Fresh fears about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico were raised today when fire forced workers to abandon an oil and gas platform, just six months after the BP explosion that created an environmental disaster in the region.

The company, Mariner Energy, said none of the 13 workers, who fled the platform and took to the sea in immersion suits, were injured. The coastguard said they were taken by ship to a nearby platform and from there to hospital in Houma, Louisiana, to be checked. Ships, helicopters and a plane were sent by the coastguard from Houston, New Orleans and Mobile.

Photographs of smoke billowing from the rig alarmed politicians, environmentalists, fishermen and others on the Gulf coast, still coping with pollution from the BP oil spill.

Peter Troedsson, a spokesman for the coastguard, said the fire had been put out and, in spite of initial reports of an oil slick, ships and helicopters at the scene could see no pollution round the platform.

He said the initial report had come from a Mariner ship at the scene, but the coastguards could see no oil sheen at the site.

The fire is a setback for the oil industry, which has been arguing that drilling in the Gulf is safe and that the BP explosion was a rare event. It came only 24 hours after companies including Mariner had staged a rally in Houston against a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf. About 5,000 employees had been bussed in for the rally.

Barbara Dianne Hagood, a spokesman for Mariner Energy, told the Financial Times on Wednesday: “I have been in the oil and gas industry for 40 years, and this [the Obama] administration is trying to break us. The moratorium they imposed is going to be a financial disaster for the Gulf coast, Gulf coast employees and Gulf coast residents.”

Another spokesman for Mariner, Patrick Cassidy, said he did not anticipate any pollution, as the platform had not been drilling and there had been no blowout. “There is no hydrocarbon spill,” he said.

The fire had broken out on a facility above the water, at some distance from the wells, he added.

Dave Reed, an oil worker on a platform about 14 miles away, told CNN he could see the smoke and that a call had gone out for ships, helicopters and planes in the region to divert to the area. “It took an hour for the helicopters to get here and all 13 were taken from the water,” Reed said.

The alarm was raised by a commercial helicopter flying over the platform. A coastguard spokesman, chief petty officer John Edwards, said: “We were able to confirm that all people were accounted for.”

The fire broke out on the platform Vermilion Oil Rig 380, about 90 miles south of the Louisiana Coast and west of the earlier BP explosion that had killed 11 workers.

Both the White House and the coastguard said they did not anticipate any pollution, but that ships equipped with facilities to help clean up spills had been sent to the area as a precaution.

The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said: “We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water.” The White House stressed that, unlike the BP rig, the platform was not a deepwater facility and was only working to a depth of 340ft.

BP’s attempts to cap its well, which saw hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spill into the Gulf, were bedevilled by the depth at which they had been drilling. They finally capped the well in July.

Mariner is a small company in the process of being taken over by the Apache oil company in a deal worth an estimated $3.9bn (£2.5bn). The deal has not yet been completed. Shares in both companies fell after news of the fire.