Ambrose wins Nationwide pole at rainy Montreal

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/29/2009 - Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose prevailed during wet conditions to win Saturday's qualifying for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Ambrose turned a lap at the 2.71-mile, 14-turn street course at 80.905 m.p.h. in his No.47 JTG/Daugherty Racing Toyota for his second career Nationwide pole. His first pole came in October 2007 at Memphis.

The Aussie won the Nationwide road course event at Watkins Glen, NY earlier this month. He finished third in last year's race at Montreal.

Carl Edwards will start alongside Ambrose after securing the outside pole at 80.116 m.p.h.

Canadian Ron Fellows, the defending race winner, qualified third, and road- racing expert Boris Said took the fourth spot. Brad Coleman completed the top- five.

Jacques Villeneuve qualified sixth, followed by Justin Marks, Antonio Perez, Andrew Ranger and Paul Menard.

Current points leader Kyle Busch will start 12th. Busch holds a 248-point advantage over Edwards.

Two drivers failed to qualify -- Daryl Harr and Morgan Shepherd.

Qualifying was delayed for one hour due to inclement weather. NASCAR instructed teams to bolt rain tires on their cars prior to the session.

Last year, NASCAR ran its first-ever national series points event in the rain, but weather conditions deteriorated to the point where the race was cut 26 laps short of the 74-lap distance.

The weather forecast for Sunday's race, which is scheduled to start around 2:30 p.m. (et), calls for scattered showers with a 40 percent chance of rain.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.