Belmont betting players are anxiously awaiting the final jewel in the Triple Crown, which will be decided on June 11^th at Belmont Park in New York, and if the other Triple Crown races are to be believed, we’re going to have a close and exciting encounter to watch. Early odds are forecasting a three-horse battle for all the marbles.

Animal Kingdom, Shackleford and Nehro are all listed at +400 to come away with the win, and the first two horses should be no surprise. Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby, while Shackleford led a large portion of the Derby before the field caught up to him, then he won the Preakness Stakes by holding off a late charge from, you guessed it, Animal Kingdom. Nehro was held out of the Preakness by his handlers, but he finished second at the Kentucky Derby and he was one of the horses who caught up to Shackleford late in the race. He’s been close with three second-place runs in his last three starts, so Nehro is going to earn some consideration among Belmont betting players.

All three would be very good picks on June 11^th, as Animal Kingdom has a strong late kick, which bodes well at a 1.5-mile race, while there will be skepticism about Shackleford’s stamina. Nehro has trouble closing, but his closing run at the end of the Kentucky Derby was very encouraging and could pay off over the long haul of the Belmont. This is definitely the trio to watch in your sports betting book.

As if it was prancing right through the finish of the Preakness and into the Belmont Stakes, Animal Kingdom will trample the field when it reaches New York for the final leg of the Triple Crown in a couple of weeks. After a slow start saw it fall behind all but one horse through the first couple of corners, the Kentucky Derby winner came on strong and nearly caught eventual winner Shackleford before finishing the race just a half-length back at the line. That has set the stage for a rematch between the Kentucky and Preakness winners, and although there will be no Triple Crown in 2011 the final leg should be just as exciting with this key matchup taking the spotlight.

The Belmont Stakes betting race will feature a ton of familiar faces, including both Nehro and Mucho Macho Man. Both of those horses placed at Kentucky, and should be primed for one final run of the season. However, although their presence will add to the atmosphere for the Belmont, this has developed into a two-horse race with the recent developments. Shackleford held on with a pretty consistent effort throughout the race, but with the Belmont at 1 ½ miles it may have a tough time holding on against Animal Kingdom. There will be a ton of chatter about whether the trifecta of strong online sports betting finishes can be completed, but in the end it will be Animal Kingdom that comes through and finishes in front at the 2011 Belmont.

It has been 30 days, and finally Preakness betting fans also following the NBA, can watch the Conference finals. For the first time in roughly three years, the four remaining teams in the NBA sports betting finals have an opportunity to wipe the label of middle of the pack from their resumes. Here is our prediction for which two teams will move on from the Conference finals to battle it out for the NBA title.

The NBA Conference finals are already underway, with the Chicago Bulls up one game to nothing over the Miami Heat. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks will renew acquaintances tonight for game one in Dallas. On paper, the Mavericks should be able to crush the Thunder, since they have been resting for the last week, while Oklahoma City has just finished up a grueling seven game series with the Memphis Grizzlies.

In the Eastern Conference, already up one game to nothing, the Chicago Bulls appear poised and ready to return to the NBA finals for the first time in 13 years. Meanwhile, the new look Heat is aiming for their second NBA finals appearance since 2006, when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA title.

As breeders cup betting sports fans, we are all about dream finals, and for many people, they would like to see the Dallas Mavericks take on Miami in the finals. However, a Dallas verses Chicago final wouldn’t be too bad either. But what about the Oklahoma City Thunder? Are they simply a stepping stone for the Mavericks to return to the NBA finals?

In our opinion, the Oklahoma City Thunder should be able to get over the hump this year and into the NBA final. They will face the Chicago Bulls, similar to the Seattle Supersonics (OKC before location change) from 1996 – 1997 seasons. Only this time, with Kendrick Perkins at center, the Thunder should be able to win the franchise’s first NBA title since being in Seattle in 1979.

The 2011 Preakness betting lines opened earlier this week. However, if you are a sports betting enthusiast looking for something exciting to wager on before big racing event, look no further than the Eastern Conference Finals in the NHL. Featuring the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, sports fans are being spoiled by a league that usually puts its owners first. Here is a preview of the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals, set to start on Saturday May 14, 2011.

Heading into Saturday’s matchup at the TD Garden Center in Boston, MA, hockey handicappers are looking forward to a fast paced defensive minded series between two of the NHL best teams. On the one hand, the Boston Bruins have destroyed a lot of demons this playoffs, as they went through their two biggest obstacles, the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers in rounds one and two. Conversely, the Tampa Bay Lightning are seen as an underdog in these playoffs, despite having an All Star roster that has grossly underachieved for the better part of the last three seasons.

On paper, this series has all the makings of a seven game triple overtime affair. What’s more, both of these teams are ridiculously balanced, as all four lines on either side of the ice can be matched up against each other. From top to bottom, every player on both Boston and Tampa Bay can counter one another.

In all honesty, the only area of the lineup where we can see playing an advantage to one team over the other is in net. Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas looks to be as good as he was during the 2008 – 2009 seasons in which he won the Vezina Trophy. Meanwhile, Dwayne Roloson at 41 years old has been channeling his inner Marty Brodeur. However, against a deep and determined Boston Bruins squad, does Roloson have enough in the tank to carry the Lightning to a series victory?

PayPerHead.com, an online sportsbook service provider for local bookmaking agents, today unveiled a new campaign featuring Vince Curatola, Johnny Sack of The Sopranos fame.

The campaign leads with Vince asking “Five bucks per head, that’s what I wanna pay…” and the website, featuring video and voice overs by Vince, walks you through the product, the process and the competition.
“Five bucks a head is really an industry first given our level of service,” a spokesman from PayPerHead.com explained. “And we very carefully and in great detail delineate on the website exactly what you get and at what price level at PayPerHead versus the other serious players, such as Price Per Head.”

And what you get is a lot, including not only the traditional online sportsbook but an optional casino, live poker, in game live betting, mobile betting, tools for managing players and their funds, layoff and scalp accounts, even a “sharp check.” “We have the sharpest lines out there and one of the most experienced stages anywhere offshore,” the spokesman said, “so if we start seeing sharp action from one of your players, we can give you a heads up. What you want to do with him is up to you.”

The choice of Vince Curatola was an interesting one. “We always liked Vince’s character on The Sopranos, as John “Johnny Sack” Sacramoni,” the PayPerHead spokesman said. “He had a certain style, classy, but not over the top; there’s a calmness and authority about him that we really admire.  He brings that serious business demeanor to PayPerHead.com, the first sportsbook-service to EVER feature any kind of celebrity in its marketing.”
With post-up books like BetUS, Sportsbook.com and SportsInteraction stopping taking US players, Bodog and others struggling with “Ecom” processing problems, the street scene is heating up and players are posting daily in forums looking for a “local out.” Players want the huge selection of markets, including live in-game betting, and the convenience of anytime betting online or via their mobile, but more and more say “they want to bet online but prefer to settle in cash on Monday.”

Is this the future of online sports betting? Quite possibly. And with firms like PayPerHead.com investing in marketing in an unprecedented way (celebs, who’d have thunk it?!) and in product (they also offer live poker, casino and in-game betting), expect to see this sector grow significantly this season.

For more information, see PayPerHead.com.

The second leg of the Triple Crown just wouldn’t be the same if the winner of the Kentucky Derby winner did not participate in the race. But after Animal Kingdom defied the online sports betting odds to win the opening leg at Churchill Downs earlier this month, there is the possibility that trainer Graham Motion might not argue in favor of it racing at the 2011 Preakness Stakes. Motion has said that he will at least take Animal Kingdom to Pimlico for the opportunity to run if they decide that it is the right thing to do, but with the uncertain status of the Derby winner and several horses that might still not race the field is wide open with the exception of a couple of early favorites.

While the attention will remain on the MLB betting month of May for the next couple of weeks, Dialed In will try to work its way back into form for the Preakness Stakes. The 4-1 favorite faded early at the Derby and couldn’t recover, but will now get another chance. One of the early favorites for the Preakness has to be Mucho Macho Man after a strong third-place finish at the Derby, but after watching what happened to Uncle Mo as the early favorite for Kentucky, there is no guarantee. One horse to keep an eye on heading into the Preakness is Shackleford, which finished fourth at the Kentucky Derby. Shackleford looked strong early on and overcame a couple of tough obstacles to close in on the show, and could have a better finish if it gets a better post position in what is shaping up to be a relatively weak field.

The 2011 Kentucky Derby betting event signals that the second round of the NBA playoffs is finally upon us. With only eight teams remaining in the playoffs, betting online enthusiasts should have a better idea as to which teams will win and which will look at what went wrong when the round comes to an end. Here are our picks for round two.

Eastern Conference:

The 2010 – 11 Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, as well as the Miami Heat taking on the Boston Celtics, features four of the best teams in the entire league. Just from looking at the matchups, the logical choice is to take the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. However, after one game each for these two series, making a decision on who to pick is way harder than we imagined.

On the one hand, the Chicago Bulls looked like a team that was expecting to have an easier time with the Atlanta Hawks after the Hawks disappointed their fans in last season’s first round. This Hawks team is playing with a chip on their shoulder, as they attempt to show their fans that last year was a fluke, and the Hawks have come to play this year. In last night’s victory over the Bulls, the Hawks caught several breaks including Bulls star Derrick Rose reinjuring his sprained ankle in the final moments of the game. If the Bulls lose Rose, we think it’s safe to say good night Bulls, as they don’t look like a team that can win without a superstar.

Conversely, the Celtics and Heat series opened up with some controversy, as it appeared that the officials wanted the game and perhaps the series to be about them and not the two teams playing. Each side received some brutal calls against them by the officials. With that said, Miami has three of the youngest stars in the NBA joining forces, and anything less than a series win will be considered a disappointment.