In addition to the traditional horse racing odds
for Saturday’s 2008 Preakness Stakes, the world’s top sportsbooks have interesting
proposition odds. For example which will be greater, the margin of victory for
Big Brown or the number of assists Kobe Bryant gets in Game 6 against the Utah
Jazz?

How about Big Brown’s margin of victory or the number of
goals in the FA Cup Final in England?
Cardiff City
takes on Portsmouth in the 127^th
final. One can also bet if this year’s crowd breaks last year’s record or if
the winner does so in record time.

There are also the individual match-ups. Handicappers can
predict who will be the higher finisher Icabad Crane or Yankee Bravo, Gayego or
Giant Moon, Riley Tucker is paired against Tres Borrochos.

In one of the more intriguing possibilities, one of the sportsbooks asks if all the NBC
announcers will pick Big Brown to win.

Much like gamblers can bet quarter and halftime lines in
basketball and football, horse racing bettors are asked where Big Brown will be
a the quarter poll. Sixth or below pays an incredible +1400.

It’s time to take a look at some of the latest betting
odds on key sports, entertainment and world events. Big Brown, Barack Obama,
and now David Cook are all favorites in the diverse world culture betting
markets.

BetUs
Sportsbook has made Big Brown the overwhelming favorite to win the Preakness Stakes as well as a good shot to capture the
Triple Crown. These overwhelming odds are despite his reputation of a Barry
Sanders like feast or famine performance.

Brown not only is 1/3 to win at Pimlico,
but is now expected to win the Triple Crown at 1/2 The nation’s top sports
betting expert Joe Duffy says history and the unpredictable running of
Brown, make “no” at 3/2 a great betting proposition.

Once known as the “other David,” David Cook has
leapfrogged David Archuleta as the favorite to win American Idol. Cook is now
2/4, Archuleta has dropped to the No. 2 spot at 7/5. Syesha Mercado is given little respect by the sportsbooks at 20/1.

Meanwhile the top sports handicapping site has two of
the top three key indicators as to who the next President of the United States will
be on the same
page. The Vegas odds for President now have Barack Obama as the favorite at
4/5, while John McCain at 7/5.

Intrade
projects Obama a 55.8 percent chance to win the White House, compared to just
38.2 for McCain.

The third of the top three indicators is the RealClearPolitics consensus poll, which gives Obama an edge
over McCain by 2.6 percentage points.

Hillary Clinton is heavily favorite
to win the Indiana Democratic Primary. According to the
Vegas political betting odds, or more accurately the offshore odds, Clinton
is -600, while Barack Obama is +350.

When betting on elections, Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy says
he always compares the betting odds to the consensus polls at RealClearPolitics.com. The RCP average has Clinton
+5.0 percentage points, though Zogby Tracking has
Obama up by two points.

This is a clear, well Real Clear,
change from about a week ago when Obama held the three-point lead.

Clinton has
been aided by his slow initial condemnation of the racist and anti-American
rants of Obama’s former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Obama is still expected to get the nomination as he is a prohibitive
4/13 favorite to be the Democratic candidate for the White House. Clinton
is given a punchers chance at 4/1.

The General Election odds are tightening up. Arizona
Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee actually barely trails
Obama. McCain is 5/4 compared to Obama at 6/5. Clinton
is still given a chance at 4/1, oddly (so to speak) the same as her chances of
being the nominee.

There were statements made by politicos recently that had
serious direct ramifications to the gambling rights community. One avowal was
made by the current President of the
United States, George W. Bush. The other assertion was by one of the final
three contenders for the White House, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In his State of the Union,
President Bush claimed, “The people’s
trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks—special
interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without
discussion or debate. Last year, I asked you to voluntarily cut the number and
cost of earmarks in half. I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into
committee reports that never even come to a vote. Unfortunately, neither goal
was met. So this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut
the number and cost of earmarks in half, I’ll send it back to you with my
veto,” said Bush to applause from both sides of the aisle.

The “To Bet a
Man Square Massacre” was a result of the so-called Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act, a pork barrel favor to conservative
traitor Bill “Jesus” Frist attached to the completely unrelated Security and
Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006.

Knowing that respecting the democratic process would mean
defeat, Frist was able to circumvent debate and discussion by waiting until midnight on the final night before Congress
adjourned for the 2006 elections.

Could there possibly be a better (if not bettor) example
of as Bush said “special interest
projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or
debate”? What the President failed to
mention is he signed the bill.

More recently, Democratic President hopeful Hillary
Clinton sat down with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News in what appeared to be more of
a courtship between forbidden lovers than a no-spin interview.

In response to how she would control spiraling oil prices,
Clinton answered, “Nine of the 13
biggest oil-producing countries that are in OPEC are also members of the WTO. I would file complaints.”

The direct implication that statement has on online gambling is that the United
States deemed the World Trade Organization
irrelevant when the international body rightfully ruled that the US
unfairly targeted offshore websites by passing the anti-gambling rights act
while making an exemption for US firms that offer off-track betting on horse
racing.

In his two-part love fest with Clinton,
O’Reilly opted to follow up with scripted softballs instead of challenging Clinton’s
courting of the WTO.

Would it not make imperative that Clinton
insist we honor the WTO rulings against America
before appealing to them for assistance against OPEC? Why should OPEC respect a
ruling against them anymore than the US
has?

O’Quixote opted not to derail
his dalliance with Clinton. He sidestepped
asking her what say she about the obvious conundrum. Get a room you two.

Frankly the chances of a potential President Clinton
making good to the WTO is about the same as Bush
refusing to sign Frist’s earmarks.

If politicians on either side of the aisle actually
practiced what come out of their big mouths, the right to gamble would never
have been infringed on to begin with.

The author Joe Duffy is CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com and
widely accepted as one of the all-time great sports handicappers of all-time.

Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies will be
looking to knock Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco
Giants for a loss on Sunday afternoon. Here’s your MLB Gameday
for sports handicappers:

Chicago
White Sox at Toronto
Blue Jays, 1:07pm ET
Jose Contreras (2-2, 3.98 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (2-4, 3.26 ERA)

Contreras hasn’t been striking out a lot of batters so far this season (just
16 over his first five starts), but he’s been a pretty solid pitcher for the
White Sox. The righthander gave up four earned runs
in each of his first two outings versus the Tigers, another four earned runs
versus the Yankees on April 22, and he’s held the Orioles to one run twice.

Halladay has been tagged with a loss in each of his past three starts,
although he did manage to go the distance in each of those contests. In fact,
the righthander has tossed four straight complete
games with only a 1-3 record to show for those outings. Halladay has walked
just seven batters while striking out 31 over his six starts so far this
season.

San Francisco
Giants at Philadelphia
Phillies, 1:35pm ET
Tim Lincecum (4-1, 1.73 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (3-3, 2.70 ERA)

Lincecum is helping Giants fans forget about the
struggles of Barry Zito. The young righthander has gone 4-1 with a no-decision in his six
starts this season, and he’s managed to keep his ERA under 2.00. Lincecum’s worst outing of the year came on Tuesday versus
the Rockies, but he gave up just three earned runs over
seven innings.

Hamels bounced back from a couple of rough outings
to pitch a strong game against the Padres last time out (7 1-3 innings, two
earned runs on five hits, six strikeouts). The lefthander gave up just two
earned runs over his first three starts of the year, but he then surrendered
nine earned runs over consecutive losses to the Mets and Brewers.

Los Angeles
Dodgers at Colorado
Rockies, 3:05pm ET
Derek Lowe (2-1, 2.88 ERA) vs. Aaron Cook (4-1, 2.41 ERA)

Lowe gave up six runs in a no-decision versus the Marlins last time out, but
only three of those runs were earned. That kept the righthander’s
ERA under 3.00 for the season. Lowe has allowed three or fewer earned runs in
each of his six starts so far in 2008, but he’s only managed to pick up two
wins for his troubles, with one defeat and three NDs.

Cook has been on fire for the Rockies, as he’s earned
the victory in each of his last four outings. The righthander
surrendered just six earned runs over 28 innings in those starts to drop his
ERA below 2.50 in 2008. Cook held the Giants to just two unearned runs on
Tuesday, giving up 10 hits and two walks and fanning three over seven innings. Handicapper
Stevie Vincent has this game among six pro baseball winners. Click now to
purchase

New York
Mets at Arizona
Diamondbacks, 4:10pm ET
Johan Santana (3-2, 3.12 ERA) vs. Dan Haren
(4-1, 3.13 ERA)

Santana could only manage a no-decision in his start versus the Pirates on
Tuesday, but he allowed just two earned runs on two hits over 5 2-3 innings of
work and struck out seven batters. The lefthander has allowed more than three
earned runs in only one start so far this season (on April 12 versus the
Brewers), and he’s struck out 39 batters.

Haren has also allowed more than three earned runs
in only one start this year – that came on April 23 when the Dodgers got to him
for five earned runs over 4 2-3 innings. The righthander
has picked up either a win or a no-decision in each of his other five outings,
and he only walked seven batters (while striking out 29) in his six starts in
April.

Though most American Idol watchers in our unscientific
survey agree that the American Idol winner will be “one of the two Davids,” a popular prediction site suggests that long shot Syesho Mercado may beat the betting odds.

DialIdol.com’s often accurate
software indicates that Syesha Mercado at 50/1 is
gaining momentum and could stun co-favorites David Archuleta and David Cook,
both who are now 20/21. The other finalist, Jason Castro checks in at 25/1.

Another popular reality show has sports handicappers intrigued.
ABC’s Dancing With the Stars has narrowed down the
field and like American Idol, the initial favorite is holding strong. Kristi
Yamaguchi is still the overwhelming choice according to the sportsbooks at 4/11.

Former Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor is 2/1, Mario is 10/1
(no word on Luigi) while the long shots are Cristian
de la Fuente and Marissa Jaret
Winokur at 40/1.

NewBodog offers
odds on whether George Clooney will reprise his role in the 15^th
season of ‘ER’. No is -130 with yes at -110.

The betting line is
also heating up for Hell’s Kitchen as Christina remains the choice at 5/6. Louross at 4/1 and Jen at 7/1 are place and show favorites.

More odds are posted at OffshoreInsiders.com

It’s without question one of the great days of the year
for sports bettors and sports handicappers. The San Antonio Spurs open up the
Western Conference NBA Finals against the New Orleans Hornets, while in the
Eastern Conference, the not-exactly-Eastern Detroit
Pistons host the Orlando Magic.

The ‘Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sport’ arrives on
Saturday with the 134^th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill
Downs. According to sports
betting expert Joe Duffy, the only Grandmaster sports handicapper in the world, “It’s
the most profitable two minutes in sports.” He says the chalk won’t win today
and he has the win, place and show at GodsTips on OffshoreInsiders.com

Out of the 20-horse field entered in the Derby,
Big Brown has been singled out as the favorite at 3/1. Trained by Richard Dutrow Jr. and ridden by two-time Derby
winner Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown has gone undefeated
as a three-year-old with three victories which includes an impressive win in
the Florida Derby. However, if Big Brown does win he’ll have to go against
history to do it. Big Brown was unlucky in the post draw and drew the outside
No. 20 post. In the Derby’s lengthy
history, only one horse has won out of the No. 20 post in 15 attempts. That
lone winner was Clyde Van Dusen way back in 1929.

Big Brown’s bad luck in the post draw could provide an opening for Colonel
John or Pyro to pull off an upset. Colonel John
follows Big Brown on the odds list at 4/1. Colonel John won the Santa Anita
Derby early last month, but the Derby
will be the first race he has ever run on a dirt track. All of Colonel John’s
previous races were run on synthetic tracks, which could put him at a
disadvantage in poor conditions. Pyro was considered
to be a perennial favorite after winning his first two races of the season, but
a disappointing 10^th-place finish in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
has lowered his stock a little. Even with the questions after his Blue Grass
finish, Pyro is still listed at 6/1 in the Derby.

There are a number of other interesting stories scattered throughout the
rest of the field of 20, including Eight Belles. Listed at 20/1, Eight Belles
is the first filly entered in the Derby
since 1999 when Excellent Meeting finished fifth and Three Rings was 19^th.

Trainer Barclay Tagg, who trained 2003 Derby
champion Funny Cide, pins his hopes for a return to
the winner’s circle on Tale of Ekati. The 15/1
underdog won the Wood Memorial earlier this season to make him an interesting
dark horse on Saturday. Tagg also has Big Truck in
the Derby, but he’s already been
written off after receiving the worst odds in the field at 50/1.

Trainer Todd Pletcher failed to snap his long Derby
drought last year and he’ll try again with a pair of horses this year. At
0-for-19 in the Derby, Pletcher’s best chance at breaking that streak appears to
be Monba, who won the Blue Grass Stakes earlier this
year and enters the Derby at 15/1. Pletcher’s other entry is Cowboy
Cal at 20/1.

Two other horses listed at 20/1 which are noteworthy include Visionaire and Denis of Cork. Visionaire
is this year’s entry for trainer Michael Matz, who
trained 2006 winner Barbaro. Oddly enough, Visionaire drew the eighth post, the same position Barbaro started from the year he won. Denis of Cork will be
ridden by Calvin Borel, who rode Street Sense to
victory in last year’s Derby. The
last jockey to win the Derby in
back-to-back years was Ed Delahoussaye on Gato Del Sol in 1982 and on Sunny’s
Halo in 1983.

Odds to win Kentucky
Derby
(updated live)

Big Brown 3/1
Colonel John 4/1
Pyro 6/1
Gayego 15/1
Monba 15/1
Tale of Ekati 15/1
Z Fortune 15/1
Bob Black Jack 20/1
Cool Coal Man 20/1
Court Vision 20/1
Cowboy Cal 20/1
Denis of Cork 20/1
Eight Belles 20/1
Recapturetheglory 20/1
Smooth Air 20/1
Visionaire 20/1
Adriano 30/1
Anak Nakal 30/1
Z Humor 30/1
Big Truck 50/1

Other key betting odds see that for the first time the American Idol Las
Vegas odds say that David Archuleta is more likely to not win American Idol
by -130 then to win at -110. Also thanks
to the racist, anti-American rants of his pastor Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama is
no longer considered a lock for the Democratic nomination for the President of
the United States
betting line.
Hillary Clinton is within striking distance at 5/2.

However, Obama is still in a dead heat with John McCain in the POTUS odds at 8/7.