Rachel Alexandra works at Saratoga, no decision on next race
Horseracing Betting Lines
08/17/2009 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leading thoroughbred racehorse Rachel Alexandra worked five-furlongs Monday morning on Saratoga's Oklahoma training track, even as her connections remain undecided on her next start.
"She looked beautiful coming down the lane," said trainer Steve Asmussen. "I saw her approaching the eighth pole and past the wire down to the turn. And the words (that) came out of Dominic's mouth: 'Never better.'"
Exercise rider Dominic Terry guided Rachel Alexandra through five-furlongs in 1:00.37. Her stablemate Kensei also worked five-furlongs Monday in 1:01.85.
"Kensei worked very well," said Terry, who was also aboard the colt. "I didn't think a horse could work better than the first set, then she went out. I don't have to ask her for anything; just hold on and let her do her thing. I couldn't ask for anything more."
Following the Monday morning work, Asmussen indicated that discussions on Rachel Alexandra's next start would begin "in earnest."
The filly defeated male three-year-olds for the second time this year in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on August 2. She has been nominated to the $600,000 Alabama for three-year-old fillies this Saturday, the $1 million Travers versus three-year-old colts and geldings on August 29, the $400,000 Personal Ensign against fillies and mares on August 30, and the $500,000 Woodward against older males on September 5. The $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Labor Day at Philadelphia Park is also a possibility.
"There are no races eliminated," said Asmussen. "I will text [co-owner Jess Jackson] as to how the work went, he'll call me, and we'll discuss what we're going to do. We'll digest where we're at and try to do the best thing for Rachel."
Perfect in all seven 2009 starts, she has earned just under $2.3 million and has career winnings of nearly $2.5 million with 10 wins in 13 starts.
Rachel Alexandra remains atop the latest NTRA Thoroughbred Poll. The filly received 17 first-place votes and 188 points. Undefeated Zenyatta is second with two first-place votes and 167 points.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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