Benesova moves on in Estoril

Tennis Betting Lines

05/04/2009 - Estoril, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Estoril Open.

The 2008 Estoril runner-up Benesova snuck past Portuguese wild card Neuza Silva 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on the red clay at National Stadium. Benesova lost to Russian glamour girl Maria Kirilenko in last year's finale here and was also the 2004 Estoril runner-up. Kirilenko is this week's second seed.

Eighth-seeded German Anna-Lena Groenefeld joined Benesova in the second round with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) victory over France's Pauline Parmentier.

In other Day-1 play, German Kristina Barrois handled another Portuguese wild card, Maria Joao Koehler, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 and Slovakian Jarmila Groth overcame France's Mathilde Johansson 1-6, 6-1, 6-1. Groth will face Benesova in the round of 16.

The 2009 Estoril champ will collect $37,000.

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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.