Sports Betting

Because he's a horseman at his core, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale made sure to wager his entire $2.4 million on Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality at Churchill Downs. (Image: Kentucky HBPA/@KyHBPA)

‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale Believes Where You Bet the Horses Matters

When Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale was looking for a site on which to drop a $2.4 million wager on Essential Quality to win the Kentucky Derby, he remembered what he was at heart. McIngvale has been called many things over the years. An entrepreneur. A furniture magnate. A media darling, […]

Swiss Skydiver owns stakes victories at five tracks, including two here at Santa Anita Park. She attempts to add Belmont Park to her stakes resume in Saturday's Grade 1 Ogden Phipps. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Swiss Skydiver Finally Lands at Belmont Park for Deep Ogden Phipps

Somehow, the Swiss Skydiver Stakes Tour bypassed Belmont Park. Somehow, the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly missed the biggest racing sandbox of them all – Big Sandy. How did a filly who won six graded stakes races over five racetracks miss America’s largest racetrack, Belmont Park? An oversight? Well, it’s an oversight […]

A variety of NFTs are for sale on the AtomicHub digital marketplace. (Image: AtomicHub)

The NFT Bubble May Have Broken, but Sports Collectibles Show Some Resilience

Anyone closely following the NFT space has noticed that the market has cooled in recent weeks following a burst of interest in non-fungible tokens earlier this spring. But a recent story by Protos examined just how far interest in these products, including some sports NFTs, has actually fallen. According to […]

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert doubles as the face of his sport. His face won't be around Churchill Downs the next two years after that track suspended him for two years. (Image: AP Photo)

Churchill Downs Drops Two-Year Suspension on Bob Baffert

In the wake of Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit’s split sample testing positive for the prohibited anti-inflammatory betamethasone, Churchill Downs suspended trainer Bob Baffert for two years, effective immediately. The ruling prohibits the Hall of Fame trainer from entering horses for races or occupying stall space at Churchill Downs, and […]

Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, seen here elevating for one of his record-setting 12 3-point shots, evades Austin Rivers of the Denver Nuggets. (Image: Porter Lambert/Getty)

Blaze On: Damian Lillard Sets NBA Record with 12 Treys in 2 OT Loss

Dame struck again, this time with a dozen daggers. Damian Lillard exploded for 55 points for the Portland Trail Blazers in a 147-140 double-overtime loss against the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of their back-and-forth series. Lillard set a new NBA playoff record with 12 made 3-point shots, but if […]

Essential Quality's Blue Grass Stakes wire victory over Highly Motivated was the Champion 2-Year-Old's fifth consecutive win. After finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby, the colt seeks to rebound as the 2/1 morning-line favorite in the 153rd Belmont Stakes. (Image: Kentuckyderby.com)

Essential Quality Returns to Triple Crown Trail as Belmont Stakes Favorite

Essential Quality duplicated the favorite status he enjoyed for the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago, taking 2/1 morning-line favorite odds into Saturday’s 153rd Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. Tuesday morning’s Belmont Stakes draw put the Brad Cox-trained, Tapit progeny in post 2. He’s one of four Grade 1 winners and […]

Essential Quality gives Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox a wonderful opportunity to win his first Triple Crown race. He's the 2/1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. (Image: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)

Could Essential Quality Close Triple Crown Hole in Cox’s Resume?

For Brad Cox, is Essential Quality the final piece of the Triple Crown race puzzle? First, there was Owendale’s third in the 2019 Preakness Stakes. Then, there was Mandaloun finishing second in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Can Essential Quality give Cox his first American Classic victory in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes? […]