Monte Carlo,Masters, and the Horses this weekend
The weekend promises to be a great one with the Masters and that beautiful course in Augusta to view all weekend and one of my favorite times of the year in the tennis year, clay court season. Monte Carlo is a beautiful location for everything from auto racing to tennis and not to mention all the beautiful casinos which offer action all year round. My time in Monte Carlo was very short but I absolutely loved it. It really is one of those places you should see in your lifetime. The yachts ,the casinos ,the nightlife and the scenery, not to mention the security of walking around a city at 4 in the morning with no fear of crime. It is one of the worlds most expensive cities but if you can ever afford a few days to try out the casinos and learn a game like baccarat, this is the place to experience gaming of a high caliber. I was only able to afford a short time there, but if you have the money and want a fun weekend in Europe this is the place to be.
The big news for the clay tournament is that Roger Federer has accepted a late wild card into the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament that begins on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Federer will make his ninth appearance at the clay-court tournament, where he has amassed an incredibly impressive 34-9 record. He has fallen only to Rafael Nadal in the past three years and was also a quarter-finalist in 2001 (l. to Grosjean) and 2005 (l. to Gasquet).
“Several months ago I announced that Roger had not planned to take part as he had modified his clay-court preparation. But, knowing his attachment to the tournament, we never lost hope that he would nevertheless be there this year; we have been proven right and are very proud,” announced tournament director Zeljko Franulovic.
Nine of the best players in the world will be taking part in the Monegasque tournament, which is being held from 11th to 19th April 2009. Also featuring in the quality field are four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, World No. 3 Novak Djokovic, last week’s Sony Ericsson Open champion Andy Murray and the fifth-ranked Juan Martin del Potro – who last week defeated Nadal en route to reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami.
This is definitely an elite tournament leading up to the french open that really attracts the big names, the reputation alone of Monte Carlo and the big names entered for this tournament shows the importance of the Monegasque event amongst the players.
Monte Carlo is one of the big tournaments heading into the big tournament of the clay season, the French Open. Obviously the smart money will be on Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo but there should be some really interesting games on clay, a surface the Spaniards have dominated but increasingly is becoming more wide open. My dark horse is Fernando Verdasco and the increasingly dominant Andy Murray. I am going to be wagering a future on Nadal though to win it all.
A good chance to see some Kentucky Derby hopefuls in two big races this weekend this weekend on ESPN. The 85th Blue Grass on Saturday at Keeneland will be a great race with Hold Me Back, a strong horse that will be in the Kentucky Derby the favorite, in a tight race that might be more fun to watch than wager on. The 11 3-year-olds entered Wednesday for the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass appear extremely well-matched, with the program favorite, Hold Me Back, pegged at 3-1, followed closely on the morning line by several others.
The Blue Grass will be televised live on TVG, with post time set for 5:15 p.m. Eastern. The race also will be shown on a tape-delay basis during a one-hour ESPN2 telecast (6-7 p.m. Eastern) featuring a live running of the Arkansas Derby from Oaklawn Park. The live race Espn will be a great one , with alot of derby hopefuls and some great match ups. Old Fashioned is out to prove he is a better horse than his last race, when he suffered the first defeat of his career in the Grade 2 Rebel. Win Willy must show his 56-1 upset of that race was no fluke. And invader Papa Clem needs to win a major Derby prep to back up the potential he has shown by running second to Pioneer of the Nile and Friesan Fire in separate Grade 2 stakes.
The Arkansas Derby will go as the 11th race on a 12-race card, with a scheduled post of 5:41 p.m. Central.
My pick is on Old fashioned to at least place.
Tv Notes;
Arkansas Derby
Grade: II Purse: $1 million Distance: 9 Furlongs Age: 3-Year-Olds
Track: Oaklawn Park TV: Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 6:00 PM ET
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