Wrong year for Life At Ten to be so good

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the two leading thoroughbreds in training are also the top female racehorses in the country, it becomes difficult for any other filly or mare to get recognized.

This is the situation that confronts five-year-old mare Life At Ten. Almost any other year the Todd Pletcher-trained horse would be mentioned as a serious contender for the Eclipse Award as champion older female and even Horse of the Year.

This year, as most people know, has been graced with the continued racing of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Zenyatta. Their respective connections have aided thoroughbred racing by keeping the two ladies in training.

However, the two champion females take away the spotlight from the other top thoroughbreds this year.

Life At Ten, owned by Candy DeBartolo, easily captured this past Saturday's running of the $750,000 Delaware Handicap. As the odds-on favorite, she set a slow pace on Delaware Park's main track in the 1 1/4-mile race and was able to open up down the stretch to defeat her five rivals by three-lengths.

"She was fortunate to get an easy first quarter and half," noted Pletcher, "and she really had a lot left in the stretch. We will probably look at the Personal Ensign (August 29) at Saratoga next and go from there. It is just special to win the Delaware Handicap because it is such an important race for fillies and mares. We have always looked at the Del 'Cap as a great opportunity. It has a great tradition and great purse and we have been fortunate enough to win the race four times."

Life At Ten is undefeated in four starts this year, including wins in the Ogden Phipps and Sixty Sails Handicaps. The five-year-old has had five different jockeys in her last six starts, something neither Rachel nor Zenyatta need to concern themselves about.

The question is whether Life At Ten will face either of the top two females in a race this year. Rachel, who is based at Saratoga, will start in this Saturday's $400,000 Lady's Secret at Monmouth Park at 1 1/8-miles.

The Personal Ensign would have set up perfectly for the defending Horse of the Year. However, majority owner Jess Jackson is an unconventional personality who doesn't follow the 'rule book' when it comes to selecting races for his four- year-old filly.

Zenyatta is most likely to make her next start at Del Mar on August 7 in the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/16-miles, a race she has won the last two years.

Don't expect Zenyatta to venture outside of California until the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs in November.

Life At Ten has started at four different tracks in her last four races, a trend that allows more race fans the opportunity to view this highly talented mare.

Now within $11,000 of becoming a millionaire, Life At Ten is not to be overlooked the remainder of the 2010 racing season. If you get the chance to see her run, don't pass up the opportunity.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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