Newmarket handler, John Gosden, who has sent out the winner of the Group 1 Ladbrokes St Leger three times in the last five renewals, has given the strongest hint yet that he will saddle just two serious candidates for the race from his four runners, who feature prominently in the ante-post market for the world’s oldest classic, writes Elliot Slater.

Gosden has indicated that his recent Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes winner, Thought Worthy, and the lightly raced colt Michelangelo are likely to be his main representatives for the September 15 contest, and that his other two contenders, Shantaram and Great Heavens, are unlikely to make the line-up for the mile-and-six-furlong contest for differing reasons.

Shantaram has not been at his best since being forced to miss the Great Voltigeur Stakes with a lung infection, while it appears that Lady Rothschild’s impressive Irish Oaks winner, Great Heavens, is now being targeted at the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp the day following the St Leger.

Great Heavens has generally been priced up as the ante-post second favourite at between 6/1 and 10/1 behind the long odds-on Triple Crown seeker, Camelot (2/5), whilst Shantaram, winner of the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy when last seen on racecourse duty, is a general 10/1 chance.

Thought Worthy, a full-brother to the 2007 St Leger winner, Lucarno, who also won the big York contest on his way to victory on town Moor, has been the subject of sustained support in recent days that have seen his St Leger odds fall from as big as 12/1 to a general offer of 8/1.

Michelangelo, who had looked so promising when winning the Tattersalls Millions at Newmarket in June, before appearing rather short of pace when only third to Noble Mission in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last time out, can still be backed at up to 14/1.

For more tips to bet on horse racing, direct your browser to the Betfair St Leger festival website.

Cincinnati Reds (57-40, 26-22 away) clash against Houston Astros (34-64, 24-23 home) at Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas in Game 3 (8:05 PM ET, July 25, 2012). Cincinnati leads the three game series by 2-0. The best betting odds as per sports handicappers for the game has the Reds (4/6), while the Astros (7/5).

This season, the Reds have won six straight four times, but they’ve yet to push any run to seven. Sending Homer Bailey could finally help them get over that hump. He will mound against the team with the worst record in the majors.

Bailey attempts to win five consecutive decisions for the first time Wednesday night when he faces Astros team he has dominated throughout his time in the big leagues, after riding a career-best four-start winning streak.

Scoring three times in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 4-2 victory to extend their win streak to six, the visiting Reds (57-40) have taken the first two matchups in this three-game series.

Cincinnati hasn’t had a seven-game run since Aug. 13-20, 2010, although they also won six in a row May 19-24, June 12-17 and July 6-15. The last remaining piece of the Astros’ 2005 National League championship is officially gone.

On Tuesday night, Houston parted ways with pitcher Wandy Rodriguez, who will get an additional possibility to play on a candidate as he makes his way to Pittsburgh. The Astros received left-handed pitchers Colton Cain and Rudy Owens and outfielder Robbie Grossman in return for Rodriguez and cash.

Posting an 80-84 record with a 4.04 ERA in seven-plus seasons in Houston, Rodriguez had been with the Astros’ organization since 1999. On Monday, he made his final start for the Astros, giving up three runs through six innings.

Houston tries to avoid a season high-tying ninth straight loss and therefore it will be hoping for another solid home start from Norris. Sending pitcher Wandy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh for three minor leaguers, the Astros have dropped 21 of 23, and they made their third significant trade in five days Tuesday night.

Norris’ last five starts have been on the road. A revisit to Minute Maid Park may be what he needs to end his skid. In six starts at home, the right-hander is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA compared to 2-7 with a 7.46 ERA in 11 road outings.

Cincinnati hasn’t swept a three-game set from the Astros since April 2010. It has won six of eight in the season series.

After an impressive handling of the Group of Death and a convincing performance in the quarterfinals against Greece in euro 2012, Germany was touted as favorites to go all the way and claim their first international trophy since 1996. However, Joachim Low outsmarted himself against Italy with his debatable team selection and formation. In the end Germany were the makers of their own downfall as Italy won 2-1 in Warsaw.

Low did everything to conceal his starting line-up before the match and prevent another leak following the premature release of his squad changes against Greece. What Germany fielded then came as a surprise to many. Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski were recalled to the starting XI, while the insertion of Kroos was perhaps the biggest shock of all.

It was clear that Low wanted to match Italy’s strong central midfield with one of his own, switching from his usual 4-2-3-1 to the more compact 4-3-3. Theoretically, including Kroos against a team that play with four central midfielders made sense but Germany failed to compensate in other areas.

However, Italians often thrive in adversity as seen in 1982 and 2006 when they won the World Cup, and beat Germany along the way, following domestic betting and cheating scandals. They have now gone through a difficult group, which included final opponents and holders Spain, played England off the park before winning the quarter-final on penalties and beaten in-form and free-scoring Germany with a clinical yet flamboyant display.

Having matched Spain for long spells in their 1-1 Group C opener, the Azzurri will not be afraid of the world champions while Balotelli finding the net in such emphatic style will also give Italy fans confidence. Apart from a superb volleyed goal against Ireland, Balotelli had missed an array of chances with critics wondering whether all the hype surrounding his wacky persona had covered up his failings as a footballer. Germany now know all too well that on his day he can be a top performer, even if his opening header had much to do with Antonio Cassano’s deft trickery and cross.

33-year-old Juventus star, Andrea Pirlo was declared the Man-of-the-match. He was again superb for the Italians and he been in the quarterfinal win over England. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said that they played exactly how they had wanted to. He added that they managed to make life hard for Germany and they have Riccardo Montolivo to thank for that. He further added that even though Spain is the favorite, his squad proved that they are a strong team.

On Sunday, the Azzurri can now dream of denying world and European champions Spain a third consecutive major title. The best betting odds for the finals have Spain (15/13), while Italy (3).

Defending champion Li Na of China crashed out of the French Open lost to unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in the fourth-round tie 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. Li was attempting to be the first French Open women’s champion to successfully defend the title since Justine Henin in 2007.

Li had a spectacular meltdown in the second set and never recovered, ending up broken seven times by her 26-year-old opponent after a confident start. Shvedova was the sole qualifier remaining in the women’s draw when she beat Li. She had also made it to the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2010, her first time in a Grand Slam last eight.

Notching 41 errors and ending up being broken seven times by her 24-year-old opponent, but after a confident start on Suzanne Lenglen court, the 30-year-old Chinese endured a spectacular meltdown in the second set and never recovered.

Shvedova had to come through qualifying after a knee injury in 2011 saw her ranking plummet to 206. She was a quarter-finalist in 2010. She will now face fourth-seeded Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The fourth-seeded Wimbledon champion brushed aside unseeded American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-2, 6-1.

Li fought back tears behind the microphone. The reporters returning to the French Open title she seized in 2011 and she shot back at the reporters saying that they said she won the title last year and now it has already been a year. She asked not to try to push her down as she just lost one match.

With Li’s loss, the women’s singles draw bracket now even more wide open than before as it had another presumed contender fall here. The seed Victoria Azarenka, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska are gone. So is Serena Williams.

Even Maria Sharapova has a nervous day against an unseeded Czech named Klara Zakopalova. She needed three grueling sets filled with double faults and unforced errors to defeat Zakopalova 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2, and advance to the quarterfinals. Sharapova will assume the world No. 1 ranking if she makes the final.

The tennis betting odds for the upcoming matches on 6 June 2012 – Kaia Kanepi (7/2) vs. Maria Sharapova (2/7), while Yaroslava Shvedova (10/3) vs. Petra Kvitova (1/4).

Atletico Madrid captured its second Europa football League title in three seasons with a 3-0 victory over fellow Spanish team Athletic Bilbao. Two years ago, Atletico beat Fulham in the final and won its last 12 matches in this season’s competition.

In the final, Falcao opened the scoring in seven minutes and then added a second in the 34th before Diego completed Atletico’s win in the 85th. The Colombia striker now has 29 goals in 29 games over two seasons in the Europa League and he topped the competition’s scoring chart for the second straight year. Last year, Falcao was signed from Porto for 40 million Euros after he helped them win the Europa League, and has quickly found his feet at the Calderon.

Atletico’s earnings are only around a quarter of Spain’s big two, and their lack of financial influence may force them to cash in on their prize asset, even though Only Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo have scored more than the Colombia striker has.

On Sunday, the Rojiblancos need to defeat Villarreal at El Madrigal and Malaga drop points at home to Sporting Gijon if they are to finish fourth in La Liga. If this happens then they can clinch a place in the qualifying round of the club game’s most lucrative cup competition.

Atletico CEO Gil Marin has now heaped pressure on Diego Simeone’s men by claiming that the club’s future prosperity hinges on it, even though such an outcome appears unlikely. Gil Marin pointed out that Atletico have survived losing star players in the past, though retaining the Colombia international is of secondary importance. He pointed out that after Torres left they kept winning and after Sergio Aguero left, they still kept winning. He added that the club is bigger than any player is.

Meanwhile, Gil Marin confessed that during the second half of the Europa League final win over Athletic Bilbao, he had become so nervous that he had to leave his seat in the stands. He explained that he left because he was feeling poorly. He added that he walked around the stadium and when he heard the roar of the crowd, he thought that Athletic had scored. After learning that it was 3-0, he was able to breathe again.

Malaga’s meeting with Sporting and Atletico’s crunch clash with Villarreal both kick off at 20.00CET.

Feliciano Lopez defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP Tour US Men’s Clay Court Championship. He won his Houston debut. He is ranked 15th in the world. Lopez secured victory in one hour and 56 minutes. He belted 13 aces past Italy’s Lorenzi and he is seeking to win back-to-back matches for just the second time this year.

On Friday, Juan Monaco and John Isner will be in action in Houston. They are set for respective quarterfinal meetings with Kevin Anderson and Ryan Sweeting. Fifth seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa reached the quarter-finals by beating American Sam Querrey 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-6 (7/2). Anderson next faces fourth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina, who defeated Japan’s Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-3. Anderson has worked hard to get to this point. The 6’7” South African just barely missed a first-round bye. He defeated Joao Souza in straight sets then survived Sam Querrey 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(2) on Thursday. He is now 12-6 for the season.

Qualifier Michael Russell booked a quarterfinal berth at the ATP Tour US Men’s Clay Court Championship by stunning top seed Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-1. He thrilled his hometown fans with that win. It was Russell’s first victory over a top-10 opponent in 13 attempts. It is his first tour-level quarterfinal of 2012. He will face 19-year-old fellow American Ryan Harrison.

Second-seeded John Isner rallied to beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-2. He is playing his opening match after a first-round bye. Isner led America to a Davis Cup triumph in France last weekend at Monte Carlo, just before arriving in Houston. In the quarterfinals of the nations tournament, he won both of his singles matches in the United States’ 3-2 victory. Isner is seeking a first career clay court title and he will face defending champion Sweeting.

Isner and Sweeting will be meeting for the second time this season. This will also be their second meeting for the second time in their careers. Two months ago in Delray Beach, they had initially met. Isner won a second-round encounter 6-3, 6-4. Both Americans are in fine form this year. The world No. 143 will make this tough, but look for Isner to advance in two competitive sets. Various sportsbook odds have Isner as the favorite to clinch the ATP Tour US Men’s Clay Court Championship.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) travel to Green Bay (9-0) to take on the undefeated Packers November 20. The Packers have run through all of their opponents with ease and they look like they are a better team than they were when they won the Super Bowl last February.

Aaron Rodgers is clicking on all cylinders and his ability to spread the ball around the field is making it tough on defenders looking to isolate players like Greg Jennings. Rodgers is tough enough to defend before he stepped it up a notch, now he is impossible to defend against for most defenses.

The Green Bay Packers defense has also stepped it up. They are still struggling against the pass but they have picked up their run defense. Green Bay’s corners have been getting smoked this season. They are giving up almost 300 yards per game through the air.

How can the Buccaneers compete with the Packers? Josh Freeman must work the edges of the field and open up the running game. If Freeman can work the outside of the field with his wide outs it will open up the game for his running back LaGarette Blount.

The Bucs have dropped three games in row heading into this contest.

Freeman can also utilize his tight end, Kellen Winslow. Winslow is a key in this game if he can come into the game with the right attitude. Winslow’s abilities are top shelf but his head is a bit scrambled.

The game should surprise most fans. Many believe Green Bay will blow through Tampa Bay but this is potentially a great matchup and has many football betting fans very excited.

Looking to bet on Chicago today in its game against Los Angeles? Here are a few reasons why a +120 moneyline bet on the underdog Cubs could be a solid wager.

Carlos Zambrano (4-1 4.38) has been pitching well this season and has gone 2-1 in recent starts. Additionally, Zambrano won his last start against the Dodgers 5-1 on Wednesday, May 4. Zambrano has been eating up innings on the mound recently, averaging 7.0 innings per game in those starts.

If Zambrano isn’t able to go the distance, the Cubs’ bullpen should be rested and ready to shoulder the load. Chicago’s relievers have pitched only 8.1 innings in the last three games.

The Cubs have been strong against left-handed pitching lately, going 6-3. That bodes well for Chicago, as it will be facing southpaw Ted Lilly (3-3 4.67). The righty Zambrano could be a problem for Los Angeles as the Dodgers’ hitters have left something to be desired against right-handed pitching going 11-17 on the season.

A bet for the Cubs isn’t signed, sealed and delivered. The recent point differentials for Chicago and Los Angeles suggest that the Cubs might be a little over matched in this game. While both teams have played poorly lately, Chicago has been outscored by 0.94 runs per game compared to 0.76 for the Dodgers. The Cubs have struggled as an underdog. When the money is against them, they have won just 40.0% of their recent games.

For those interested in wagering on point totals, this game might not be the best candidate. The over/under is set at 7.5, nearly identical to the 7.58 combined run average of both squads, making this game too close to call.

For a nationwide series race at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Busch drove into success lane for the first time. The win in Friday’s Royal Purple 200 did not come easy for Busch.

At this tricky 1.366-mile track, Busch overcame an early-race encounter with the wall and survived a multi-car crash just after the halfway point to win his first nationwide event.

Battling fellow Sprint Cup Series was regular Kasey Kahne for the lead on lap 17, while Busch scraped the wall but suffered no considerable harm to his car. Just after a restart on lap 95, Busch narrowly escaped from being caught up in an eight-car accident. With 24 laps remaining, he passed Nationwide regular Elliott Sadler for the lead and then easily beat his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, at the finish by 3.7 seconds.

By virtue of being fastest in Friday morning’s only nationwide practice session, Busch started from the pole. Rain had washed out qualifying round including the final 24, he led the first lap, and then led three other times for 48 more laps. He easily beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, then Elliott Sadler, points leader Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne (pole-winner for Saturday night’s 501-mile Cup race), Reed Sorenson, Jason Leffler and Ricky Stenhouse Jr..

The win probably astonished those who watched Busch slap the wall a time or two and almost wreck a handful of other times. Denny Hamlin came in second. Sadler finished third, series points leader Justin Allgaier was fourth and Steve Wallace finished fifth. After 10 races, Allgaier leads Sadler by five points.

On Saturday April 23^rd at the Home Depot Center, the Los Angeles Galaxy will lock horn with the Portland Timbers. In the Western Conference this will be a clash between some of the top teams. The Timbers are hoping to celebrate something else by the end of the evening while Los Angeles will celebrate Earth Day at their home ground.

In soccer betting lines, for this matchup soccer odds are not yet available.

The Galaxy, a number two ranking in the Western Conference, head into this game with a 3-1-3 record. So far no other team besides Real Salt Lake has matched Galaxy’s 12 points. With a 2-2-1 record and 7 points which place them at the fourth spot in the conference, the Timbers will arrive in Los Angeles.

As losses are not part of the conversation, April has been a solid month for both teams. In the offensive aspects there is a major difference though. While the Timbers have found the back of the goal’s net eight times in three games, the Galaxy have scored only four goals in four games this month. While Galaxy plays a reserved and slow paced game, these numbers clearly indicate that Portland is an explosive team.

Because of the recent victory against Chicago Fire, Los Angeles head into Saturday’s game with confidence. The Galaxy managed to walk away from Toyota Park with a 2-1 win playing without star players David Beckham (suspended) and Landon Donovan (injured). Over the Chicago Fire last week the Timbers had an even more impressive 4-2 victory though.

From Jewsbury, Wallace, Cooper, Wallace and Perlaza, Portland has a diverse arsenal of offensive power. Each player has taken plenty of chances at the opponent’s goals as they each have scored two goals this season. In online free picks, the betting odds for this matchup have not yet published.