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Fox Sports
4 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Sovereignty, Journalism, Baeza are 'top tier' in crop of Belmont Stakes horses
The 2025 Belmont Stakes — the third and final leg of the Triple Crown — takes place Saturday at Saratoga Race Course and FOX has you covered. Our television coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET, and yours truly and Geoff Schwartz will handle digital duties all afternoon on the Bear Bets social platforms. See you there. Due to construction at Belmont Park, this year's Belmont is being held at Saratoga. It'll be run at 1 ¼ miles instead of the traditional mile and a half. Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty is back in the mix, as is third-place Derby finisher Baeza to form a three-headed monster with Preakness winner Journalism. Those three horses are the undoubted heavy hitters. Odds to win 2025 Belmont Stakes 1. Hill Road: 10/12. Sovereignty: 2/13. Rodriguez: 6/14. Uncaged: 30/15. Crudo: 15/16. Baeza: 4/17. Journalism: 8/5 8. Heart of Honor: 30/1 As I've always said, I bet the horses but lean on my guys. Handicapper Colin Sheehan from Trust the Prophets is two-for-two in this year's Triple Crown after nailing Sovereignty at Churchill Downs and Journalism at Pimlico. "Heading into the Derby, I believed Sovereignty, Journalism and Baeza were the top tier of this year's crop," Sheehan told me. "The Derby and Preakness only confirmed that. This was not the year to get cute. "I'm not straying from the top three." Sheehan pointed out how the Preakness-to-Belmont turnaround is historically difficult, with Justify and American Pharoah being the only horses in recent years to run in both races and emerge victorious at the Belmont. "For that reason, I'm fading Journalism," Sheehan continued. "I'm sticking with my Derby pick, Sovereignty. He's been flawless this year under Junior Alvarado, and it's telling that his Hall of Fame trainer stuck to the plan of skipping the Preakness despite the Triple Crown temptation. "Sovereignty is back on his home track and looks fantastic. He eats up ground in the stretch like no other and, for my money, he remains the best 3-year-old horse in the country. He should be right there." Elsewhere, Florida-based handicapper Kirk Rockwell eyes speed. "Speed has been holding the last two days on Saratoga's main track," Rockwell told me Friday morning. "A speedy frontrunner like Rodriguez could get out front and hang on for dear life." As long as I've known Uncle Kirk, he's zigged while others zag. "Remember, it's a shorter race than usual," Rockwell added. "Rodriguez should be out front early. We'll see if he can finish late at a price." So there you have it, actionable thoughts from successful horse handicappers that are all much, much smarter than I am when it comes to this stuff. Here's what I'm betting on Saturday: $100 [2] Sovereignty to win$50 [3] Rodriguez to win and place $36 three-dollar exacta box with 1-2-3-6 Good luck, all. Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and the BetMGM Network. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from Horse Racing Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Fox Sports
10-02-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Bear Bets: A look at the wagers Bear, Geoff successfully hit in Super Bowl LIX
Super Bowl LIX is officially in the books, with the Eagles taking down the Chiefs 40-22 in a rematch from 2023. Super Bowl Sunday is always one of the days when sportsbooks see a ton of action, with people all over the country making wagers. And for the entire week leading up to the big game, Chris "The Bear" Fallica and Geoff Schwartz discussed several bets they liked and considered wagering on. From player props involving the usual suspects like Saquon Barkley and Patrick Mahomes, to some more exotic bets involving punters and other sports — the hosts of the Bear Bets podcast provided tons of insight from a gambling perspective this entire week. But which bets did the two FOX Sports Gambling analysts successfully hit? Below, we've listed all the wagers they nailed, along with the odds given at the time of the bet being placed. Let's take a look: The Bear Saquon Barkley's first rush UNDER 4.5 yards (-130 at DraftKings) After dominating the playoffs, with over 400-plus rushing yards to his name and multiple touchdown runs of 60-plus yards, taking the Under on his first rushing attempt was risky. But the Chiefs run defense was able to hold him in check, limiting him to 57 rushing yards on the day. Barkley's first rush of the game went for four yards in the first quarter. Patrick Mahomes' first rush OVER 6.5 yards (-110 at DraftKings) This bet was truly a sweat, as the Chiefs quarterback was sacked six times in the game and had very little time in the pocket. Still, Mahomes' first rush attempt went for eight yards in the third quarter, and he finished with 25 on the day. Matt Araiza to record a touchback on any punt (+225 at FanDuel) While many didn't expect this game to see a ton of punts, there were eight of them and Araiza had six on his own. This bet cashed easily, as he recorded two touchbacks with 311 punt yards on the day. His first touchback on a punt came in the first quarter. Saquon Barkley's longest rush UNDER 24.5 yards (-110 at DraftKings) As mentioned earlier, the superstar running back only finished with 57 yards rushing. Barkley's longest run of the game was 10 yards and didn't come until the second half. He finishes the season with 2,504 rushing yards and 2,857 scrimmage yards — both NFL single-season records including the playoffs. Total passing TDs greater than total goals in Saturday's Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid match (-140 at SuperBook) It's always fun to make cross-sport wagers, and what better way to bet on the Super Bowl is there than involving some European soccer in the mix? In the Madrid derby, the final score was 1-1, laying a total of two goals. Hurts and Mahomes combined for five touchdown passes in a game that saw 62 total points, making this an easy victory. Highest scoring half to be second half (-125 at DraftKings) With the Chiefs going up 24-0 in the first half, it was questionable whether we'd see a lot of points in the second half. But with Mahomes & Co. playing catch-up, the three-time Super Bowl MVP tossed three touchdown passes in the second half to make the score somewhat respectable. That, along with 16 points from the Eagles, cashed this bet in, with the second half seeing 38 total points scored. Patrick Mahomes OVER 250 pass yards (-130 at DraftKings) Another sweat here, as Mahomes struggled all day. It wasn't looking good after two quarters. He only had 33 passing yards in the first half, which was the fifth fewest ever by a quarterback in the first half of a Super Bowl. But as mentioned above, Mahomes rallied and threw three touchdowns, two of which were over 45 yards. He finished with 257 passing yards. Saquon Barkley's longest rush UNDER 24.5 yards (-110 at DraftKings) Great minds think alike! Geoff hammered this bet just like Bear and it paid off. JuJu Smith-Schuster OVER 1.5 receptions (-146 at FanDuel) Entering the Super Bowl, JuJu Smith-Schuster played in 16 games this season (including the playoffs), and had between one and two catches in nine of them. However, he also had zero catches in six outings. But the USC product made this bet an early win, recording two receptions in the first quarter of the game. It was good fortune he got it going early, as those were the only two catches he'd have for the entire game! Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
