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Plenty of action on Big Brown

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Times Staff Writer

Ten horses are scheduled to compete in today’s Belmont Stakes in New York but most attention will be placed on Triple Crown contender Big Brown.

After winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, Big Brown is listed as a solid 2-5 favorite to win the Belmont and become the first horse in 30 years to capture the Triple Crown.

For gamblers interested in bigger payouts involving Big Brown in the Belmont, there are numerous proposition bets available at Bodoglife.com. Here are a few of them:

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What will Big Brown’s margin of victory be? 1-5 lengths (1-4), 6-10 lengths (3-1), or more than 10 lengths (11-1); Which position will Big Brown be at the official quarter mile mark? First or second place (even), third to fifth place (5-7) or sixth place or higher (14-1).

Will Big Brown win going wire to wire? Yes (+450) or No (-750); Will Big Brown take the lead and lose it? Yes (+175) or No (-250); Will Big Brown tie or beat Secretariat’s record of a 31-length win in 1973? Yes (+25,000) or No (-50,000).

There are also plenty of prop bets involving other horses in the race, but those involving Casino Drive were removed after it became known he had a hoof injury and was held out of a scheduled workout Friday.

Casino Drive, an early 7-2 second choice, was having the hoof on a hind leg treated with ice and heat.

Auto racing

With 2,050 points, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch leads Jeff Burton by 142 in the Sprint Cup standings heading into this weekend’s Pocono 500 race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

At Sportsbetting.com, Busch is listed as a 5-1 favorite to win Sunday afternoon with Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin both at 6-1. They are followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, who are each listed with 8-1 odds.

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Busch, who has won four races this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, had the same 5-1 odds last week and won the Best Buy 400 in Dover (Del.).

In head-to-head matchup odds for Sunday’s race, Busch is favored (-140) over Edwards (+110); Johnson is favored (-125) over Earnhardt (-105); Hamlin (-145) is favored over Stewart (+115), and Jeff Gordon (-160) is favored over Kasey Kahne (+130).

Mixed-martial arts

With five consecutive victories, Brazilian Thaigo “Pitbull” Alves is one of the hottest mixed-martial arts fighters around but he’s listed as a +160 underdog for his match against former middleweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 85 in London.

Hughes, who has a 42-6 MMA record, including 15-4 in the UFC, is listed as a -200 favorite, according to Sportsbook.com. Alves, who has won five consecutive fights, has a 14-3 MMA record.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com

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