Sports Betting Weekend: Preakness Stakes
The horses run wild again this weekend with the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, set for Saturday afternoon.
After winning the Kentucky Derby, undefeated Nyquist is a -175 favorite at online sportsbook Bovada to keep his winning streak going in the Preakness. The only other horses in the 11-horse field that also ran in the Derby are Exaggerator (+375) and Lani (+4000).
The schedule makers have delivered a bit of a strange one in the NBA this weekend. There are no games on Friday night, while the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers square off in Game 3 of their series on Saturday. On Sunday the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder return to the court for Game 3 of their series after three days off.
The Raptors and Cavaliers meet up in Game 2 on Thursday and after the way Cleveland dominated the opener it was no surprise they were set as a 13.5-point favorite at Bovada. The latest series odds at Bovada had Cleveland as the -5000 favorite to win.
The Warriors and Thunder head to Oklahoma City with their series tied 1-1. Golden State won Game 2 by a score of 118-91 as a 9-point favorite behind another deadly shooting performance from Stephen Curry. At Bovada the Warriors are a -400 favorite to win the series.
In the NHL playoffs on Friday night the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning meet up in Game 4. Pittsburgh took a 2-1 series leads with a 4-2 victory in Game 3. Game 5, which could be a clincher if things go Pittsburgh’s way, is on Sunday.
In between on Saturday the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues clash in Game 4 of their series. Heading into Thursday night’s Game 3 the series was tied at 1-1. At Bovada the Sharks are now a slim series favorite at -125.
The weekend baseball standout matchups include the Texas Rangers at the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs at the San Francisco Giants. The Rangers and Astros met up late last month and Texas swept all three games. That improved the Rangers' record against Houston to 11-2 in their last 13 meetings.
The Cubs and Giants met up seven times last season with Chicago going 5-2. In their last five games in San Francisco the Cubs are a solid 4-1. They’re also 14-4 in road games so far this season.