Betting Picks

Don't look now, but those are the Buffalo Bills right there in the midst of playoff contention. It's been a long time since you could say that. The drought goes all the way back to 1999. No NFL team has gone longer without a taste of the postseason than the Bills. But with a win Thursday over the New York Jets, they will top the AFC East standings.

In 51 Super Bowl match-ups, only twice have both teams come from the same state - the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV and the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. Could we be looking at an all-Pennsylvania showdown in Super Bowl LII? Certainly at this stage of the season, the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers look to be the best of the best.

With the winner typically the early favorite for the next Kentucky Derby, Saturday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile features one heavy favorite and and a bunch of other colts looking to show they belong. Twelve two-year-old colts race 1 1/16 miles on the dirt for a purse of $2 million.

The Juvenile Fillies kicks off Saturday's card of nine Breeders' Cup World Championship races from Del Mar race track, with a field of 13 going to the gate. The third of four races for two-year-olds, they'll race 1 1/16 miles on the dirt for a purse of $2 million.

A six furlong drag race on the dirt, the Breeders' Cup Sprint always produces a close finish and the 2017 version on Saturday at Del Mar is likely to be no exception. The race has drawn a well-matched field of 10 colts and geldings, and they'll be running for a purse of $1.5 million.

Despite the presence of a heavy favorite in the field for the 2017 Filly & Mare Sprint, after her the field is wide open in a very tough handicapping race. Open to female runners age three and older, they'll be racing seven furlongs on the dirt for $1 million.

The most unique of the Breeders' Cup races, the Turf Sprint has been run at different distances over its nine-year history depending on the track. For 2017 at Del Mar, the Turf Sprint will be run over a very short 5 furlongs. Limited to 12 horses, it carries a purse of $1 million.

Typically one of the smallest fields in the Breeders' Cup, the Distaff also tends to produce more favorites winning than other BC races. The Distaff is for fillies and mares age three and older, racing 1 1/8 miles on the Del Mar dirt course for a purse of $2 million.

The second race on Day 1 of the Breeders' Cup, the Dirt Mile is for horses aged three and older, and offers a purse of $1 million. Only two post time favorites have won the Dirt Mile in the past 10 years, and in that span the race has produced four winners in double-digit odds.