What happened in yesterday’s racing action?

Favourite backers didn’t have a great day at Carlisle yesterday, with only one our of the seven races won by the most fancied horse. With Nurse Susan, ridden by Harry Skelton, winning the opener as 2/1F, punters could be forgiven for looking at the favourites over the rest of the card but some short priced horses didn’t quite get there. Minella Drama, evens favourite in the 2.10, was 2^nd, as was 6/4F Captain Biggles in the next, beaten by 28/1 Time Leader.

Favourite Rush (settled at 10)

Sellers of the Favourite Rush index, set at 37-39, banked 27 times their bet, with Nurse Susan the only favourite to do the business all afternoon. The Favourite Rush market awards points for each favourite that wins across the card. It’s 10 points for 1 winner, 20 points for 2, 33 for 3, 50 for 4, 70 for 5 and 100 for 6 or more.

What was the pick of Monday’s football action?

Salford City scored an early goal at Dagenham & Redbridge and held on manfully to avoid an upset and make it through to the FA Cup second round. The League Two side went ahead after just three minutes through a Jordan Turnbull header from a corner and while their National League opponents tried everything possible, they couldn’t find a way past Connor Ripley. Salford, who have never made it to the 3^rd round, when all the big boys join the competition, are in round two for a second straight season.

Multi-Bookings (settled at 0)

Despite this being a proper Cup tie between non-league hosts and Football League visitors looking to avoid a giant killing, the ref kept his cards in his pocket for the most part, with just three bookings in the game. Multi-Bookings is made up of total 1^st half booking points multiplied by total 2^nd half bookings points, and as all three were in the 2^nd half, the Multi-Bookings index settled at 0. Pre-match the spread was set at 220-290, so sellers made the maximum 220 times their stake.

What happened in the NBA last night?

Say it quietly, but for the first time since Michael Jordan retired (for the 2^nd time), the Chicago Bulls may have a team set to challenge for the NBA title. The Bulls made a statement with a 118-95 victory over title favourites Brooklyn last night. DeMar DeRozen had 28 points and Zach LaVine 24 as the Bulls streaked away in the final quarter, outscoring the Nets by 25. Kevin Durant tied his season high with 38 but didn’t get much support, James Harden being held to just 14 points. The Bulls have invested heavily in building a team to challenge around LaVine, and on this evidence, they may be on to something.

Chicago Points (settled at 118)

The Bulls made some big moves in the off-season, some of which have been sneered at as over-paying by the experts, but there’s no doubt this is an improved line-up with multiple scoring threats where in the past LaVine has been left to do all the heavy lifting himself. DeRozen is not the three-point threat that the current NBA demands every player should be, but he’s a great scorer, and he paced the Bulls attack last night to victory. Chicago’s points spread was set at 107-110 before the game started, so buyers made 8 times their bet as the Bulls piled it on in the final quarter, scoring 42.