Saturday night in Las Vegas always is quite a time and place. Case in point: Last night, I shook Cyndi Lauper's hand, talked meat with the CEO of Omaha Steaks and baseball with Greg Maddux. (He likes ABS.)
🏇 Kentucky Derby: Favorite draws the rail
The Kentucky Derby draw gave us the first real storyline of Derby Week.
Renegade, the 4-1 favorite, drew the dreaded No. 1 post. No horse has won the Kentucky Derby from the rail since Ferdinand in 1986.
That gave the draw immediate betting consequences, and VSiN’s horse racing crew wasted no time reacting.
On Saturday’s Ready, Set, Bet, Matt Brown and Mike Somich were live for the draw and immediately zeroed in on the biggest development: Renegade's post position.
Mike had been looking for a reason to toss the favorite. He got one.
Mike Repole, Renegade’s outspoken owner, wasn’t backing down after the draw.
“I wouldn’t trade places with anyone heading into this Kentucky Derby. I’ll take Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., and the best horse in the race — Renegade — from the 1 post every time. Is it ideal??? No.” (Repole on X)
The show also featured Danny Moses, who owns a piece of both Litmus Test (No. 6) and Fulleffort (No. 20). Moses liked the draw for both — especially Fulleffort, a closer at 20-1.
👉 Listen to the Derby draw breakdown on Ready, Set, Bet →
👉 Adam Burke's Winners & Losers of the draw →
We’ll publish our Kentucky Derby Betting Guide on Tuesday for VSiN Pro subscribers.
Not a VSiN Pro subscriber? Our Triple Crown special gets you full VSiN Pro access through the Belmont Stakes on June 6 for $14.99 — including the Derby Betting Guide and Daily Racing Form past performances.
👉 Get the Triple Crown special →
👉 Today's Churchill Downs picks →
Renegade, the 4-1 favorite, drew the dreaded No. 1 post. No horse has won the Kentucky Derby from the rail since Ferdinand in 1986.
That gave the draw immediate betting consequences, and VSiN’s horse racing crew wasted no time reacting.On Saturday’s Ready, Set, Bet, Matt Brown and Mike Somich were live for the draw and immediately zeroed in on the biggest development: Renegade's post position.
Mike had been looking for a reason to toss the favorite. He got one.
Mike Repole, Renegade’s outspoken owner, wasn’t backing down after the draw.
“I wouldn’t trade places with anyone heading into this Kentucky Derby. I’ll take Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., and the best horse in the race — Renegade — from the 1 post every time. Is it ideal??? No.” (Repole on X)
The show also featured Danny Moses, who owns a piece of both Litmus Test (No. 6) and Fulleffort (No. 20). Moses liked the draw for both — especially Fulleffort, a closer at 20-1.
👉 Listen to the Derby draw breakdown on Ready, Set, Bet →
👉 Adam Burke's Winners & Losers of the draw →
We’ll publish our Kentucky Derby Betting Guide on Tuesday for VSiN Pro subscribers.
Not a VSiN Pro subscriber? Our Triple Crown special gets you full VSiN Pro access through the Belmont Stakes on June 6 for $14.99 — including the Derby Betting Guide and Daily Racing Form past performances.
👉 Get the Triple Crown special →
👉 Today's Churchill Downs picks →
🏀 NBA Playoffs: Lakers for the sweep?
The Lakers have been underdogs in all four games of this series — and enter Sunday one win from a sweep as +4.5 dogs in Houston.
Cavs (-3.5) at Raptors, 1 ET (ESPN). Total: 220.5. CLE leads 2-1.
Spurs (-5.5) at Trail Blazers, 3:30 ET (ESPN). Total: 218.5. SA leads 2-1.
Celtics (-7.5) at 76ers, 7 ET (NBC). Total: 214.5. BOS leads 2-1.
Lakers (+4.5) at Rockets, 9:30 ET (NBC). Total: 207.5. LA leads 3-0.
AI analysis of Steve Makinen’s analytics report landed on two top plays for Sunday:
• Lakers +4.5
• Celtics-76ers Under 214.5
👉 Steve’s trends, systems and Game 4 ratings →
Cavs (-3.5) at Raptors, 1 ET (ESPN). Total: 220.5. CLE leads 2-1.
Spurs (-5.5) at Trail Blazers, 3:30 ET (ESPN). Total: 218.5. SA leads 2-1.
Celtics (-7.5) at 76ers, 7 ET (NBC). Total: 214.5. BOS leads 2-1.
Lakers (+4.5) at Rockets, 9:30 ET (NBC). Total: 207.5. LA leads 3-0.
AI analysis of Steve Makinen’s analytics report landed on two top plays for Sunday:
• Lakers +4.5
• Celtics-76ers Under 214.5
👉 Steve’s trends, systems and Game 4 ratings →
🧠 Zach Cohen’s NBA Report
Moving Day
Saturday is known as “Moving Day” in golf, as the third round means the cut is in the rearview mirror and it’s time to get aggressive about climbing the leaderboard. We don’t really have an equivalent in basketball, but Saturday felt massive for several first-round series.
In Pistons-Magic, Orlando responded to a Game 2 beatdown with a 113-105 win at the Kia Center. The Magic led by as many as 17, then had to survive a late Detroit push after the Pistons grabbed a 105-104 lead with 2:52 to play. Franz Wagner answered with a couple of enormous buckets and effectively stuck the knife in the East’s top seed. Orlando now leads the series 2-1 and gets a chance to take control Monday. FanDuel still has Detroit favored to advance, but only barely: Pistons -118, Magic +100.
A little later, the Knicks evened up their series with the Hawks. After two ugly defensive performances, New York finally tightened things up and held Atlanta to 105.4 points per 100 possessions. The Knicks defended at a much higher level, made enough shots, and now head back to Madison Square Garden with a chance to take a 3-2 lead on Tuesday.
The final game was the one that might end up changing the shape of the entire postseason. Minnesota, despite losing Donte DiVincenzo to a torn Achilles and Anthony Edwards to a hyperextended knee, still found a way to beat Denver. The Timberwolves are now up 3-1, and Rudy Gobert continues to make life miserable for Nikola Jokic. If Minnesota closes this out, San Antonio likely gets a wounded opponent in Round 2. But if Edwards is done for the series — and that feels possible — Denver is going to believe it can still win three straight with two of the next three at home.
The Wolves also gave Denver a little extra fuel. Jaden McDaniels scored in the final 10 seconds of Game 4 with the game already decided, which sparked a scuffle and gave the Nuggets some fresh bulletin-board material heading into Game 5. The bad blood is real now. Let’s just hope nobody ends up suspended.
👉 Zach’s NBA picks →
👉 NBA player prop projections from Opta AI →
Check back Sunday morning for sides, totals and player props from Zach’s full Sunday breakdown.
👉 Zach’s NBA picks →
👉 NBA player prop projections from Opta AI →
Saturday is known as “Moving Day” in golf, as the third round means the cut is in the rearview mirror and it’s time to get aggressive about climbing the leaderboard. We don’t really have an equivalent in basketball, but Saturday felt massive for several first-round series.
In Pistons-Magic, Orlando responded to a Game 2 beatdown with a 113-105 win at the Kia Center. The Magic led by as many as 17, then had to survive a late Detroit push after the Pistons grabbed a 105-104 lead with 2:52 to play. Franz Wagner answered with a couple of enormous buckets and effectively stuck the knife in the East’s top seed. Orlando now leads the series 2-1 and gets a chance to take control Monday. FanDuel still has Detroit favored to advance, but only barely: Pistons -118, Magic +100.
A little later, the Knicks evened up their series with the Hawks. After two ugly defensive performances, New York finally tightened things up and held Atlanta to 105.4 points per 100 possessions. The Knicks defended at a much higher level, made enough shots, and now head back to Madison Square Garden with a chance to take a 3-2 lead on Tuesday.
The final game was the one that might end up changing the shape of the entire postseason. Minnesota, despite losing Donte DiVincenzo to a torn Achilles and Anthony Edwards to a hyperextended knee, still found a way to beat Denver. The Timberwolves are now up 3-1, and Rudy Gobert continues to make life miserable for Nikola Jokic. If Minnesota closes this out, San Antonio likely gets a wounded opponent in Round 2. But if Edwards is done for the series — and that feels possible — Denver is going to believe it can still win three straight with two of the next three at home.
The Wolves also gave Denver a little extra fuel. Jaden McDaniels scored in the final 10 seconds of Game 4 with the game already decided, which sparked a scuffle and gave the Nuggets some fresh bulletin-board material heading into Game 5. The bad blood is real now. Let’s just hope nobody ends up suspended.
👉 Zach’s NBA picks →
👉 NBA player prop projections from Opta AI →
Check back Sunday morning for sides, totals and player props from Zach’s full Sunday breakdown.
👉 Zach’s NBA picks →
👉 NBA player prop projections from Opta AI →
⚡ Smart Edge: Don’t miss the moves
Sunday markets move fast — especially in the playoffs.
From injury news to sharp buyback, timing matters. Tracking real-time screen movement can be the difference between +4.5 and +3.5.
👉 Track real-time line movement →
👉 Start your free trial (use code VSIN10 for 10% off)
From injury news to sharp buyback, timing matters. Tracking real-time screen movement can be the difference between +4.5 and +3.5.
👉 Track real-time line movement →
👉 Start your free trial (use code VSIN10 for 10% off)
🏒 NHL Best Bets
Jonathan Davis will have his Sunday NHL card posted this morning.
Sabres (-105) at Bruins (-115), 2 ET (TNT). BUF leads 2-1.
Avalanche (-170) at Kings (+142), 4:30 ET (TNT). COL leads 3-0.
Lightning (-115) at Canadiens (-105), 7 ET (ESPN). MTL leads 2-1.
Oilers (-135) at Ducks (+114), 9:30 ET (ESPN). ANA leads 2-1.
👉 JD's NHL picks →
Sabres (-105) at Bruins (-115), 2 ET (TNT). BUF leads 2-1.
Avalanche (-170) at Kings (+142), 4:30 ET (TNT). COL leads 3-0.
Lightning (-115) at Canadiens (-105), 7 ET (ESPN). MTL leads 2-1.
Oilers (-135) at Ducks (+114), 9:30 ET (ESPN). ANA leads 2-1.
👉 JD's NHL picks →
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⚾ MLB Best Bets
News of the day: The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora, plus five coaches, after a 17-1 victory over the Orioles.
Greg Peterson has Sunday's board covered (including a play on the Red Sox), with Adam Burke and Steve Makinen adding more later this morning.
👉 Greg’s Best Bets →
👉 More MLB coverage →
👉 MLB player prop projections from Opta AI →
Greg Peterson has Sunday's board covered (including a play on the Red Sox), with Adam Burke and Steve Makinen adding more later this morning.
👉 Greg’s Best Bets →
👉 More MLB coverage →
👉 MLB player prop projections from Opta AI →
⚡ Quick Hits
🏁 NASCAR: Talladega chaos
Qualifying was washed out Saturday, so the Jack Link’s 500 grid was set by formula — and that only adds to the randomness at Talladega.
With no driver shorter than 10-1, this is a true superspeedway scramble. Steve Makinen’s final simulation projects Bubba Wallace (+1600) on top, followed by Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski.
Makinen’s Top 5: Logano, Wallace, Cindric, Briscoe, Keselowski
👉 More NASCAR coverage →
👉 Simulation + odds hub →
⚽ EPL best bets →
Qualifying was washed out Saturday, so the Jack Link’s 500 grid was set by formula — and that only adds to the randomness at Talladega.
With no driver shorter than 10-1, this is a true superspeedway scramble. Steve Makinen’s final simulation projects Bubba Wallace (+1600) on top, followed by Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski.
Makinen’s Top 5: Logano, Wallace, Cindric, Briscoe, Keselowski
👉 More NASCAR coverage →
👉 Simulation + odds hub →
⚽ EPL best bets →
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