The brief Los Alamitos Winter Thoroughbred meet winds down over the upcoming weekend with a race designed especially for 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome as a prep for his final start in next months $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, and as a fan farewell event for the state-bred hero who has stabled at Los Al for the majority of his amazing career. Custom Atlanta Braves Jerseys .The $180,000 Winter Challenge Stakes drew a field of 12, two of those also-eligibles, with California Chrome slated to start on the outside in post position 10. Each of the starters are guaranteed at least $10,000 if they finish the race, which would seem to be the only plausible reason the connections of several of Chromes foes would have to contest what is shaping up like a 1-1/16-mile paid workout for the future Hall of Fame racehorse.As a celebration and a fond goodbye to Chrome from his Southern California fans, the Winter Challenge is a cant-miss event. But for those looking to turn a profit by wagering on Chrome on Saturday, its a certainty that even the payoffs for bets like the exacta and trifecta will be quite modest given that Chrome is practically a cinch to leave the gate at odds of 1-to-10.Eight of the nine other horses scheduled to start in the Winter Challenge exit optional-claiming or straight claiming races, the only exception being Longacres Mile winner Point Piper (#4), whose most recent start was a runner-up finish to Midnight Storm in the Native Diver Stakes. That Jerry Hollendorfer-trained 6-year-old is an honest horse who has hung tough against the likes of Dortmund and Effinex over the past year or so, and I figure Mario Gutierrez will be wise enough not to challenge Chrome through the early stages of the race and shoot for the runner-up check.Point Piper will probably be the second wagering choice at post time, and, with a $20 budget, I will include him underneath California Chrome in an $8 exacta. With the remaining $12, Ill select three other horses that should have longer odds and use them with Point Piper in a $1 trifecta in the second and third slots behind Chrome. Papacoolpapacool (#9) has made all but one of his 18 career starts on either turf or synthetic surfaces. The gelding has two stakes wins on turf, and like Point Piper, has shown the ability to fashion a decent closing kick with a good trip.The other two horses, Lucky J Lane (#6) and Avanti Bello (#7), also have some stakes experience, particularly Avanti Bello. That Doug ONeill-trained 4-year-old is probably the most consistent racehorse in the Winter Challenge aside from California Chrome, having finished in the top three in eight of his 11 starts this year.Betting strategy on a $20 budget $8 exacta: 10 with 4 $1 trifecta: 10 with 4,6,7,9 with 4,6,7,9 ($12)For more stories like this check out Americas Best Racing. Atlanta Braves Gear . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Cheap Braves Jerseys . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. https://www.cheapbraves.com/ . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Lynx were backed into a corner after a Game 1 loss on their home floor to the star-studded Los Angeles Sparks.No time to panic for this battle-tested group. The defending champions know just how to respond.Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Lynx even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 79-60 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night.This team bounces back well. We cant stay down for too long, Moore said. And Im a part of that. I wanted to bring that energy and thats what I took on myself personally today.Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 15 boards and Minnesota held Los Angeles to 32.9 percent shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1. Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Minnesota dominated on the glass, 46-32, to pull away.We played like this game was more important to them than it was to us and thats unfortunate, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. You dont get these opportunities often, so you have to play like you might not get this game back.Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks, who head back home for the next two games in the best-of-five series. Candace Parker was quiet with six points on 3-for-12 shooting and the Sparks missed 17 of 20 3-pointers.The Lynx are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002. A win in this series would also give Minnesota its fourth championship, which would tie the Lynx with the Houston Comets for most in league history.Last year the Lynx lost Game 1 at Target Center to the Indiana Fever, but rebounded to win that series in five games. But they know they face an even more capable challenger this year.We know what we needed to do, Augustus said. We watched the entire footage from Game 1 and saw where we made mistakes.Neither team led by more than five points during an air-tight Game 1 that Los Angeles won at the buzzer on a jumper from Alana Beard. The first 16 minutes of Game 2 were just as competitive, but Moore and the Lynx seized control in the final four minutes of the second quarter.After going scoreless in the firstt half of Game 1, Moore got rolling during a 17-3 blitz to close the period. Braves Jerseys 2020. She hit two 3s and a layup, then picked Parkers pocket and heaved a three-quarter length outlet to a streaking Lindsay Whalen for a three-point play and a 37-25 lead.Moore had 12 points in the first half and the Lynx took much better care of the ball after coughing it up 11 times in the first half of Game 1.The Sparks made things interesting with a 14-0 run in the third quarter that made the score 44-41, but Augustus and Moore took over in the fourth to turn back the charge.I think it had a lot to do with our effort, Ogwumike said. Not to say that we dont want it. But you get tired and muddled and youre not focusing on what youre doing, a lot of times confusion can seep in. And I think thats what happened.MVP DISAPPEARS: Ogwumike, the league MVP, scored just two points in the final period, and took just six shots in the entire game. Its a hard job. (Our post players) made it look easy, but its not, Moore said. Shes such an explosive player.REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE: The Lynx parlayed their edge on the glass into a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points. They shot a pedestrian 45 percent from the field, but had 13 offensive rebounds to create more opportunities. When the ball went up on the glass and a shot was taken on either end, they outworked us, Agler said.QUOTABLE: Now I know how Shaq felt in the NBA, -- Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve on the physical play on Fowles in the paint.RECORD RATING: The WNBA instituted a new playoff format this year that seeded teams based on record, not geography. It resulted in the two best teams during the regular season meeting in the finals despite both playing in the Western Conference. Game 1 drew an average audience of 597,000, the most-watched Game 1 ever on ABC, the network announced on Tuesday. It peaked with 693,000 viewers and was the most-watched Game 1 since 1998 broadcast across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.UP NEXT: Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles. ' ' '