Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 6/7/2016

by Doc's Sports - 6/7/2016

Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza has built a reputation as someone who knows his way around a horse track, so in this week's discussion we will find out if he is going with or going against a prohibitive favorite for this Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

Raphael's overall reputation as one of the top sports handicappers in the nation was formed during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry where he became known as the Vegas Sports Informer. At one point in this career, he held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. Since then, he has been splitting his time between Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's Sports' most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: The first two games of this season's NBA Finals between Golden State and Cleveland have not even been close, but we all know what a change of venues can do to quickly tighten things up. Now that LeBron and Co. are basically in a must-win situation, would you go with the Cavaliers at home in Game 3 on Wednesday night?

RE: If the Cavaliers are going to win a game in this series it will most likely be on Wednesday night in Game 3. A loss in this one would probably lead to a four-game sweep, and that would be hard to live down given just how much the Cavaliers were hyped coming into this series.

Doc's Sports: San Jose has had its hands full with slowing down the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals. The Sharks are facing elimination on the road in Thursday's Game 5, so does desperation prevail in this series with a Sharks' win as solid underdogs?

RE: I personally cashed in on four straight "under" tickets in this series, so I would not mind seeing the NHL season come to an end on Thursday night so I can move on to other things. Pittsburgh is eventually going to win it all, so why not do it in front of the home town crowd in Game 5.

Doc's Sports : MMA fighter Brock Lesnar has not fought in a UCF bout since late 2011 to focus on his WWE wrestling career. This past weekend it was announced that he will face Mark Hunt this summer in UFC 200. So, what are your early thoughts on this matchup?

RE: This was a very smart marketing move by both Vince McMahon from the WWE and UFC front man Dana White. In the absence of fighters such as Ronda Rousey and Colin McGregor, the UFC needed a big name to help promote UFC 200 in early July, and Lesnar definitely fits the bill. I would not be surprised to see even more cross promotions between these two organizations in the coming months with WWE's Summer Slam still on the slate.

Doc's Sports : You were not all that high on the US soccer team's chances in this summer's Copa America, and to your point they lost their opening match 2-0 against Columbia this past Saturday. Facing a possible elimination match against Costa Rica in Group A this Tuesday, what is your pick in this one with the US listed as pretty heavy favorites?

RE: The United States should be able to get past Costa Rica in this one given their past success against this team, but they are still going to have to play much better than they did against Columbia. The key will be getting on the board first. If Costa Rica somehow gets the early lead it is going to be a long night for the US team.

Doc's Sports: Right after the Preakness Stakes your early thoughts were to go against Exaggerator as the probable favorite to win this Saturday's Belmont Stakes given the longer distance of this race at 1 ½ miles. Are you still going with that play, and if so which one of the other contenders in the field has the best chance of pulling off the upset?

RE : I still do not think that Exaggerator can hold up over the extra distance in this race. Right now I am focused on the betting odds for a head-to-head matchup against the favorite with both Suddenbreakingnews and Stradivari, but my actual bets will still hinge on the track conditions at Belmont Park this Saturday.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
Expert:	Tony George
Free $60 Account Sign Up

Most Recent Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping