 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bookies favour Alinghi
LONDON, England -- British bookmakers William Hill are taking bets on the outcome of both the Louis Vuitton Cup elimination series and the America's Cup. William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe told CNN: "We have run a book on the America's Cup for many years. "The 2003 event looks far more open than previous years and we are optimistic there well be plenty of interest and a good volume of turnover." The nine challengers are about to end their phoney war with the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup less than two weeks away on October 1. Until then it is difficult to trust the information that has been coming out of Auckland, New Zealand. Most days there are informal races between different teams but there is an agreement that no official scoring or press announcements are made.
By nightfall, however, the America's Cup rumour mill is working overtime and by morning the news has been spread worldwide on the Internet. The bookmakers seem to have been listening to the rumours that suggest the highly rated Swiss Alinghi Challenge, led by Team New Zealand defector Russell Coutts, have been performing the best in the informal encounters. Alinghi, one of the best funded teams with a war chest of over $55 million, is the clear favourite to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to meet Team New Zealand in the 31st America's Cup in February 2003. The Swiss team is funded by pharmaceutical billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, who is sailing on board as navigator. The all-conquering Team New Zealand, however, is odds on favourites for a third America's Cup victory at 4-6 on. Prada, the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup last time, who then were crushed 5-0 by Team New Zealand in the 2000 America's Cup final, is seen as the most likely runners up at 3-1 for the Louis Vuitton Cup and 13-2 for the cup.
Surprisingly, for a country that held the Cup for over 140 years, the three American challengers are ranked as outsiders. Oracle, the team with the biggest budget, believed to be over $80 million, is considered the best of the three at 7-1. In a world where both money and experience count, the Italian Mascalzone Latino is seen as the team most likely to fall at the first hurdle at the end of October when the first of the nine challengers will be eliminated. One thing that seems certain with so much being spent on design and with so many defections from the winning Team New Zealand of 2000 is that the cup will not be such a one sided match as we have witnessed in the past. Odds Louis Vuitton Cup challenger elimination series Alinghi Swiss Challenge (SUI) 11-8 Prada Challenge (ITA) 3-1 Oracle Racing (USA) 7-2 OneWorld Challenge (USA) 11-2 Team Dennis Conner (USA) 13-2 Victory Challenge (SWE) 20-1 GBR Challenge (GB) 20-1 Le Defi Areva (FRA) 28-1 Mascalzone Latino (ITA) 33-1 Odds America's Cup Match Team New Zealand (NZL) 4-6 Alinghi Swiss Challenge (SUI) 4-1 Prada Challenge (ITA) 13-2 Oracle Racing (USA) 7-1 Oneworld Challenge (USA) 9-1 Team Dennis Conner (USA) 11-1 Victory Challenge (SWE) 50-1 GBR Challenge (GB) 50-1 Le Defi Areva (FRA) 100-1 Mascalzone Latino (ITA) 125-1
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
