Sunday's $1 Million Dollar Haskell Features Shackleford and Ruler On Ice

Las Vegas, NV -- Two high profile horses will be going up against each other on Sunday in the $1 million dollar Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park Racetrack. Preakness winner Shackleford takes on Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice. The winner of Sunday's race that can be seen live on ABC gets an automatic spot in November's Breeders' Cup Classic.

Bet on the $1 million dollar Haskell Invitational (Grade 1) horse race at Off Track Betting.

Shackleford the 5-2 Favorite
The Preakness winner is the 5-2 morning line favorite in horse betting. He will go from post #5 for trainer Dale Romans and be ridden by his normal jockey Jesus Castanon. Shackleford won the Preakness but couldn't handle the distance of the Belmont and finished fifth behind Ruler On Ice. The Haskell is run at a mile and an eighth, which is slightly shorter than the Preakness so the distance should be perfect for Shackleford. The horse is training superbly with two bullet works the past two weeks at Churchill Downs. "He's been training great recently and everything is a go for the Haskell." Romans said.

Ruler On Ice and Pants on Fire
Two of the main challengers to Shackleford appear to be Ruler On Ice and Pants On Fire. Both horses are owned by George and Lori Hall and trained by Kelly Breen. Ruler On Ice has three wins in seven starts.

Pants On Fire is also listed at 4-1. He will start from post #3 and will be ridden by jockey Elvis Trujillo, filling in for normal jockey Rosie Napravnik who is injured. Pants On Fire has three wins and three seconds in his 10 career starts.

Coil
The horse that could pull off the upset in off track betting is Coil, who is trained by Bob Baffert. He has just five career starts but is getting a lot of respect in horse betting odds as he is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Baffert has won the Haskell four times in his career, including last year with Lookin at Lucky..

Here is the full field for the Grade 1 2011 Haskell Invitational: