InstaBram: The Futures is Now

Pop Culture
A Gronkowski Breeders’ Cup and Philadelphia Eagles win total parlay is one of several intriguing future-bet combinations this fall, according to Bram Weinstein. (Eclipse Sportswire/Keith Allison on Wikimedia Commons)

2019 will be amazing for me personally if Instagrand actually wins the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. I have no stake in the horse, never met his connections. But if he wins the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, I get to attempt to ride his coattails to brand confusion. I'm InstaBram, he's Instagrand.

Now, that said, I won't be betting on Instagrand anytime soon because while I'd give my left arm for a giant rush of free exposure, 4-1 on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as a futures bet is not in my gambling constitution. So I can see the future: me losing trying to beat Instagrand at Churchill Downs this fall, but me winning huge when the InstaBram hype gets really real.

The future is bright for other betting options that have some real appeal. Take a look at the numbers you can get for the Breeders’ Cup Classic after Good Magic and Gronkowski got crushed by Catholic Boy in the Runhappy Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets.

You can get Gronk at 22-1. It's football season, people – do you really want to bet against the New England Patriots? 

Good Magic is an eyeball popping 13-1. What happened to that "best 3-year-old in training" stuff? He's worth the risk because if he is all good come early November, that 13-1 is going to look like a gift.

Mendelssohn went from Kentucky Derby no-show to Travers stalker, and you can have him for the fine price of 11-1. My gut says it's not quite high enough to bite, but maybe, just maybe, he's going to peak.

West Coast has been taking it easy this year, but no one is saying that last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic third-place finisher isn't coming back. If you think he's got the goods, still you can get him at 12-1. 

Wonder Gadot proved she wasn't quite ready for the boys at Saratoga, but Monomoy Girl might be a class above, and if those connections get itchy to give the Classic a go, you can have her right now at a whopping 79-1.

Catholic Boy is the new hot ticket, but at 7-1, are you really that much of a believer?

I'd be more likely to take a shot on a career run by Bravazo or Tenfold, and they are worth the risk at 30-1 and 55-1 respectively. 


Now for the real fun. Thanks to the new proliferation of sports gambling around the country, we can put together some unusual NFL/Breeders’ Cup Classic parlays. And if any of these come true, I won't need Instagrand to make InstaBram a legend. 

Gronkowski 22-1/Philadelphia Eagles under 10.5 wins.

Welcome to the NFL where the other annual certainty is that the Patriots will contend for the title. For everyone else, whatever happened the year before gets erased like it never happened. Here's the deal with the Eagles: Carson Wentz is still recovering from a torn ACL. Top receiver Alshon Jeffery will miss at least a couple of weeks. The New York Giants can't possibly be as bad as they were a year ago, and just consider there was no one picking the Eagles to contend at this time last year. The Eagles could win 10 and have that be considered a good season and you'd still win this bet. 

Tenfold 55-1/Minnesota Vikings over 10 wins.

Kirk Cousins played his hand better then anyone we may have ever seen, leveraging the Washington Redskins into two franchise tags and then unrestricted free agency. Cousins hit the jackpot Tenfold baby! 

Monomoy Girl 79-1/Atlanta Falcons to win the Super Bowl 15-1.

There are a couple of things that have never happened before. No female aside from the sensational Zenyatta has ever won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, so you get a price for arguably the best of the bunch this year in Monomoy Girl. The Vikings came really close last winter to becoming the team to host the Super Bowl. Now Atlanta is on the clock, and with the offense they are rolling out there, they've got a real shot. 

Mendelssohn 11-1/Jacksonville Jaguars over 9 wins.

Mendelssohn shipped over and the wise guys were all over him for the Kentucky Derby. And then he went all Blake Bortles. Well, he looks like he might be heading back into top form after a second-place finish in the Travers. The Jaguars aren't scared of Blake Bortles anymore (we think). They wouldn't take the ball out of his hands like they did in the AFC championship game while trying to milk a lead again, right? Here's what we know: the Jags’ defense might be the best in the league, and that alone is worth giving them double digit wins. 

Good Magic 13-1/Baltimore Ravens over 8 wins.

The price is going to be right on Good Magic, who clearly needed more time between a strong win in the Betfair.com Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park and his lackluster one in the Travers at Saratoga. You’re getting 13-1 on the horse a couple of weeks ago was arguably the favorite in the race. Run. Run Fast. Now, why parlay him with the Ravens? Because they’ve been a sleeping giant for some time and clearly overlooked around the hype that the Cleveland Browns might be something other then awful and the Pittsburgh Steelers are unstoppable. What if Big Ben's time is about up? What if LeVeon Bell doesn't bounce back from another long holdout? Look, I'm not asking you to buy into the scenario of witnessing some Lamar Jackson trick-play touchdown in the Super Bowl, but the Ravens having a winning record feels like a lock. 

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