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Panthers are aiming to bash the bookies
PANTHERS are bidding to bash the bookies after being billed as one of the big outsiders for the Elite League title this year.
PANTHERS are bidding to bash the bookies after being billed as one of the big outsiders for the Elite League title this year.The city side are a whopping 16-1 to win the title in 2008 – a price that makes them the second favourites to suffer the first relegation from the top flight of British speedway.
And the bookies' bombshell has left Panthers co-promoter Mick Bratley stunned.
He admitted: "I never envisaged this in a million years. I expected us to be among the favourites.
"I can't for the life of me begin to understand what the bookies were thinking about when they made us 16-1. They must have put the market together while spending an afternoon in the pub.
"I had a text from the Poole promoter Matt Ford saying that our price is crazy – he was even tempted to have a little bet on us.
"Myself and Matt are both united in our belief that there will be little change to the top four from last season, with Lakeside probably replacing Swindon in the play-off reckoning.
"But just like having our reserves constantly written off, this is another source of motivation for our riders this year."
Bratley might be bullish about Panthers' chances, but those at bookies Stan James think differently.
The first major firm to issue prices on the 2008 campaign clearly don't rate Panthers' chances.
They make Panthers 16-1 long shots to recapture the crown they won in 2006. They are joint second biggest outsiders alongside Ipswich with only 20-1 chances Belle Vue below them in the market.
Elite League odds:
2-1 - Poole
11-4 - Lakeside
9-2 - Coventry
15-2 - Eastbourne
8-1 - Wolverhampton
12-1 - Swindon
16-1 - Ipswich/Panthers
20-1 - Belle Vue
n Stan James make Panthers captain Hans Andersen (right) fourth favourite to win the world title.
Andersen finished fifth last year, despite not hitting best form on the World Championship stage.
Reigning champion Nicki Pedersen is a hot 5-4 to retain the title.
World Championship odds:
5-4 - Nicki Pedersen
9-4 - Jason Crump
6-1 - Leigh Adams
7-1 - Hans Andersen
10-1 - Andreas Jonsson
20-1 - Tomasz Gollob
25-1 - Greg Hancock
33-1 - Scott Nicholls
40-1 - Freddie Lindgren/Chris Harris
50-1 - Bjarne Pedersen/Kris Kasprzak/Rune Holta
100-1 - Niels Kristian Iversen/Lukas Dryml
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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