Weekend Wagers: Eight bets on eight sports including on the three big races

By Case Keefer (contact)

Saturday, May 25, 2024 | 2 a.m.

Racing fans can cozy up in a sportsbook chair for 13 or more straight hours Sunday without ever growing bored.

Memorial Day Weekend is annually motorsports’ time to shine with F1’s Monaco Grand Prix, IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 all taking place on Sunday.

The marathon of horsepower begins at 6 a.m. local time from Monaco and shouldn’t conclude until after 7 p.m. in Charlotte.

Last year Weekend Wagers joined in on the fun by betting on all three races, and it couldn’t have gotten better. I went 4-0 for a $1,795 profit.

That sets a near-impossibly high bar, but a sequel had to be attempted. The final three bets in this week’s column are all of the automobile variety, with one winner pick for each race.

Read below to find out who I’m betting in Monaco, Indianapolis and Charlotte along with five other bets in five other sports. Odds are the best currently available in Las Vegas at publication time with the sports book noted. Plays outside of the column will be linked and tracked in the record at the bottom of the page.

UFL (3-1, $480): San Antonio Brahmas +9 vs. Birmingham Stallions (South Point)

$275 to win $250

This could be a UFL Championship preview, and the UFL Championship could be closer than Birmingham’s 15-game winning streak hints. But now I’m just getting ahead of myself. First things first, the Brahmas need to show they can play with the Stallions in the penultimate week of the regular season. And why shouldn’t they be able to? Birmingham remains the best team by far but it's quietly come a little back to the pack in the last two weeks with two small-margin, noncover victories. San Antonio meanwhile has won two straight as its offense starts to find its footing with quarterback Quinten Dormady, who took over for the injured Chase Garbers early in the season. San Antonio coach Wade Phillips annually gets the most out of his spring-league teams, and this year is no exception. Birmingham should be favored but it shouldn’t be by more than a touchdown.

NHL (6-2, $750): Logan Stankoven to score a goal in Game 2 of Stars vs. Oilers at +380 (BetMGM)

$100 to win $380

Dallas coach Pete DeBoer has recently played Stankoven most commonly on his team’s top line alongside arguably its two best offensive weapons — Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston. It’s only a matter of time before playing with the dynamic duo pays dividends for the fast and feisty 21-year-old Stankoven. He’s played well in the Stars’ last two games since getting a major uptick in minutes, even if it hasn’t resulted any points. Stankoven should still be a long shot to score, of course, but this not much of one. He’s priced like he’s still being employed as a depth forward, which is a mistake. Stankoven is now one of the focal points of the Stars’ offense.   

NBA (6-2, $2,600): Pascal Siakam under 22.5 points in Game 3 of Pacers vs. Celtics at -115 (STN Sports)

$172.50 to win $150

I’m normally not this heavy on player props, but the pickings are slim as the NBA and NHL inch towards their championship events. The major markets in today’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 look pretty set in place, so let’s swing on something a little different for Weekend Wagers. This is a way to back the Celtics’ defense, which doesn’t deserve anywhere near the level of the criticism its offense regularly draws. Boston has figured it out on the less-glitzy end of the floor all year and should continue to do so against an overmatched opponent here. Siakam has eaten the Celtics up and gone over this total in each of the last two games, but there are adjustments the heavy favorites can make to slow him. The price on his points total has now risen — perhaps partially because of the hamstring injury to Tyrese Haliburton — and that might be a sign to sell high. Don’t let frustration with the Celtics obscure how stout they’ve been on defense consistently.

Major League Baseball (1-3, -$554): Minnesota Twins -130 vs. Texas Rangers (Caesars/William Hill)

$260 to win $200

Both these teams are on skids, but the Rangers’ looks more likely to continue. Texas just doesn’t currently have the arms, neither in the starting rotation nor the bullpen, to stack up against the upper tier of the American League. Minnesota might not quite be deserving of that classification, but they’re not far off either with a well-rounded roster capable of big stretches like a 12-game win streak that ended earlier this month. The Twins have a big advantage on the mound in this evening’s game with a revitalized Chris Paddack taking on Texas’ mediocre Michael Lorenzen. Minnesota should be laying a larger price.

WNBA (0-1, -$330): Las Vegas Aces -14.5 vs. Indiana Fever (Caesars/William Hill)

$220 to win $200

WNBA teams don’t typically play on back-to-back nights, and when they do, their efficiency tends to take a big hit. The Fever are playing on back-to-back nights for the first time this season tonight at Michelob Ultra Arena. Being asked to do it against the two-time defending WNBA champions feels unfair. Granted, the Aces haven’t looked quite right to start the season without point guard Chelsea Gray. They’ve yet to cover a point spread in three games. The Fever will be playing in their sixth game of the year, however, one night after a game at the Los Angeles Sparks. It’s a disadvantageous scheduling spot, one that’s not priced into the betting market enough.  

F1 (0-0, $0): Charles Leclerc to win Monaco Grand Prix at +125 (Circa Sports)

$200 to win $250

Last year, I opted to fade the chatter about Max Verstappen not being set up for success at Monaco, and cashed in. This year, we’re doing the opposite. I will not pretend to be an F1 expert by any means, but it doesn’t take anything more than looking at speed figures to see the gap between the back-to-back-to-back champion and his closest competitors is shrinking. Lando Norris nearly caught him for victory in the last race, the Miami Grand Prix, and Leclerc smoked him in practice at Monaco. If it wasn’t for Verstappen’s recent dominance, Leclerc’s figures would have him a much bigger favorite — at least in the odds-on territory. The favorite typically wins in F1, and Leclerc is the favorite for a good reason — just not a big enough one. 

Indy Car (0-0, $0): Colton Herta to win the Indianapolis 500 at 15-to-1 (South Point)

$100 to win $1,500

If only this column ran earlier in the week where Herta was widely available at 20-to-1. Sigh. Luckily, this price still represents value. I’d feel comfortable backing the Andretti Global driver all the way down to 12-to-1. He cashed a matchup bet for Weekend Wagers at last year’s Indianapolis 500, and now could do one better. Herta didn't flash the fastest qualifying speeds, but he's got a lot else going for him. He may have the best long-run speed and has employed one of the sport's most efficient pit crews this season. The competition is always ample in the Indianapolis 500, but the 24-year-old from Southern California has a real chance to be right in the thick of contention late in the race.

NASCAR (2-8, -$70): Chase Elliott to win the Coca-Cola 600 at 12-to-1 (SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas)

$150 to win $1,800

The outright market looks tight for the second race in NASCAR’s Crown Jewel, but I felt obligated to fire into it for the purposes of the column anyway. Falling back on a matchup or placement-position after betting on the winner in Sunday’s first two races didn’t feel right. And Elliott might be undervalued. He’s finally gotten back in a groove in the middle of this season after a leg injury last year that derailed his career for a prolonged period of time. He won at Texas Motor Speedway and finished third at Kansas Speedway, two tracks similar to Charlotte Motor Speedway. There’s going to be a lot of competition to collect this checkered flag — including from Elliott’s teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron — but Elliott’s probability of doing so is slightly better than this line indicates. I’d make him closer to 9-to-1.

2024 Weekend betting column: 45-46, $5,274.87

Weekend betting column all-time: 703-753-11, $36,555.87 

Previous pending wagers: Edmonton Oilers to win 2024 Stanley Cup Final at 12-to-1 ($250 to win $3,000); Oregon -1.5 -102 vs. Ohio State in Week 7 ($306 to win $300); Florida Panthers to win Stanley Cup at 10-to-1 ($250 to win $2,500); New York Yankees to win World Series ($300 to win $3,000); Christopher Bell to win NASCAR Cup championship at 12-to-1 ($200 to win $2,400); Patrick Mahomes to win 2024-2025 NFL MVP at +750 ($350 to win $2,625); Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl 59 at 9-to-1 ($300 to win $2,700); New York Liberty to win WNBA Championship at +250 ($500 to win $1,250); Inter Miami to win MLS Cup at +300 ($500 to win $1,500); Tarik Skubal to win American League Cy Young at 20-to-1 ($120 to win $2,400); Cole Ragans to win American League Cy Young at 35-to-1 ($70 to win $2,450); Wake Forest to win the College World Series at 25-to-1 ($100 to win $2,500); Jayson Tatum to win NBA Finals MVP at +260 ($500 to win $1,300); Texas A&M to win the College World Series at 6-to-1 ($350 to win $2,100); Los Angeles Chargers -3 -120 vs. Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 ($220 to win $200)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or