The Man - OK Irad Ortiz, Jr. we get it. You’re the top jock in the nation. Four BC wins, all different examples of brilliant riding and decision-making, on a relatively unfamiliar racetrack. Brother Jose is up there, as is Joel Rosario, and Flavian Prat stepped it up too, but for now, it’s Junior.

Lying in Wait - Trainer Peter Miller rocked the Breeders’ Cup again, winning yet another one and hitting the board with three other horses, all big longshots. Miller prepares his runners in the quiet and comfort of San Luis Rey Downs, about an hour and a half from Santa Anita. It’s working. Billy Batts ran 2nd at a big price in the Juvenile Turf on Friday and that was just the appetizer. Wrecking Crew was 30-1 in the Juvenile and beat both huge favorites to finish third. On Saturday, Miller won a Grade 2 on the undercard, then took his 3rd straight Turf Sprint (!!) with fire surviving filly Belvoir Bay and had the 7yo "Om" run 2nd in his first race since June. A Miller exacta; 12-1 over 17-1. Easy money. Miller took his pile of $$$ and trophies and headed back to San Luis Rey, having proven once again that whatever he is doing down there is working better than just about anyone in the world when it comes to having top-class runners, especially turf sprinters, ready to shine when it counts.

Bullet Dodged - By NBC and the Breeders’ Cup suits when 3yo European filly Iridessa out-fought Vasilika to the wire in the FM Turf. If Vasilika had prevailed, the story would have been how her part owner/trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer, had been denied the opportunity to actually "train" her for the BC thanks to the geniuses at Santa Anita, and those at the BC who followed their ridiculous lead. Instead, it was feel-good television featuring Iridessa’s baby-faced trainer Joseph "Son of Aidan" O' Brien joining Freddie Head as the only two to ride and train a BC winner.

Home court disadvantage - Bob Baffert trains fast horses. He pushes them hard in the morning and expects results in the afternoon, and had four very well fancied runners (Two went favored and the others were the second choice) fail to get the job done over their home track in the BC. Problem is, Santa Anita changed the track after the winter/spring fatality nightmare, and the deeper, slower surface isn’t working so well for the white-haired trainer. Something’s gotta give. Stay tuned because Baffert is not shy and has A LOT of power in SoCal racing. We’re about to find out just how much…..EDIT as of December - whoops, we found out and sure enough, the dirt stays and they’re working on it - it’s good to be King. Question is, if things keep going south @SA, King of what?

The Coolmore Cooler - Aidan O’Brien sucks. Kidding. Kind of. Just a reminder that it’s REALLY hard to win a BC race. He is now 0 for the last two Breeders’ Cups with some VERY talented, well-bred runners and in fact, didn’t win a single Graded Stakes in the US this year.

Mandella at 50-1 - If you listen to the show you heard me tout the Richard Mandella trained "United" as a horse to play in the BC Turf at a price, and you also know that Steve was all over him too. Mandella is a master, which was the main reason for our confidence, supported by the fact that the Europeans did not bring even the B team this year. My goodness. He went from 20 to 30 to 40 to 50-1 in the wagering... and then ran a monster race at 51-1, looking like a winner the whole time, only to get beat a head by the likely Horse of the Year, Bricks and Mortar. We did fine thanks to the place price/exacta and tri, but came sooooo close to the score of a lifetime that it still stings a little. Not that there will be a next time, and 51-1 still feels like a dream, but if a Mandella trainee is a nice price in a BC race in the near future, put a couple bucks down...