Here are my picks for today's Breeders' Cup races at the Great Race Place, Santa Anita:

 Jockey wager:  with a live mount in nearly every race, how can you go against the country's top jockey Garrett Gomez?  The field might be the only other way to go, considering that it includes Alex Solis--Solis is having a monster meet, and he has some really live looking mounts this weekend.  That said, if you take Mike Smith you will have your money on the man who is going to win the Classic with Zenyatta and could pick up a couple of others over the next two days.

 Marathon: Man of Iron, and not just 'cause of the name either. From the barn of top Irish trainer Aiden O'Brien, with one of Europe's best jockeys in John Murtaugh aboard, and with Giant's Causeway for a sire, the horse is bred to run all day.  Favorite Mastery should complete the exacta for Frankie Dettori.   If home cooking rules the day, maybe Alex Solis can boot home Black Astor for Lisa Lewis at a big price.  Alex wins a lot of turf routes in So. Cal.

 Juvenile Fillies Turf:  This is a difficult race for any number of reasons.  I ended up boxing Smith aboard La Nez with favorie Lily Langtree for the O'Brien/Murtaugh team.  At 20-1, I also took La Nez across the board.  Really, though, this is a tough race and I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of their opinion if it's different.  Potosina is another potential bomber in here, breaking from the rale with steady John Valazquez on her back.

Juvenile Fillies:  Over the last couple of months Gomez has won around 6o% of his races for trainer Bob Baffert.  That's enough for me to give the edge in this one to Always A Princess, despite the fact that they finished second to favorite Blind Luck last time out.  I'm looking for the order to be reversed, but to be safe my exacta play is a box/part-wheel hybrid of Princess & Luck over each other and also Negligee.  Depending on how the earlier races come out and what my bank roll looks like, I may box the three in a tri as well.

 Filly & Mare Turf:  I'm all over Magical Fantasy for Solis and Paddy Gallagher.  This girl has made me money her whole career and I'm not about to abandon her now.  The rest of the field is classy enough.  Pure Clan and Forever Together are the best of the rest.

Filly & Mare Sprint:  Likewise I am all in on Ventura.  Bobby Frankel has been in poor health and his barn has been performing relatively poorly of late.  But this mare is too strong and Gomez knows her too well.  The rest of the field is interesting.  On dirt I'd probably like Seventh Street, but I'm passing on synthetic.  So I'd say Informed Decision is the likeliest to complete the exacta, with an outside chance of either Evita Argentina and relative old timer Silver Swallow having a good run to blow up the exotics.

Ladies' Classic:  Lethal Heat is mylongshot of the day for Solis and Barry Abrams.  This horse has been finishing second in graded stakes races all summer and fall in the major southern California tracks.  Second, that is, to the absent Zenyatta, who runs tomorrow with the boys in the Classic.  Look for her to jump up and win it all today.  Mushka, for Bill Mott and Santa Anita expatriate Kent Desormeaux and favorite Music Note will make her earn it, though.