Crist's Breeders' Cup Diary: Sunday, October 30 Morning-after memories and impressions of Breeders' Cup XXII:

The Day: Really cold. I know it was "only" in the low 50's, but the wind made it seem much worse. Wore an overcoat, brought gloves, still was stuck $15 before the first bet of the day when conditions prompted the purchase of an Official Breeders' Cup Scarf from the gift shop.

The Turnout: Breeders' Cup and NYRA officials had been privately setting an over/under of around 45,000 people and the chill made it seem that the under would have been the way to bet. It seemed more crowded than that but it was hard to tell because so many people were ducking back indoors between races. The announced count of 54, 286 was a pleasant surprise to organizers, especially given the nearly complete lack of promotion in the area and on NBC.

The early double: Didn't get involved in these races parimutuelly and instead spent the time making out and punching in my pick six and two pick four plays for the Cup races. The Sport Page and Discovery showed a few things: the track was quick but not crazy-quick, closers could get there and outside posts were no handicap.

The Juvenile Fillies: A fairly logical outcome in the first Cup race always adds an air of calm to the proceedings A lot of people thought Wild fit was best finishing a rallying second after some turn trouble, but while she might have won with a perfect trip I thought Folklore was a ton the best - and better than her slow final time and lowly Beyer of 87 might suggest. This was the hottest-paced route of the day and Folklore was involved in every fraction. She had every right to chuck it but instead spurted clear and held on. Easy unanimous choice for champion 2-year-old filly.

The Juvenile: Who would have thought that Henny Hughes would set slower fractions than Folklore? The more reasonable fractions helped him hang on well and turn the tables on First Samurai, but the latter had no excuses as the 6-5 favorite. Nor did either have any excuse or resistance for Stevie Wonderboy, who earned a fine 104 Beyer in victory as well as the 2-year-old championship.

The F&M Turf: After Intercontinental got loose early and held off the identical 1-2-3 finishers from last year's version of this race, my day seemed ruined. I had gone six deep in the pick six and eight deep in the pick four and she wasn't on any of my tickets. It made me feel only slightly better to learn that the online Player's Pool, which bought a $93,212 pick-six ticket, went nine-deep and didn't use her either. Sure, she's always been very talented but she's also always been rank and looked unlikely to get the distance. But under a masterful ride from Bejarano, she relaxed and slowed things down early and had enough left to run a fast final quarter and hold off a good-as-last-year Ouija Board.

The Sprint: Right idea, wrong horse. Lost In The Fog, highly vulnerable facing serious pace pressure from quality older company for the first time, was finished before the furlong marker at a badly underlaid 7-10. So was heavily-bet 6-1 second choice Wildcat Heir. Taste of Paradise was flying at a tasty 12-1. But Silver Train, whose Jerome I had unwisely downgraded because he had seemed to get loose against a less-than-sharp High Fly, enjoyed a classic turnback trip, stalking and pouncing at a shorter distance. Taste of Paradise may have been best as his lane closed down and he was getting to the winner after altering course, but Silver Train did not deserve to come down. The winner's time of 1:08.86 translated to a Beyer of 114, a figure Lost In The Fog is capable of running, so his fan club will say he simply didn't fire at the end of a long and taxing campaign. Pace analysts will argue that his two figures that good came in races where he got away with murder establishing easy leads against bad fields through fractions that were very slow when adjusted for the speed of the track.

The Mile: What are you supposed to do when it's announced that a horse will be wearing aluminum pads? Ignore it? Throw him out? Spread a little wider? I never know. Leroidesanimaux, who had this field at his mercy on paper, just didn't look like his brilliant self at any point during the race and held on for second to Artie Schiller on what looked like heart and class alone. But the winner's a very talented horse who finally got to play his best game and show his rapid acceleration, after circumstances forced him to run one-paced races near the lead in his last two starts.

The Distaff: Like winning trainer Shug McGaughey, I thought Pleasant Home would run a lot better than her odds but "never expected this" - a 9 1/4-length blowout as if she were 1-10 instead of 30-1. The race was a perfect storm of a solid and contested pace in front of a big, late-blooming filly who was born to excel at Belmont and had been sneakily improving while catching wet or speed-favoring tracks. Behind her, a bumpy stretch duel for second between Society Selection and Ashado ended in the former's favor, depriving Ashado, by a nose, from passing Azeri and becoming racing's richest filly ever. I idiotically neglect to bet a nickel to win on Pleasant Home but the trifecta got me halfway out of the massive burial pit I had dug for myself in the previous five races and left me alive 4x3 for $1 in the pick four. Suddenly it didin't seem so cold out.

The Turf: Not that I did this, but how easy might it have been to remember that the Europeans are just plain better going a mile and half on the grass than the Americans and box the four Euros for a $4,694 superfecta? When Ace finished third to Shakespeare and English Channel in the Turf Classic, I was among those who thought maybe the Euros weren't necessarily dominant this year, but in hindsight it seems that Ace didn't run his race that day. Shirocco, bombed with British bookmakers from 20-1 to 8-1 during the week, ran a powerful race but do we really want to make him the American grass champion off a three-race campaign that began with two losses in Europe? If I had to vote today, I'd give it to Leroidesanimaux instead. Fortunately for me, Shirocco was my fourth choice, leaving me alive to turn a disaster into a winning day with Saint Liam ($8,651.50 for $1), Borrego ($11,187.50 for $1) and Choctaw Nation ($35,749 for $1.)

The Classic: The best horse won, and in his typically professional rather than breathtaking style. Saint Liam looked like a winner every step of the way, settling in nicely behind the speed under a cool and confident Bailey, inching into contention at will and then grinding a past a very game Flower Alley for his fourth Grade 1 victory of the year and the Horse of the Year title. Rock Hard Ten's fans will always wonder whether he couldn't have matched Saint Liam's effort, which translated to a Beyer of 112, the same figure RHT earned winning the Goodwood last time. It looked as if a top-rate stretch-runner could have made an impact late here, but once Borrego and Choctaw Nation didn't fire, that left the task to Perfect Drift, who just never seems to get there.

The Pick Six: Nobody picked six, five paid $90k to each of 40 tickets, and the $93,212 Players' Pool ticket had four - but would have had nine nearly-as-good consos had Taste of Paradise gotten clear and up. It's a game of inches.

The Betting: The $14.6 million in ontrack handle edged the Belmont record of $14.4 million set when more than twice as many people showed up for the Smarty Jones Belmont. The total handle of over $122 million is the highest yet and shows that the Breeders' Cup remains the most appealing day of betting of the year, unaffected by a lack of promotion, medigenic "stars" or general-press coverage. The fastest-growing pools are those for the pick fours. Yesterday's two handled $1.77 and $2.28 million, both records for the event and nearly as much combined as the Ultra Pick Six.

The Biggest Day-After Comedown: Realizing that Aqueduct opens Wednesday. For six months.