Dan Illman

*FAST BULLET, a 3-year-old son of Speightstown, made it 2-2 with another quick victory in Southern California.  After winning his debut by 6 1/4 lengths on the dirt at Santa Anita on October 9 (92 Beyer), the Bob Baffert-trained colt shipped to Churchill Downs for a try in the Jimmy V.

Today's Long Island Handicap is the rare turf marathon without a single newly-minted European invader. Sure, MUSICAL RAIN was bred in Ireland, but she's raced here 10 times already. We can claim her as one of ours. Yes, HASAY was foaled in Great Britain, but she's run five times over American soil in 2011 for Team Valor, the owners of Animal Kingdom, the winner of this year's Kentucky Derby. There's nothing more American than the Derby so Hasay plays for our team.

The weather couldn't have been more glorious for Breeders' Cup Saturday, but chalk-players were snowed by longshot winners that rendered the Pick 6 unhittable.

As per tradition, this week's HandiGambling exercise is the Breeders' Cup Classic. PAST PERFORMANCES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG POST. Remember that you have a mythical $100 with which to wager on the race, and the entrant with the highest money total will receive a "Monthly Enhanced 60-Card Past Performance Plan." Anyone going over the $100 limit will be disqualified. Please post your plays and analysis to the blog.

I've taken a quick glance at the Breeders' Cup past performances and came up with a few preliminary ideas. JUVENILE FILLIES TURF: