ARCADIA, Calif. - How did you celebrate your 27th birthday?

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. celebrated his on Saturday winning the richest race in North America, guiding Fort Larned to a front-running victory over Mucho Macho Man in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

It was his only mount on the day and his first-ever mount at Santa Anita.

"This is the greatest birthday present ever," Hernandez said shortly after he got off Fort Larned.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mucho Macho Man may have finished second to Fort Larned in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, but he was still a winner in the minds of trainer Kathy Ritvo and jockey Mike Smith.

“Honesty, he [Mucho Macho Man] won, I just didn’t finish first, if that’s possible,” said Smith, who fell a half-length short of sweeping the two main events at the 2012 Breeders’ Cup. Smith won the Ladies’ Classic aboard Royal Delta the previous afternoon.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Fort Larned’s thrilling victory over Mucho Macho Man in the Classic completed an all Breeders’ Cup pick six that returned $419,245 for a $2 wager Saturday at Santa Anita.

[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Saturday results and video replays]

ARCADIA, Calif. – Ian Wilkes learned his lessons well. Working for two decades under Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger, Wilkes saw time and again, with horses like Kentucky Derby winners Unbridled and Street Sense, how to bring a horse, step by step, to a major goal. On Saturday at Santa Anita, it was time for Wilkes, and his horse Fort Larned to step up.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Using sentiment as a guiding beacon is not a tactic that typically produces favorable results. Morton Fink is a businessman, down to earth, totally realistic. But a choice Fink made from the heart, to keep, rather than sell, the mare Lisa Danielle, strictly because she was named after his granddaughter, has landed him the horse of a lifetime, Wise Dan.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Despite having lost three consecutive races and taking on older horses for the first time, Trinniberg saved his best performance for the biggest stage, outlasting The Lumber Guy by three-quarters of a length to upset Saturday’s $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.

[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Saturday results and video replays]

ARCADIA, Calif. – Every label placed on Little Mike in the last year is proving to be wrong.

At one point, he was thought to be a miler. Then in August, he won the Arlington Million over 1 1/4 miles.

Going into Saturday’s $2,727,000 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, Little Mike was expected to take his customary position on the lead. When he settled in third in the first mile of the race over 1 1/2 miles, jockey Ramon Dominguez thought his mount was comfortable, but still had concern about how the race was unfolding.

“We didn’t know how he’d react,” he said.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Shanghai Bobby inherited a clear lead at the top of the stretch in Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, yet his jockey, Rose Napravnik was a bit concerned.

"Bobby got a little lost," Napravnik said. "Most jockeys, especially in the Breeders' Cup, aren't hoping the horses will come to them but I sure was, because once he saw another horse he will turn right back on, and he turns on unbelievable."

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mizdirection knows the way around Santa Anita’s quirky downhill turf course. And trainer Mike Puype, it’s evident, knows how to bring a horse back from a layoff. Making her first start since May 27, the Mizdirection won the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, her third win in three starts going 6 1/2 furlongs on grass here.  

ARCADIA, Calif. - Steve Asmussen sent Tapizar back to southern California with the kind of hunch reserved for a trainer with more than 6,000 career wins. The colt was coming off a horrible effort in the Kelso Mile leading up to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Mile, but Asmussen knew a switch to Santa Anita might provide a big turnaround.