The late pick four on Breeders' Cup Saturday features a guaranteed pool of $3 million, and I'm looking to take a small swing against a couple of short-priced favorites.

Race 9 - Turf

Things should be so easy all the time: Our Pick last week was never in danger as Crown and Silver rolled to a $14.80 payoff at Delta Downs as the only BreezeFigs horse in the race. As it turned out it was a pretty spectacular week for BreezeFigs maidens all over the country, which could be best explained by the fact that there were plenty of opportunities. Still, 24 of them won, and there were a plethora of gimmicks.

DRF sales editor Joe Nevills analyzes each race of the 2016 Breeders’ Cup World Championships in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

Friday, Nov. 4
Juvenile Turf
The golden trio
O’Brien, Moore, and “L1”
Intelligence Cross

Dirt Mile
Free of Chrome’s shadow
Dortmund gets his time to shine
Much the class in here

Race 6
A – 4,5,11
B – 1,6,8,13

Race 7
A – 1,3
B – none

Race 8
A – 1,13,14
B – 4, 7

Race 9
A – 1,5
B – 6

50-cent bet = $97

:: See Marcus Hersh’s pick four play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets

The lone pick five of the day on Breeders' Cup Friday starts in race 1, perhaps the most wide-open race of the sequence. The enclosed TicketMaker play is for $74, but I will play the "A" ticket twice for a total bet of $86.

Often with trainer stats the idea is to determine trainer intent. Is the horse primed for a big effort, or is the trainer setting things up for a race in the future? Are there certain changes happening (surface, distance, equipment, jockey, etc.) that the trainer has had success with in the past, or do those changes indicate that the trainer may be experimenting?

From a gambling perspective, the two-day Breeders’ Cup extravaganza, which offers 13 races for top horses in all divisions, is always among the best times of the year to look for prices and to try to make scores.

The new DRF Bets Breeders’ Cup win bet “Hit It or Split It” $7,500 challenge won’t require you to look for value. What it does require is that you cash at least five win bets over the 13 races to become eligible for the prize. 

With that in mind, let’s look for five horses to consider using in order to qualify.

Lady Eli, by Divine Park
Last 3 Beyers: 102-101-100

- Made it back from laminitis and has run two very good races this year: second in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa off a 14-month layoff, and a win in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl.

- Should relish the firm footing at Santa Anita, and there appears to be ample early speed to allow her to settle and make a run.

- Her workout last Sunday at Belmont Park was deemed one of her best by both jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who was on her, and trainer Chad Brown.

The key to the "Hit It or Split It" challenge is to identify winners. Prices be darned!

On the face of it, the goal should be to smoke out the logical "horses to beat" in each race and bet the $10 minimum to win on those horses. A runner like Dortmund seems like the perfect example.

Classic Empire, by Pioneerof the Nile
Last 3 Beyers: 88-NA-87

Is basically 3 for 3  - it’s hard to count his participation in the Grade 1 Hopeful, where he wheeled at the break, unseating jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

Following that incident, he was equipped with blinkers and won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity by three lengths, overcoming post 11 of 12.