ARCADIA, Calif. -- The San Gabriel Mountains hit you right between the eyes as you get out of your car in the parking lot. Friday was comfortably warm and overcast, although the tops of the mountains were clearly visible. Santa Anita Park has the world's most majestic backdrop for horse racing, and Saturday it will host the 20th running of the sport's greatest day. The conditions on the track will be fast and firm, and in the grandstand it will be slow and packed.

Enough of the atmosphere and the information, son, I hear you saying. "Who do you like?"

You're right, let's get down to what really matters on the year's best betting card. You want a few overlays that should run well? OK, try Refuse To Bend in the Mile, Voodoo Dancer in the Filly&Mare Turf and Society Selection in the Juvenile Fillies. Don't underestimate Peace Rules, who should get an excellent trip in the Mile, or Tiger Hunt, a closer who might benefit from a raging pace in the Juvenile.

You won't get any big prices on Class Above (Juvenile Fillies), Valid Video (Sprint) or Congaree (Classic), but I'm picking all three to win. I don't plan to bet the Distaff, where even if Got Koko knocks off heavily favored Sightseek, she probably won't pay more than $8.

Pick 6 Fever
So winners aren't enough for you, you want to run the table and change your life by hitting the Pick 6. If you want bragging rights in Horse Heaven for eternity, you must risk much to have any chance at a great reward. The price is too high for me, but nothing's cheaper than advice, so here's a theoretical Pick 6 play that I won't be betting. If it comes in and you hit, please contact me at McNamBreed@aol.com so you can send me 10 percent of the bounty.

Mile (4 horses): Refuse To Bend, Six Perfections, Soaring Free, Peace Rules
Sprint (3): Valid Video, Ethan Man, Shake You Down
Filly & Mare Turf(3): Voodoo Dancer, Islington, Musical Chimes
Juvenile (3): Tiger Hunt, Cuvee, Race for Glory
Turf (2): Sulamani, High Chaparral
Classic (2) Congaree, Perfect Drift

Based on a $2 base bet, that comes to a juicy $864, a significant investment for most players but a pittance to syndicates who will be spreading with $30,000 or so in hopes of a return worth 10 times that. Good luck, and don't forget me if my shot in the dark hits the bull's-eye.

The Frankel Factor
How well you do at the windows Saturday may depend on what decisions you make about trainer Bobby Frankel's horses. Frankel has three morning-line favorites, Sightseek (Distaff), Aldebaran (Sprint) and Medaglia d'Oro (Classic). A bunch of his other runners also could win, with Heat Haze and Tates Creek looking like major dangers in the Filly & Mare Turf and Peace Rules a live longshot in the Mile.

Chalky bettors who fear Frankel will sweep the card, or come close, should recall his overall record in the Breeders' Cup (2-for-49) and the defeats in his first 41 attempts. Two years ago at Belmont Park, he sent out highly regarded Aptitude, Flute and Starine, all of whom lost. Squirtle Squirt, whom Frankel considered to have the least chance of all his runners, won the Sprint at odds of 9-1 to get him off an 0-for-41 schneid.

I don't think Aldebaran will be able to close from far back at 6 furlongs, a distance at which he's never run. I also have my doubts about Medaglia d'Oro, who's 0-for-4 at 1_ miles over fast tracks. Sightseek, even if she wins, will be a bad play because she offers no betting value. Heat Haze and Tates Creek are both top-class, but they're running against each other as well as many other standouts in the Filly & Mare Turf, perhaps the day's trickiest handicapping challenge. I think Peace Rules is a live overlay, a rarity for a horse trained by Frankel, who's been on a hot streak for about four years.