If you’re new to horse racing, you might be wondering what the all fuss is about over the Breeders’ Cup, especially when many casual fans only pay attention to the Triple Crown or even just the Kentucky Derby.

These are the World Championships of North American thoroughbred racing. Horses from around the world come to compete for big money in the 11 Cup races; the turf events are especially welcoming for the contenders coming in from Europe, Asia and Australia, where grass is the norm.

As for the top race on the card, this Saturday’s $5-million Classic, check out the nine-horse field. Six of them have been hyped as potential winners; they’ve been joined by Irish-bred George Washington, a grass specialist who nonetheless finished sixth last year and was retired to stud, but is back on the track because of fertility problems. Experience counts – the top favorite is 4-year-old Lawyer Ron at 5-2.

Trainer Todd Pletcher is bringing a cavalry with him to Monmouth Park. Eleven of Pletcher’s horses will be running at this week’s Breeders’ Cup. At least one of them figures to cash in once the dust has cleared.

Pletcher has two favorites this week, including Lawyer Ron (5-2) at the Classic. It’s a tough field to conquer, but Pletcher also has Any Given Saturday (4-1) in the vaunted Top Six. Pletcher’s chances should be even better in the Distaff with Indian Vale (3-1), in large part because two more of his horses are in the field of 12: Unbridled Belle (9-2) and Octave (10-1).

If those horses don’t pan out, there’s always the potent combo of Wait a While (4-1) and Honey Ryder (9-2) in the Filly & Mare Turf, or English Channel (5-2) at the Turf. Let’s hope Pletcher brings a big shovel with him – to scoop up his winnings, that is.

Many of this month’s Breeders’ Cup races are open to horses older than three. That gives us a chance to see 4-year-old Lawyer Ron matched up against the likes of Curlin and Street Sense at the Classic.

Do the ladies age as gracefully? Sometimes. Check out last year’s World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, where the top three females were all mares: Pride (age 6), Ouija Board (age 5) and Alexander Goldrun (age 5). Ouija Board won the Breeders Cup’ Filly & Mare Turf in 2004, placed second in 2005, and won again last year in her first season as a mare.

But two years ago, the top four females were fillies, led by Divine Proportions. And this year’s top lady is almost certainly going to be Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, another 3-year-old. But she’s off the circuit with a hairline fracture, leaving the Distaff field wide open for fillies and mares alike.

Looks like we’re going to have one heck of a Breeders’ Cup Classic later this month. The projected field is overflowing with quality – with Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and Whitney Handicap champ Lawyer Ron among the favorites. They were 1-2 on the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll heading into this past weekend’s action, each with four victories this year.

But who’s better? Street Sense was the talk of the horse-racing circuit heading into the Derby. The dark bay has posted two first-place results and two seconds since then, leaving him with just under $3 million in earnings on the year. Lawyer Ron, meanwhile, had “only” $1.17 million heading into the weekend after taking smaller events like the Whitney and the Woodward Stakes.

Lawyer Ron’s a 4-year-old; the Classic will be the first time he and the 3-year-old Street Sense will have met in 2007. It’s hard not to favor the proven Kentucky Derby winner.

It’s going to be a little while yet before we know the full field for this month’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. But we do know that Student Council has qualified, courtesy of his Aug. 19 win at the Pacific Classic.

Dark horses don’t come much darker. The 5-year-old is currently 15th on the NTRA Thoroughbred Pool. But Student Council deserves some representation. His Pacific Classic win at 23-1 odds was considered a fluke; then he followed that up on Saturday with another victory at the Grade II Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap. This time, Student Council “only” paid $5.20.

Expect those odds to go back up in a Classic field that will likely include Curlin, Street Sense, Lawyer Ron, Hard Spun and Any Given Saturday. But with two victories in a row, veteran jockey Richard Migliore in the saddle and a new top-flight trainer in Steve Asmussen, Student Council has earned a spot with the big boys.