The biggest event on the thoroughbred calendar just got even bigger – again.

After the success of the expanded two-day version of the 2007 Breeder’s Cup at Monmouth Park, the 2008 event at Santa Anita will see three more races added to the lineup: the $1-million Turf Sprint, the $1-million Juvenile Filly Turf, and the $500,000 Dirt Marathon. This trio will be run on Friday, Oct. 24.

The Sprint will be run at Santa Anita’s El Camino Real hillside course, but the Marathon (1-1/2 miles) might prove to be the most interesting addition to the Breeders’ Cup. An advisory panel has recommended to Cup officials that they establish a series of 12-furlong races as a warm-up for the Marathon.

There are a small handful of these longer stakes races in North America – the Belmont being the most famous. No doubt some of these recommended Marathon preps will become part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge. The more, the merrier.

The Grade I Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes is considered the wrap-up event of the season, usually pulling in a solid field of Breeders’ Cup entrants. This past Saturday’s $250,000 event was a little different. The 17-10 favorite, Champs Elysees, was making his first start in the United States. And the winner, 4-year-old Sunriver, was not part of the festivities at Monmouth Park.

You may recall Sunriver as one of the longer shots on the 2006 Triple Crown trail. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt finished third at the Belmont before making the switch to turf this spring. The move has paid off; Sunriver now has three wins in six attempts, including July’s Bowling Green Handicap. He paid $6.00 to win the Turf Cup.

Champs Elysees ($3.20) was 2-3/4 lengths behind Sunriver in second, followed by Spring House ($2.40) in third. Rounding out the field were Obrigado, Tissy Fit, Chief Running Bear and Heroi Do Bafra. Sudan was a scratch.

The best horse won. There were many deserving candidates at last week’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, but Curlin’s 4 1/2-length victory over Hard Spun wrapped up a wonderful 2007 for the expected Eclipse Award and Horse of the Year winner.

Curlin nearly broke the 45-year old Monmouth Park record over 1 1/4 miles, clocking a 119 Beyer figure on a sloppy track to finish at 2:00.59. Yet the phenomenal chestnut stallion was the fourth favorite at the Cup, despite racking up four wins, a second and two thirds in his previous seven races this year, including victory at the Preakness.

Now that Curlin is sitting on top of the horse-racing world, the real measure of his star power is in the anguish that will come should his owners decide to retire Curlin to stud. That already seems like a fait accompli – Curlin could easily double his 2007 earnings of $5.1 million, and his stud fee should only go up.

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.

The long wait is nearly over. The most anticipated event on the horse racing calendar, the Breeders’ Cup, goes this Friday and Saturday at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. The field and post positions for each race will be determined on Tuesday.

Sunday was a busy day of prep work, as several Cup contenders wrapped up their final workouts at nearby Belmont Park. Among the horses who looked especially good were , Discreet Cat (Dirt Mile), Indian Blessing (Juvenile Fillies) and In Summation (Sprint).

The Belmont Park turf appeared a bit soft, which didn’t suit Wait a While (Filly and Mare Turf) nearly as much as it did English Channel. Water may be the running theme at this year’s Cup; the weather forecast for the Jersey shore calls for a chance of showers almost all through the week and into the weekend. The turf conditions at Monmouth Park should be part of every horseplayer’s homework.

New Jersey’s Monmouth Park hosts its first-ever Breeders’ Cup later this month. Any Given Saturday won the Grade I Haskell Invitational there in August, proving that he has what it takes to win on that track.

But what does it take? The Monmouth tracks don’t have any obvious quirks that should affect the Cup races. The turf track, although only a year old, is reportedly in excellent running condition after the summer session, thanks in part to the portable rail that can be brought out 12, 24 or 36 feet. That spreads out the wear and tear.

The dirt might be more of a question mark by the time the Classic is run on Oct. 27. Having all those other races run in such a short period of time this late in the year will probably produce a slow track. That’s bad news for frontrunners, so Hard Spun trainer J. Larry Jones might want to tailor his strategy accordingly.

The host venue for next month’s Breeders’ Cup isn’t as widely recognized as Belmont Park or Churchill Downs. But Monmouth Park should be well worth the price of admission.

Nestled in the tony community of Oceanport, New Jersey, Monmouth Park is a prime “getaway” for New York racing fans. The park was plunked down near the Jersey shore in 1870, but sat dormant from 1894 to 1946 due to the criminalization of pari-mutuel betting. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority bought the park in 1986.

The main track is a mile-long dirt oval, with a seven-furlong turf course and the requisite chutes to allow for longer (or shorter) races. Its feature attraction is the 1 1/2-mile Haskell Invitational Handicap; this year’s race was held on Aug. 5 with a $1-millon purse. Any Given Saturday scored a huge upset over Curlin and Hard Spun to put himself firmly in the mix for next month’s Classic.