Monmouth Park in New Jersey was the site for the 2007 Breeders' Cup, with relevant races spread over the Friday and Saturday of the week. It rained heavily since Wednesday, the track was in a sloppy (to put it mildly) condition, and many of the picks that looked good on paper had to be tossed at the paddock.

However, I played hit-and-miss on both days, and here are the results.

On Friday, October 26, in a non-BC race, Race 2, my picks were Tiz It (sired by Tiz Now) and Golden Fusaichi (sired by Fusaichi Pegasus). Tiz It managed to get second, after a lousy start - please, sweetie, were you sleeping in the gate? Golden Fusaichi had a lousy start and couldn't get his act together, finishing a disappointing last. I hadn't predicted the 5 th race, but when I saw Tessa Blue, ridden by Mike Smith, I had to bet on her, and she won, practically laughing at the rest of the field. Sea Chanter was my pick in Race 6, and she did me proud - like her daddy War Chant, she's got a lot of grit. I thought Cobra Strike would show in Race 7, but, unfortunately, he tired and finished sixth.

Race 8 was a BC Race, the Filly and Mare Sprint. I thought Miss Macy Sue, Oprah Winney, and Jazzy would hit it one, two, three. Boy, was I mistaken! Maryfield looked like she was stopping for a smoke break early on, and then she suddenly picked off horses, swung wide and ran them all down! Miraculous Miss beat Miss Macy Sue for the second spot, leaving MMS in third. Oprah Winney ran out of steam, finishing eighth, and Jazzy was not the least bit interested in running in the mess, not even trying, and finishing last.

Race 9 was the BC Juvenile Turf. I've learned the hard way that, no matter how good the babies look on paper, you've got to see them in the paddock to even get a clue as to how they'll run. On paper, I liked Strike the Deal, The Leopard, Cannonball, and Achill Island . In person, I liked Achill Island and Cannonball, who ended up coming in second and third, beaten by Nownownow, who had a bad start, but then seemed to come out of nowhere.

The BC Dirt Mile was Race 10 on the day, and my favorites were Discreet Cat, Park Avenue Ball, and Xchanger. Discreet Cat seemed to be in a good position early on, but when the going got tough, he didn't have enough left in the tank. Corinthian ran a truly smart race, a patient stalk, and split horses to run off with the win when the opportunity presented itself. Discreet Cat managed third. XChanger just didn't have any pep today, finishing sixth, and Park Avenue 's wide move finished him off, leaving him seventh.

Saturday didn't start out much better, weather-wise, and I wondered if the races would be cancelled or moved off the turf, in spite of the money it would cost everyone. It was deemed safe for racing, and the day went off decently.

My day did not start off in a promising fashion. My first picks in race 1, Slew's Tizzy and Helsinki came in third and fourth. Slew's Tizzy couldn't recover from a bump, and Helsinki couldn't get it together. The second race was a bit more promising, with my pick Coco Belle winning. Unfortunately, my other pick Silver Knockers finished fourth. I ended up passing on Casino Transaction because she didn't look like she wanted to run in the mud, and on Miss Tizzy, who seemed bored by it all. They finished ninth and last, so I'm glad I passed. My pick Cobalt Blue won race three, with another pick Appealing Spring hitting the show spot. I felt as though he ran out of track and could have gone longer. Double Action was a disappointment - he never seemed to fire.

Race 4 was a BC race, the BC Juvenile Fillies. Again, I wanted to take a look at them in the paddock On paper, I liked Proud Spell and Irish Smoke. In person, I stayed with Proud Spell, but Indian Blessing just had "the look", in spite of the bad weather. Indian Blessing outran the pack, winning the race, with Proud Spell a respectable second. I think we'll see quite a bit more of Indian Blessing next year, and I look forward to following her more closely.

Race 5 was the Juvenile - this is the race where last year, Street Sense made his mark, and then broke the Juvy Curse this past May by winning the Kentucky Derby. I liked War Pass on paper, and I liked him even better in person. I liked him ever better when he won - pulling easily away from the pack, focusing well, and none of the other horses were a threat. He's another to watch. If he's not overworked between now and the spring, he might go on the Triple Crown Trail. Slew's Tiznow, my other paper pick, was scratched. I look forward to seeing him on a firm track at a later date.

The Filly and Mare Turf was race 6. I was worried about the slipperiness factor, but those in the know seemed to think it would be fine, and it was. Wait a While was scratched - watch for her in better conditions. That left me with Honey Ryder and Precious Kitten. Precious Kitten was living up to her name and not having the bad weather today - I wish she'd been scratched. As it was, she never fired and finished eighth. Honey Ryder, however, hung in gamely after having to check early on and later going wide, to finish second. The winner, Lahudood, ran a terrific race. She picked her position, held it, and once she and her jockey decided to move forward, that was it. Alan Garcia gave her a terrific ride, and got his first - and well-deserved - BC win with her. They both showed exceptional poise in this race.

The seventh race, the Sprint, was probably my biggest mistake of the day. I loved the horse Smokey Stover, and I bet him across the board. Midnight Lute, who is a beautiful dark colt and ran well in Saratoga lost me because I didn't think he could get it together in the muck and I didn't like the way he kept trying to hide his face in his pony's neck in the post parade. He seemed fretful and unhappy, and I felt he wore himself out before he got to the gate. The fact that Commentator knocked open the front of the gate at the start and the horses had to wait while that was snapped shut and the horse checked didn't help. Midnight Lute had a lousy start and fretted the whole first half of the race. Then, suddenly, it was like a light bulb went on in his head, he got sick of getting mud in his face, and he figured if he was ahead of the others, it would stop. So that's what he did. He picked off the other horses and won beautifully. It was an impressive win. Poor Smokey Stover struggled terribly - I'd throw this race out and try him again in the next one.

Race 8 was the BC Mile. I had Nobiz Like Shobiz across the board because I love him and I believe he's going to retire now. After Market, one of my picks, was scratched due to conditions. Jeremy, another pick, looked handsome, but I didn't think he'd handle the muck too well. Excellent Art looked excellent, so I kept him in the mix. This was the filly My Typhoon's last race - she's going to be a broodmare now, and she was up against the boys. I didn't think she'd like the softness of the track, but I wanted to show her some support. I also tossed a few bucks at Cosmonaut at the last minute for the show slot. I've had such hit and miss luck with him that I figured why not?

My Typhoon did well in the beginning. I hoped she could hold it, but she tired, and finished last. Nobiz like Shobiz looked like he didn't have a care in the world. He had a jockey change, and for once, he and his jockey didn't spend the first half of the race arguing about who was in charge. However, he moved just a tad too late, in my opinion, and that cost him. He finished fourth. Excellent Art ran a terrific race, nipping second, and Cosmonaut held for third. However, the winner ran so beautifully - his name was Kip Deville, and his connections had to ante up $300,000 to enter him in this race. He settled in on the rail and just waited. Never rushed, never backpedaled. When the chance came to split horses, that's what he did, and he shot through them and past everyone else. And he knew he won. It's always terrific when a horse knows he's done well. He ran a really terrific race.

We were back to the ladies in the 9 th Race, with the Distaff. Originally, I wanted to use the longshot Tough Tiz's Sis across the board, and then a boxed exacta for Lady Joanne and Lear's Princess, and then maybe a few bucks in Hystericalady's direction. When I saw them in the field, I changed my mind. Tough Tiz's Sis didn't look like she had it today. Lear's Princess, Lady Joanne, and Hystericalady all looked terrific. I was especially impressed by Lear's Princess - after all, she beat Rags to Riches. I was on the fence with Unbridled Belle - I like the horse a lot, she looked as gorgeous as ever, but she does not like to get her feet wet. Octave looked terrific, so I went with Octave instead. Lear's Princess had a bump at the first turn and was out of it after that. My gut instinct is that she's been hurt, but at deadline, I hadn't received an answer one way or the other. Hystericalady dug in from the get-go. She was not going to give up easily, and she held on for second, with Octave as third and Lady Joanne fourth. The winner was the Richard Frankel-trained Ginger Punch - another horse whose connections had to cough up the cash to get her in there. She and Hystericalady battled and bumped, but Ginger Punch pulled ahead just at the end to win.

The Turf Race, the 10 th Race, was the one that everyone expected the European horse Dylan Thomas to win. One of the race writers even asked why anyone else bothered to show up. But a field did show up, among them English Channel and the old faithful Better Talk Now, both of whom have done right by me in the past. Red Rocks, last year's winner, was also in the mix. So I went with all four. Dylan Thomas looked fantastic, he was calm, he was handsome, and he was focused. Problem was, he hated the soft track. It was too soft for him. English Channel and his jockey John Velazquez showed us all what happens when there's total trust between horse and jockey. They didn't fight. English Channel wanted to hop out fast, but Johnny asked him to wait, and he did. And when Johnny said go, he was gone! He ran an absolutely beautiful race with a gorgeous, flowing stride. He held off the very game Shamdinan, who settled for second. Red Rocks, last year's winner, held the show spot, with Better Talk Now right behind him in fourth, and Dylan Thomas a disappointed fifth. And I mean it - the horse was seriously disappointed. He's run once a month since this April and won every time out. He was upset that he didn't this time.

The Classic, arguably THE race of the day, was the final race. Of course, I wanted Street Sense to solidify his position. And, of course, I wanted Hard Spun to kick some equine booty and get the respect he deserves. I wanted to see Lawyer Ron do well, and I wanted to see Tiago hit the board. My belief was that the European horse George Washington, whose work I enjoyed so much, was retired to stud, but returned to racing, would be the upset horse of the day.

Instead, there were two upsets for me. One was simply a race win, and well-earned one. The other was more tragic. Curlin won the Classic. He earned it. He dug in and fought and fought and fought and picked off horses. He was with Street Sense for most of the race. They moved at the same time. It looked like Street Sense was going to flow out, but it was Curlin who did through sheer grit, running down Hard Spun, who looked, for a few furlongs, like he might nearly wire it. Hard Spun hung on for second, bless his determined heart. Long shot Awesome Gem nipped the third slot, with Street Sense fourth and Tiago fifth. The tragedy was for the beautiful George Washington, who broke down with a multiple fracture that then dislocated his ankle. He was in so much pain and it was such a serious injury he had to be euthanized on the track. Yes, I cried. I always do. It seems every Breeders' Cup day has at least one tragic death.

Curlin will probably get Horse of the Year now. He never won my heart the way Street Sense or Hard Spun or Nobiz did, but he certainly earned his place in the history books. Curlin, Hard Spun, Street Sense, and I believe Lawyer Ron will all be retired now. Those inside the sport wish there'd be more interest in it, and that fans would stay with the sport and follow it more closely. If horses would race more than one season so one could connect with them more closely, fans would stay longer. You can follow someone like Steve Yzerman for nearly twenty years. But you've only got Street Sense for one - last Breeders' Cup Juvenile through the Triple Crown, through this year's Breeder's Cup Classic. Keeping horses on the track longer will help build the fan base. You look at Better Talk Now, who's eight and still running. He's got a solid fan base. But fans need more than one horse with which to connect. Unfortunately, when you look at what happened to George Washington or to Barbaro or to Spook Express - they're so fragile, and every time they hit the track, there's a good chance they'll never come home. Yes, most breeding rights are about money, but a lot of the people working with the horses every day genuinely love them. There's got to be a way to strike a better balance.