2007 Breeders’ Cup World Championship races jump-starts on October 26 and 27 and New Jersey is ready to take part in the horseracing history.

The 137-year old Monmouth Park racetrack received a $30 Million make-over in last year. The re-design of the grass course for the 2006 season brought with it a new, second chute to accommodate 5 1/2 furlong sprint races. Turf races can be run along the hedge, or with the portable rail out 12 feet (dubbed the “Haskell Course”), 24 feet (”Monmouth Course”) or 36 feet (”Lennox Course”). The main track is a one mile dirt oval with chutes for 6 furlong and 1 1/4 mile races. The turf course is seven furlongs in circumference, with a diagonal chute for races between 1 mile and 1 1/8 miles.

A record $23 million in purses will be on the line at the Breeders’ Cup, and many more dollars will change hands based on the results. Last year, more than $134 million was bet on the Breeders’ Cup, more than on the Kentucky Derby.

The Breeders’ Cup will draw 45,000 hard-core horse-racing fans, including a mix of billionaires, $2 bettors, and hordes of handicappers, the gamblers who are the lifeblood of horse racing and view the Breeders’ Cup races as an ultimate test of their skill.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Horse Racing Odds