The 2008 Horse of the Year race looks to be down to two horses if you still think Big Brown is good. If not, then the award is already set as Curlin would win back-to-back Horse of the Year awards. Curlin has done nothing to dissuade voters. His only loss was a 2nd place finish as he was being switched from the dirt to the turf for a one race experiment.

Big Brown has looked very suspect since losing the Belmont and a loss in either the Monmouth Stakes or the Breeders’ Cup Classic would end his chances at the Horse of the Year award.

In horse racing betting, many gamblers are assuming that Big Brown will win the Monmouth Stakes but that is not a foregone conclusion. It is also not a given that he will win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Curlin could really end the discussion with a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in late September.

All other horses in the country, even unbeaten ones like Zenyatta are really not part of the Horse of the Year discussion. The hoopla surrounding Big Brown is now gone and most horse racing betting experts believe Curlin is the superior horse.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown is favored in Saturday’s $500,000 Monmouth Stakes odds but not overwhelming so. Big Brown is listed as the 2-1 horse betting morning line favorite against 10 challengers. Shakis is listed at 7-2 in the morning line odds and is a serious threat.

"On turf, we're happy to take him on and feel like we have a big chance," said Shakis trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. Bobby Frankel who trains Proudinsky also likes his chances on Saturday, "I'm really looking forward to running in this race Saturday," said Frankel. Post time for the Monmouth is 4:52 pm Eastern time on Saturday afternoon.

Big Brown is running on the turf for the first time since last September. His connections say that the horse prefers turf even though he has not run on it since that race. The Monmouth Stakes is being used as a prep race for Big Brown for the Breeders' Cup Classic on October 25th at Santa Anita Park. Santa Anita has a synthetic surface and the connections of Big Brown believe that the turf will help the horse adjust.

"This grass race is really more about a prep for a synthetic run," owner Michael Iavarone said, "The good ones that have run well on the synthetic have really run well on the grass. We made it very clear that this race is a prep race. We're not looking for his best race here; we're looking for his best race in October.”

Curlin returned to the winner’s circle on Saturday as he took the Grade 1, half million dollar Woodward Stakes by 1.5 lengths over Past the Point. Wanderin Boy finished third. The win was Curlin’s 10th in 14 career starts and puts him at almost $9.8 million dollars in horse betting career earnings, second all-time behind Cigar’s $9.99 million.

The win at Saratoga on Saturday was not as easy as expected for Curlin. He did not have the easiest of trips under jockey Robby Albarado. He was stuck in between Divine Park and Out of Control entering the turn. Down the back he was just outside of Divine Park and had to run down Past the Point who set blazing fractions.

"I don't know what Alan (jockey of Divine Park) was doing, I guess he was trying to park me out there," Albarado said. "I was trying to save ground, I wanted to get to the fence."  At the far turn Curlin went by Divine Park and then Wanderin Boy and finally got the best of Past the Point. When he finally got the lead Curlin slowed down and the final time was a slow 1:49.34 for the 1 1/8 miles.

Big Brown will make his next start at Monmouth Park in the Monmouth Stakes on Saturday, September 13th. The purse for the race will increase from $100,000 to a cool half million as long as Big Brown starts the race.

“We were looking for a grass race for him, and the Monmouth grass surface should be perfect for Big Brown,” co-owner Michael Iavarone said, “Monmouth was cordial enough to put up a nice purse for him and the fans really took to Big Brown last time he was there. We’ll use this race to go to the synthetic surface at Santa Anita and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.” Iavarone added.

Those are likely the final two horse betting races in Big Brown’s career as he is expected to be retired after the Classic.

This will be the second straight start for Big Brown at Monmouth. He won the $1 Million dollar Haskell in front of 45,132 fans.

“We had a huge day on Haskell Day, and he was the main reason for it,” Monmouth General Manager Bob Kulina said. “This will make September exciting for us; it will make September something to look forward to.”

The race on the turf is expected to prepare Big Brown for the Breeders’ Cup Classic in late October at Santa Anita on a synthetic surface. The problem for Monmouth Park may be finding horses to run against Big Brown but Kulina doesn’t believe it will be a problem.