After a long winter in Florida, and with five horses he currently supervises in Kentucky, trainer Jose Delgado said he wants to settle back into his hometown base at Monmouth Park as fast as possible.
Finally, The Critical Way, a gray grass sprinter from Delgado’s stables, became the first horse to arrive when it was led out of the truck by foreman Ramon Ortiz at 7:40 a.m. when the Monmouth Park stables reopened today.
The track will open for the first practice tomorrow. The opening date for Monmouth Park’s 77th season is Saturday, May 7.
“I sent in some horses early because I was ready to go home,” said Delgado, who was fourth on the Monmouth Park coach rankings with 22 wins a year ago. “I’m everywhere. I’m in Kentucky now. I’ve spent the winter in Tampa. I’m ready for a fresh start and I’m going home,”
An 8-year-old who has won nine races and made $548,168, The Critical Way is one of 15 Delgado-trained horses to arrive today. He said five more will be delivered from Kentucky shortly.
Off as of December 1, Critical Road is being offered just $100,000 Get Serious at five lawn shops on May 22 in Monmouth, according to Delgado.
“We gave him a break,” he said. “He is doing very well. Looks like he is coming back strong.”
Coaches Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown will have major squads again at Monmouth Park, with Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer returning to the series after a successful debut season at the track last year. Three-time top coach Kelly Breen will also be represented.
Luis Carvajal, Jorge Delgado, Mike Dini, Claudio Gonzalez, Rory Huston, Pat McBurney, Doug Nunn, Greg Sacco, Rafael Schistl, Kent Sweezey and Michael Trombetta are among the familiar names returning to the coaching ranks. Returning from the hiatus were Gerald Bennett and Jonathan Thomas, each planning to have about 50 horses rammed straight into Monmouth.
Monmouth Park’s 62-day meeting will feature 52 staking races – 10 classified events – worth $8,305 million, highlighted by the $1,1 million TVG.com Haskell Shares program on July 23. Several stake races will see significant increases in wallets this summer, including United Nations Class 1, from $500,000 to $600,000; Monmouth Cup Rank 3 (from $300,000 to $400,000); Molly Pitcher Rank 3 (from $250,000 to $400,000) and Matchmaker Level 3 (from $150,000 to $200,000).
All of those races, as well as the $100,000 Wolf Hill Stakes prize money, will be on the Haskell Day card.
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