Success in horse racing from a trainer's perspective often has its rewards. In the case of Marcus Melander's stable, which nearly reached the $10 million plateau in earnings in 2025, it is being marked by a stable that has reached the number 92. For Melander, who started his own stable in 2015 after working for Jimmy Takter for one year, the depth of his stable is highlighted by a milestone. "We've got four barns here with 92 stalls," said Melander from his New Jersey training center that has reached 100 percent capacity. "I'm grateful that owners have shown the faith in me to trust me with their horses." That trust has been built on years of success, with Melander's stable broadening its reach from an initial singular set-up in New Jersey to a new farm and training facility in Kentucky that allows the operation to maintain its personal edge and personality. With last year's number of starters markedly increased from 2024, Melander suggested that the growth had not stretched the stable's ability. "That we can have our horses stabled in Kentucky helps manage the numbers much better," Melander said. Of greatest value to the success story is working within an environment that the horses are most comfortable with. While the larger operation has its advantages, especially with the enormous growth of the Kentucky program, Melander's base of operations in New Jersey is where the 92 horses are stabled for now, with hopes that many will gravitate towards Kentucky at some point this year. A total of 62 2-year-olds are currently working towards the beginning of their racing careers and on schedule despite the rough winter we've had in the Northeast. "They haven't missed a day," Melander said when asked about the impact of the cold and snowy conditions seen quite often this winter. "It's been a lot of extra work outside of taking care of the horses this winter," continued the trainer, pointing to keeping the track in suitable condition to get the horses moving. That said, the weather has had some impact on what Melander had hoped to accomplish this spring with some of his returning sophomores. "I think we're about four weeks away before any of the horses will qualify," Melander said. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Some of the unproven freshmen from 2025 were nominated to the Weiss Series in April at Pocono, but Melander wasn't going to push them to participate. "They've been training but because of the conditions we haven't been able to put the work into them that I would like," said Melander, who suggested that the sand track at his New Jersey facility was a victim of the winter. With the stable increasing from roughly 80 a year ago to 92, the earnings potential grows significantly. While there are more questions than answers at this point regarding his freshman class, there is enormous reason for optimism just looking at the names that will be returning in the 4-year-old class and Open company in 2026. The recent announcement that Super Chapter - the 2025 Dan Patch Award winner as the top 3-year-old in the sport - will return to the track to race this year was the bad breeding news followed by a good news event for Melander. While Super Chapter, a son of Chapter Seven, won't be breeding in 2026, he could be making headlines on the racetrack. "We've had him back in training for over a month now," said Melander. "I'm sure he'll be ready for the Graduate. We may skip the first leg in Canada (Woodbine Mohawk Park)." As with his other 4-year-olds in the past, Melander won't subject them early to the rigors of racing in Open company and instead will point to the Graduate and Hambletonian Maturity initially with hopes that it prepares them to face older company. Joining Super Chapter in that division will be the Breeders Crown upset winner Meshuggah, a son of Greenshoe that showed himself to be more than capable at the end of his sophomore year, winning twice in 1:50 1/5, first in the Bluegrass at The Red Mile and then as a 62-1 shot in the Breeders Crown in late October. "He came on strongly towards the end of the year and he's coming back well," said Melander of Meshuggah. Both Aetos Kronos S and Periculum are training back towards another season racing with the best Open trotters in North America. Aetos Kronos S was first or second in 10 of his 14 starts in North America as a 9-year-old in his first starts on the continent. The durable son of Bold Eagle took a sub-1:50 mark at Woodbine Mohawk Park while earning a shade under $300K in 2025. Periculum will be returning in 2026 following a pair of $800K-plus campaigns in 2024-25. Now a 7-year-old son of Muscle Hill, Periculum has made the most of his opportunities when racing at the highest level. In 2025 he captured both the Crawford and Cashman at the Meadowlands and Melander hopes to have him ready for this year's Cutler Memorial at the Meadowlands scheduled for May 16. While Melander's stable has grown and excelled over its 11-year history in North America, it has yet to capture a Hambletonian trophy. The elusive prize may very well be in reach this year with Melander perhaps under less pressure in 2026 than he was last year at this time with both Maryland and Super Chapter at the top of the winterbook favorites list. The big names for 2026 are Apex and Spencer Hanover. The former looked like a star from the start last year, while Spencer Hanover took some time and emerged in the fall. Apex, a son of Walner from Mission Brief, took home the Dan Patch Award as the top freshman in his class. "You could tell early on with him," said Melander. "He had a certain bounce." Apex would capture the Mohawk Million and Peter Haughton Memorial and earn $871K in his first year at the track, but it was Spencer Hanover, a son of Chapter Seven, that would spoil the party in the $700K Breeders Crown final. After losing his first nine races, Spencer Hanover won three of his last four, ending the season on the highest note. Among the 62 babies in training are 50 eligible in Kentucky. It's way too early to make predictions at this point, but Melander, when asked about first-crop horses, spoke kindly of a pair he's training from the initial offering of Temporal Hanover, eligible primarily in Indiana. There's also a colt by Gimpanzee that's a half-brother to Apex that could help elevate the stallion with his third crop hitting the track this year.