Monmouth Park isn’t what it used to be, but after years of decline, the flagship New Jersey track is at least mildly rising again. Year-over-year average daily handle rose more than 11 percent during 2023, the third straight season the track posted a handle increase, while field size rose to 7.71 starters per race, up considerably from the 7.10 in 2018, the track’s low-water mark. The trend at least in part has been driven by acknowledging a basic tenet of racing today: Not enough horses for the number of racetracks simultaneously hosting meets. Bowing to this reality, Monmouth runs just 51-day seasons now, this year’s meet commencing with a 10-race Saturday program. A total of 504 races were run during 2023 at Monmouth, down from 648 in 2019. Race weeks until June 21 consist of Saturday and Sunday cards (post time 12:50 p.m. Eastern) before Friday programs (first post 2 p.m.) are added. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Several new or returning trainers figure to shift the dynamics of day-to-day racing this season. Joe Orseno has 45 stalls, Wesley Ward 42 stalls, Saffie Joseph 23, and Mike Maker 19. Trainer Lindsay Schultz ran a Monmouth string in 2023 but has a larger presence with 41 stalls. Claudio Gonzalez ran away with last year’s training title, winning 46 races to Chad Brown’s second-best total, 21. Brown and Todd Pletcher continue running full barns at Monmouth, and Brown had the better 2023, winning at a 31 percent clip while posting a solid $1.85 ROI. Less than half of Brown’s starters came on turf, a surface where Gonzalez, who had a high-volume $2.13 ROI during last year’s meet, does far worse (6 for 36, $1.24 ROI) than on dirt. Gonzalez is just a 12 percent trainer this year as of May 9; expect that number to rise steadily. Perennial leading rider Paco Lopez heads the jockey colony, while onetime perennial leading rider Joe Bravo hangs his tack at Monmouth for the first time since 2020. Matt Dinerman takes up Monmouth announcing duties, replacing Chris Griffin. Monmouth also has a new racing secretary, Gerry Stanislawczyk, previously a racing official, who replaced longtime racing secretary John Heims just last month. Monmouth races will be aired on the Fox Sports show "America's Day at the Races," which also features races from the Belmont-at-Aqueduct meeting, through July 7. During the remainder of the meet, select stakes races will be shown on the program, alongside the races from Saratoga. Races during the 2023 meet confused bettors more than in typical Monmouth seasons, with favorites winning at a 35 percent clip, lower than standard, and potentially an outlier. A few longer-term post position trends, dating to 2010, are worth noting, though they’re hardly surprising. In dirt routes between one mile and 1 1/16 miles, posts 1 and 2 confer a meaningful advantage, which also has been the case in turf sprints. In turf routes between a mile and 1 1/16 miles, horses breaking from post 10 and out appear to be at a considerable disadvantage. Monmouth takeout rates stand at 17 percent win, place, and show; 19 percent on exactas; 25 percent on trifectas; and a very competitive 15 percent on pick fours and pick fives. Maiden, allowance, and claiming purses are down this year. A maiden special weight at the start of last season was worth $57,500; this year it’s $52,000. Some claiming levels have taken even deeper cuts. Stakes purses remain the same, the schedule highlighted by the $1 million Haskell Invitational card on July 20. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The $100,000 Long Branch, the opening-day feature, is meant to be a first local stepping-stone toward the Haskell.The mile and 70-yard dirt race is restricted to 3-year-olds, but if any of the eight entered are to make the Haskell as more than filler, they’ll need to show serious improvement the next couple months. Either Heartened, Pletcher’s entrant, or the New Jersey-bred Sea Streak could be favored. Heartened, Lopez’s mount, is just 1 for 6 to start his career, though he probably ran a career-best finishing a close second last month in a Keeneland first-level allowance. Sea Streak also is 1 for 6 and, unlike Heartened, must prove he can race as effectively around two turns as one. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.