After edging out five-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown to earn his first training title last year in a career that began in 2017, Jorge Delgado isn’t being subtle about his goals for the upcoming Monmouth Park meet.

“Win it again – hopefully,” said Delgado.

On paper, Delgado appears poised to make another strong title run when the 50-day meet gets underway on Saturday, May 9.

He has 60 stalls in Barn 1, with 51 occupied by horses currently on the grounds.

“I’ll use the other 10 to claim horses, he said. “I have some new owners who want to claim so I will leave the stalls open for that.”

A year ago, the 36-year-old Maracaibo, Venezuela, native came into the meet with 39 horses, growing that total to 45 after claims. It was just enough to edge out Brown, 21-20, for the training title on the final weekend.

“It meant a lot to me, but it also meant a lot to my owners,” he said. “I saw how much it mattered to them, especially the owners who have been supporting me the past five or six years.”

Having the quantity he now has is one reason Delgado feels he can make a run at another title. Just as important, though, is the re-shaping of the horsepower throughout his barn.

“We have a different group of horses this year,” said Delgado, who has been Monmouth Park-based since 2022. “We have more babies and more quality. We’re trying to focus on developing these horses and trying to get them to big races. So we’re trying to develop champions.”

Delgado, who has captured seven graded stakes during his career, is eager to see his vast collection of 2-year-olds on the racetrack, with the first ones expected to debut June 6 or 7 at the Jersey Shore track. Overall, Delgado has 19 2-year-olds.

“A lot of them are very well bred and very expensive,” he said.

The quest to repeat won’t be easy, Delgado knows. Brown is back with 72 stalls, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher has 50 and the depth of the competition among the trainer ranks adds to the difficulty.

Also returning are Juan Carlos Avila, who tied for third in the standings last year with 18 wins; Kathleen O’Connell, fourth last year with 17 wins and Silvino Ramirez, Peter Sinnefias and Monmouth Park fixture Chuck Spina, each with 15 wins during the 2025 meet.

Three-time leading trainer Kelly Breen was right behind the latter trio with 14 wins. Breen has 49 stalls this year.

Among the other returnees are Kate DeMasi, Mike Dini, veteran Tim Hills, Rory Huston, Anthony Margotta, Jr., Pat McBurney, Eddie Owens, Jr., Teresa Pompey and Lindsay Schultz.

The 2026 Monmouth Park meet will feature 36 stakes races worth $5.85 million.

First race post time on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays is 12:50 p.m. Post time for Friday racing, which begins June 20, is 2 p.m.

Parking is free throughout the meet.