Monmouth Park Unveils 81st Season Led by Million-Dollar Haskell, Honors Dr. Chris Samaha with Raines Award

As the 2026 season approaches at Monmouth Park, the Jersey Shore oval is gearing up for what promises to be another solid summer of racing. At a Tuesday press conference and luncheon, track officials laid out the plans for a 50-day meet that will be headlined by the prestigious $1 million GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes.

The Haskell remains the centerpiece of Monmouth's stakes calendar and has proven to be a genuine crowd draw. Last year's renewal saw Journalism (64) capture the honors after his impressive victory in the GI Preakness Stakes. With momentum like that, the 2026 running should attract a quality field of three-year-old contenders.

Leading into the Haskell will be the 45th renewal of the Pegasus Stakes at a mile and one-sixteenth, designed specifically as the track's primary prep for the nine-furlong championship race. To incentivize connections, the top two finishers in the Pegasus earn free entry and start fees for the Haskell—a meaningful financial benefit in today's racing economy.

The numbers behind last year's Haskell Day tell the story of the event's appeal. The all-sources handle reached $21,999,963, marking the third consecutive year of record wagering. The crowd of 41,876 represented the largest attendance since 2015, a positive sign for the sport's fan engagement on the Jersey Shore.

Monmouth's 2026 slate will feature 36 stakes races across the meet, with nine at the graded level, representing $5.85 million in stakes distribution. Racing will kick off Saturday, May 9, with Saturday, Sunday, and holiday post times at 12:50 p.m. Friday racing begins June 26 with a 2 p.m. post time. The meet runs through September 13.

Beyond the racing itself, Tuesday's press conference highlighted the human element that makes racing thrive. Dr. Chris Samaha, the visionary behind the Backstretch Community Assistance Program at Monmouth Park, was named the 2026 recipient of the Virgil “Buddy” Raines Distinguished Achievement Award—a fitting honor for a man who has dedicated more than three decades to the sport's workforce.

At 55 years old, Samaha, a sports psychologist by training, founded BCAP more than 30 years ago and launched a substance abuse program for backstretch workers back in 1995. What began as a targeted intervention has evolved into a comprehensive support system addressing all types of health issues facing stable hands, grooms, hot walkers, and exercise riders. The program offers free counseling, health education initiatives, and access to medical screenings that might otherwise be unavailable to this essential but often overlooked segment of racing.

On the training side, Jorge Delgado enters the 2026 meet with momentum and ambition. The 36-year-old narrowly won last year's Monmouth training title, edging out five-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown with a 21-20 edge in wins on the final weekend. It was Delgado's first title at Monmouth despite beginning his training career in 2017 and basing himself at the Jersey Shore track since 2022.

This year, he's allocated 60 stalls in Barn 1, with 51 currently occupied. He's intentionally keeping the remaining 10 stalls open for claims, working with new owners who want to pursue that avenue. Last year, Delgado arrived with 39 horses and grew to 45 through claims, a strategy he's refining this season.

In the jockey ranks, Leon returns for his second year at Monmouth with his sights set on a bold objective: toppling Paco Lopez's stranglehold on the Monmouth riding title. Lopez, at 40 years old, finds himself one victory away from tying Joe Bravo's record of 13 Monmouth riding crowns. For Leon, the challenge is significant but not insurmountable, especially given his newfound familiarity with the track and its connections.

Leon became a household name in 2022 when he guided the 80-1 longshot Rich Strike (0) to a stunning Kentucky Derby victory. After finishing fourth in the Monmouth standings last year in his first season, Leon is eager to prove that wasn't a fluke.

Lopez, meanwhile, plans to stay the course. The veteran rider maintains his strategy of splitting time between Monmouth and Colonial Downs, where he also captured the riding title last year. For him, the pursuit of Bravo's record represents a career milestone he never imagined possible early on.

The stage is set for an exciting 2026 meet at Monmouth Park, with elite racing, compelling personal narratives, and the promise of summer days at the Jersey Shore.