You’re staring at the racing form, the sun is beating down on the Jersey Shore, and the salt air is mixing with the smell of liniment and fresh dirt. It’s opening day at Oceanport. Most people look at the entries for Monmouth Park and see a list of horses; they see numbers and names like they’re reading a grocery receipt. But honestly, if you want to actually win a few bucks—or at least not lose your shirt before the fourth race—you’ve gotta look at those entries differently.
The 2026 meet at Monmouth Park is scheduled for 50 days, followed by that nine-day turf sprint at the Meadowlands. It’s a specific kind of ecosystem. If you’re trying to handicap the "Big M" without understanding how the track actually plays, you're basically throwing money into the Atlantic.
Why Speed Rules the Entries for Monmouth Park
Here’s the thing about the dirt at Monmouth: it is fast. Like, incredibly fast. If you see a horse in the entries that likes to sit ten lengths back and make a "heroic" late run, you should probably just cross them off right now. It sounds harsh, but the stats don't lie. In 2024 and 2025, frontrunners—horses that are on or within a length of the lead at the first call—won nearly half of the dirt sprints.
If you aren't betting on speed, you’re betting against the physics of the track.
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The stretch is relatively short. The turns are tight. When a horse like Paco Lopez gets a horse to the lead on this surface, they are very, very hard to catch. Lopez has basically owned this track for a decade. If his name is next to an entry, the odds are going to be short, but there is a reason for that. He knows exactly how to exploit the bias.
Decoding the Turf Entries
Now, the turf is a different animal entirely. While the dirt is a speed highway, the turf course actually gives closers a fighting chance. When looking at the entries for Monmouth Park turf races, I usually look for the stalkers. These are the horses sitting two to four lengths off the pace.
- Inside vs. Outside: Don't get too spooked by an outside post on the grass. People tend to over-bet the inside rails, but the stats from recent meets show that the win percentages for horses in posts 7 and out are actually holding their own.
- The "Jersey Shore" Factor: The humidity and proximity to the ocean can change the turf condition in an hour. Always check for "scratches" right before the first race. A "firm" course at 11:00 AM might be "yielding" by 2:00 PM if a sea breeze kicks up some moisture.
The Names You Need to Know
You can’t talk about Monmouth entries without talking about Chad Brown. If he ships a horse down from New York for a turf stakes race, just assume that horse is ready to run a hole in the wind. His win rate here is often hovering around 40% because he only sends the ones he knows can handle the specific Jersey turns.
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Then you’ve got guys like Jorge Delgado and Jamie Ness. These guys are the "blue-collar" kings of the entries. They win at high percentages with claimers and allowance horses. If you see a Ness entry coming off a short layoff, that’s usually a signal that the horse is "live."
How to Read the "Scratches"
A "scratch" is when a horse is entered but then pulled from the race. This happens for a million reasons—soreness, track condition changes, or the trainer just didn't like the post position.
Basically, if the main track is muddy and a horse is scratched, that tells you the trainer knows their horse can't handle the "slop." Pay attention to which horses stay in. Sometimes, a field of ten becomes a field of five because of a rainstorm. That changes the entire geometry of the race. A speed horse that would have been pressured by three other speed horses might suddenly find themselves "lone speed" because the challengers scratched.
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Realities of the 2026 Season
The New Jersey Racing Commission approved the 50-day meet for a reason. They want consistency. For the bettor, this means you can build a profile of these horses over the summer. A horse that finished third in June might be "pointing" for a specific race in August during the Haskell weekend.
Speaking of the Haskell, that’s the crown jewel. When the entries for the Haskell come out, you aren't just looking at local Jersey horses; you’re looking at the best three-year-olds in the country. The handicapping rules change slightly there because the class of the horse can overcome the track bias, but even then, a closer in the Haskell has a mountain to climb.
Practical Tips for the Casual Fan
If you're just headed to the track for a bucket of beer and some sun, here is the "cheat sheet" for looking at those entries:
- Look for the "L": In the entries, you'll see a little "L" next to some horses. That means Lasix. Most horses run on it, but if a horse is switching to Lasix for the first time, they often show a big improvement.
- Jockey/Trainer Combos: Look for Paco Lopez paired with a trainer like Kelly Breen. That is a high-percentage "home team" connection.
- Distance Switches: Be wary of horses moving from a long route (1 mile+) to a short sprint (5.5 furlongs). They might be fit, but they probably won't have the "early foot" to keep up with the Jersey sprinters.
Handicapping isn't about being a genius. It's about being observant. The entries for Monmouth Park tell a story of who is ready, who is "just visiting" from Parx or Aqueduct, and who is the local king of the hill.
To get the most out of your next trip to Oceanport, go to the official Monmouth Park website or Equibase about 48 hours before the race day to see the "overnight" entries. This gives you time to look at the past performances before the morning-line odds start swaying your opinion. Check the weather forecast for Oceanport specifically—not just "New Jersey"—because the shore has its own micro-climate that can turn a fast track into a puddle in minutes. Finally, watch the first two races of the day without betting. See if the rail is "dead" or if everything is winning from the outside. That 20 minutes of observation is worth more than any "expert" tip you'll find in the stands.