I start getting excited right around this time every year. Opening Day is about two weeks away and the 73rd season of live racing at Delaware Park has the potential to be one of the most exciting even though the Stanton-oval is faced with increased competition. Philadelphia Park has a lucrative purse structure now that rivals New York and in May Monmouth Park will be opening the a million dollar a day meet. Even though the Delaware Park racing office has been presented with some difficult challenges, they have done a fantastic job putting together a very impressive list of prospective outfits that plan on competing at Delaware Park this season. I say prospective because in this game you never really know for sure a horse is in a race until you see him leave the gate. And while I am excited about the prospects for the 2010 season, I also realize temperance should be applied. Anyways it looks like the standard bunch of horsemen will be returning with no defections. Add to this list about a dozen so new outfits and Stanton could be a pretty exciting place this summer. In the trainer category the top 30 or so conditioners from last year will be returning. Add to that list the names of new trainers like Hobby, Andrade, Lukas, Calhoun, Robertson, Cibelli and Biancone and winning a race at Delaware Park whether you are a trainer, jockey or handicapper looks to be a challenging but also rewarding venture. Even the jockeys will be competitive. Leading rider David Cohen is set for a return and Shane Sellers has decided to make Delaware home this summer. Terry Thompson plans on coming as well. I know we are two weeks away and a lot can happen between now and then, but I really like where we are right now.