Monmouth Park has its own pennant race of sorts as the calendar turns to August and the peak of summer approaches. Heading into the three-day racing weekend that gets underway with an eight-race card on Friday, Claudio Gonzalez and Mario Serey Jr. find themselves in a dead heat atop the trainer standings with 23 wins apiece.

Both will be firing again this weekend, too, with Serey hoping to enter up 19 horses over the next three racing cards.

“It’s a good competition,” said Serey. “In the beginning of the meet I was not thinking about the title. But at this point, with 45 horses – and maybe more soon – I think we can do it.  I think we can win the title with what we have right now.

“In the beginning of the meet I wasn’t as confident. I only had 25 horses then. But now with 45 horses I’m right there.”

Gonzalez overcame a slow start for the second straight year, opening the meet just 1-for-19 and 3-for-32, before the winners started coming in flurries. He is 20-for-93 since then.

With Gonzalez going 5-for-13 last weekend Serey kept pace with three winners.

“The difference is being in the right races and having races written that your horses fit,” said Gonzalez, who has won 1,344 career races. “I wasn’t worried about the slow start. It happened last year too. I am confident in what I am doing. I knew things would turn around.

“I have 45 horses now. We’re going to see if that’s enough.

Winning titles is nothing new for Gonzalez, who owns 16 training titles at Laurel and two at Pimlico. He is trying to become just the second trainer at Monmouth Park this century to win three straight titles.

“If you look at it there are three guys who have a chance to be leading trainer,” said Gonzalez. “Jorge Delgado (with 19 wins from just 78 starters) has a chance, too. We have to see how everything plays out.”

Serey has won just one training title since starting his career in 2008, taking the boutique meet honors at Pimlico last September.

Gonzalez has five entered on Friday (two in the same race and one alternate) while Serey has four.

“I’m trying to enter when I can,” said Serey. “The more horses I have the more I enter. I will try to claim even more horses. I’d like to have 50 or 60 horses in another two weeks.

“I said at the beginning of the meet that I can compete here. I live here. People know me at Monmouth. If I could win the title it would be a source of pride for me and my team.”

Though both trainers hail from Chile, they did not get acquainted until coming to the United States. Gonzalez, however, did work for Serey’s uncle, Juan Serey, a five-time leading trainer at Monmouth Park.

“We’re competing like everyone else,” said Gonzalez.

Friday marks the 33^rd card of the 51-day meet, meaning opportunities are shrinking for both trainers in their title quest.