Travers Stakes at Saratoga. AP Photo/Hans Pennink
The 154th running of the Travers headlines the biggest day of the summer at Saratoga. Five Grade 1 races highlight the Sat., Aug. 26 card. The $1.25 million Travers drew a comptitive field of seven three-year-old runners for the “Midsummer Derby”. Each of the three Triple Crown race winners will run in the 2023 Travers – Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Preakness winner National Treasure and Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo.
Adding more star power to the race is champion 2-year-old Forte, who was the opening odds favorite for the Kentucky Derby before being withdrawn.
The 1 1/4 mile Travers Stakes is at 6:11 p.m. ET and will be shown live nationwide on FOX television as part of a its 3 1/2 hour horse racing coverage starting at 3 p.m ET. Additional big races from Saratoga and across the country can be watched on FanDuelTV and live on TVG as part of their watch and wager comprehensive coverage.
Horse Racing Betting and Strategy
Picks for the Travers and other four Grade 1 races will be added later in the week. But a brief review of the field shows some close races and results between many horses in the Travers.
Forte won the Jim Dandy at Saratoga last month by a nose with his top speed figure. It was his seventh win in nine career starts. That includes 3-for-4 this year with a second place finish as the favorite in the Belmont Stakes. The last two winners of the Jim Dandy Stakes both won the Travers as post-time betting favorites – Essential Quality in 2021 and Epicenter in 2022. But only two of the previous seven Travers favorites had hit the board. Arcangelo won the Belmont by 1 1/2 lengths over Forte in his last race 11 weeks ago. He’s a son of the great Arrogate and is now 2-for-2 in stakes races. Arcangelo’s jockey Javier Castellano has won the Travers six times. Tapit Trice was just a nose behind runner-up Forte in the Belmont, but missed the board in the Kentucky Derby and Haskell last month after winning the Tampa Bay Derby and Blue Grass Stakes this spring.
Mage captured the Kentucky Derby at 15/1 odds, and that was his fastest race. He’s not won any of his other four graded stakes starts, but has run well and finished second in the Florida Derby to Forte, third in the Preakness as the favorite, and second last month in the Haskell Stakes. National Treasure won the Preakness with his fastest speed figure going wire-to-wire but couldn’t hold up in the marathon at the Belmont Stakes to finish sixth. He’s hit the board in three other graded stakes more than eight months ago.
Disarm is a son of the great Gun Runner. He finished fourth in both the Kentucky Derby and Jim Dandy despite his fastest speed figure in last month’s race. Between those two he won the Matt Winn Stakes. Scotland is a late-bloomer and he won the Curlin Stakes last month at Saratoga in his stakes debut. Scotland and Mage are both sons of Good Magic, who finished second in the 2018 Kentucky Derby and is a multiple Grade 1 winner.
Understanding Horse Racing and Bet Types
Along with the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers, there are four other Grade 1 races Saturday at Saratoga. Two are also Breeders’ Cup (BC) “Win and You’re In” races to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita.
- Runhappy Travers (G1) $1.25 million – 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-olds
- Resorts World Sword Dancer (G1) $750,000 – 1 1/2 miles for older horses on inner turf – BC
- H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) $500,000 – 7 furlongs for 3-year-olds
- Forego (G1) $500,000 – 7 furlongs for older horses
- Ballerina (G1) $500,000 – 7 furlongs for fillies and mares – BC
The $600,000 Grade 1 Personal Ensign for older fillies and mares is moved to Friday to kickoff the big weekend of racing at Saratoga. But the Travers headlines the most popular race day this summer at Saratoga. The last seven Travers winners also won their previous race, and FanDuel Racing gives Forte, Arcangelo or Scotland a great chance to keep that streak intact.
You can bet on it.