Week four of the 2021 racing season at Saratoga Race Course beginning August 4 will contain a baker’s dozen of stakes races, 8 of which are graded.
The Grade I Whitney with a purse of $1,000,000 is the highlight of the week and will be run Saturday, August 7. Friday, August 6 will see the inductions of the Class of 2020 and 2021 in the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame at a ceremony that will be live streamed to the public at 10:30 a.m. A Grade II race honoring the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame will be contested later Friday afternoon on the grass at a mile for three-year-olds.
The biggest race card of the season so far will be Saturday, August 7. Five stakes will be contested that day with three Grade I contests - the Whitney; The Test; and the Saratoga Derby -anchoring the extended program. The Whitney at a mile and an eighth traditionally draws some of the best older horses in the country and this year is no exception. Expected starters include Maxfield who is generally considered the best horse in training; the very speedy Knicks Go; prolific winners Silver State and By My Standards and filly champion Swiss Skydiver who will take on males after missing her race last week due to quarantine restrictions. The Whitney, named in honor of the entire Whitney family, is always a matchup of speed horses and stayers and has seen some memorable performances. Having been won by some of the best horses in history, it is ironic that the Whitney is best known for Secretariat’s loss in 1973 to the Allen Jerkens-trained Onion. Secretariat’s loss in the Whitney solidified Saratoga’s reputation as the Graveyard of Champions and Allen Jerkens’ nickname – “The Giant Killer.”
Also on the Saturday card is the Test for three-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. The Test attracts the fastest members of the class and again is a blend of horses with pure speed and those that can stay an extra furlong. Originally run in 1922, the Test for decades was used as a prep for the much longer Alabama Stakes but in recent years has acted more as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. The $500,000 purse makes the Test among the most lucrative sprints for three-year-old fillies.
The Saturday card is further bolstered by the relatively new and blandly named Saratoga Derby for three-year-olds contested at a mile and three-sixteenths. It offers an outsized purse of $1 million. This series typically attracts European entrants, and a possible entrant is European trainer Aiden O’Brien’s recent impressive winner of the Belmont Derby - Bolshoi Ballet.
The Friday, August 6 card is the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame stakes for three-year-olds at a mile on the grass. The race celebrates the induction of the newest members of the Hall of Fame earlier that day across Union Avenue. This year’s induction includes both the classes of 2020 and 2021 since last year’s ceremony was cancelled. Inductee Trainer Mark Casse told me “I have been very thankful for the success I have had in horse racing and this recognition is the pinnacle of my career.” On waiting an extra year for the actual ceremony, he added “it has allowed me to enjoy it that much longer.” He further added he was “looking to win” the stakes race that afternoon.
Among the other inductees is Trainer Todd Pletcher who is also expected to have an entrant in the race. On his induction into the Hall of Fame, the seven-time Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer told me “It’s a great honor. I’m very happy to be able to share it with my parents, family and coworkers.”
In addition to Pletcher, the 2021 class includes Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 13-time champion steeplechase trainer Jack Fisher. The 2020 inductees in addition to trainer Mark Casse, are jockey Darrel McHargue, horses Tom Bowling and Wise Dan, and Pillars of the Turf Alice Headley Chandler, J. Keene Daingerfield, Jr., and George D. Widener, Jr.
The Troy Stakes for older horses at 5 ½ furlongs on the grass and the Alydar at a mile and a furlong also are featured on the strong Friday card. Blue Grass stakes winner Art Collector is expected to head the Alydar.
Wednesday has three-year-old New York Bred fillies going a mile on the grass in the New York Sire Stakes Series – Statue of Liberty Division. A restricted stake- the Shine Again for older fillies at seven furlongs will also be run on Wednesday.
Thursday highlight is the Birdstone, named after Mary Lou Whitney’s 2004 Belmont Stakes winner. Run at the unusual marathon distance of a mile and three quarters; it offers a purse of $120,000 for older horses.
Sunday completes week with the filly counterpart to the Saratoga Derby – The Saratoga Oaks. At the same distance of a mile and three-sixteenths but this time for three-year-old fillies a large purse of $700,000 is expected to draw a competitive field. Also on Sunday, two-year-old fillies stretch out a bit in the 6 and 1/2 furlong Adirondack – a grade II offering a purse of $200,000.
