Following the facile victory by the Todd Pletcher-trained Nest in last week’s Alabama Stakes which established her as the undisputed leader in the three-year-old filly division Epicenter will try to cement his status as the best three-year-old colt in Saratoga’s signature race – the Travers on Saturday August 27.
The Travers is the 11th race of the day with post time of approximately 5:45 p.m. The post time for the first race of the day is 11:35 a.m. and admission can be had on the day of the event.
This will be 153rd running of the Travers which had its first running in 1864. Run at the classic distance of 1 and ¼ miles on the main track, the Travers offers a purse of $1,250,000 and has drawn a stellar field of eight three-year-old colts. Notably, the first three finishers in this year’s Kentucky Derby and the winner of the Preakness and Haskell will square off again in a rare year when many of the top three-year-olds from earlier in the year are competing against each other in August.
In a nod to the importance of the race and its history, as well as its championship implications, the New York Racing Association held the post position draw at the Adelphi Hotel’s new ballroom on Tuesday afternoon. In an understated and dignified event fully befitting the Traver’s stately reputation, the racing officials allocated the starting post positions to the eight entrants by drawing lots as is done for every race, every day in every racing jurisdiction. Andy Serling acted as the master of ceremonies and quickly and clearly laid out the field post positions which found the favorite Epicenter drawing post 6 surrounded on both sides by stablemates coming out of the Chad Brown barn ridden by the Ortiz brothers.
The full field with post positions is as follows:
Horse | Odds | Jockey | Trainer
1 Cyberknife | 7-2 | Florent Geroux | Brad Cox
2 Rich Strike | 10-1 | Sonny Leon | Eric Reed
3 Ain’t Life Grand | 20-1 | Tyler Gaffalione | Kelly Von Hemel
4 Gilded Age | 30-1 | Jorge Alvarado | Bill Mott
5 Artorius | 9-2 | Irad Ortiz | Chad Brown
6 Epicenter | 7-5 | Joel Rosario | Steve Asmussen
7 Early Voting | 8-1 | Jose Ortiz | Chad Brown
8 Zandon | 5-1 | Flavien Prat | Chad Brown
The favorite Epicenter has run well in every start this year and appears to be a worthy favorite after an impressive, yet puzzling victory over this track in his Jim Dandy win in July. While impressive, the Jim Dandy performance by Epicenter was odd in that the horse eschewed his normal style of running near the lead - instead coming from off the pace. Combined with subpar efforts by his two main competitors in that race, it remains to be seen whether Epicenter’s margin of victory was reflective of his superiority or simply circumstantial.
This Travers sees numerous established stakes runners all of which can run big races, however the late bloomer – Artorius - appears to have significant upside potential and could prove the upsetter.
The Travers anchors a mammoth 13 race card which is replete with a plethora of wagering options. The New York Racing Association seeks to eclipse last year’s daily wagering total which exceeded of $51 million.
The undercard of races is overwhelming and will feature some of the best horses in training at varying distances and surfaces. Racing stars Jackie’s Warrior, Letruska, Clariere, Malathaat and Jack Christopher are expected to run earlier in the day.
Those fans up to watching all 13 races live (I will be one of them) will be treated to a full spectrum of racing – and tired at the end of the day. Wear or bring comfortable shoes.
