The year was 1864. The American Civil War was raging on. Abraham Lincoln was on his way to a second term in the White House. Here at the Spa, the inaugural running of the Travers Stakes was the talk of the Saratoga meeting.
The race was named after the track’s President, William R. Travers. A three-year-old colt aptly named Kentucky took the first rendition. Since then, the Travers has become one of a handful of the most important horse races presented in this country.
This year will mark the 154th running of the famed event. Since the monumental 1920 running, the race has been won by many of the owners who brought horse racing to its zenith during the twentieth century.
George D. Widener Jr, along with Paul Mellon and his Rokeby Stable lead the list, each notching five Travers victories. Widener’s first was with Eight Thirty in 1939. He took his last with long shot Crewman during the track’s centennial meeting of 1963. Mellon got his maiden with Quadrangle in 1964. He took his fifth with Sea Hero three decades later. Both Widener and Mellon were scions of the sport. They dedicated much of their time as Ambassadors for the betterment of horse racing. They are two of only five so named Exemplars of the Sport enshrined in the National Museum of Racing.
The trainer that tops the list is Bert Mulholland. He got his five as long-time conditioner for the aforementioned Mr. Widener. Shug McGaughey and Elliott Burch share runner up status with four each to their credit.
America’s greatest jockeys have lived up to their reputations guiding the superstars of the sport to the winner’s circle. Javier Castellano is in a league of his own with six Travers scores.
The three-year-old colts that have won the race are a Who’s Who of American thoroughbred champions. They include Calumet Farms Whirlaway, the only winner of both the Triple Crown and the Travers. Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s immortal Native Dancer joined the list in 1953. Trainer John Nerud’s superb runner Gallant Man got his four years later. Sword Dancer added the Travers to his brilliant resume in 1959, followed by the great champions of the sixties.
The 1962 version was one for the ages and will be discussed later in the article. Ogden Phipps’ homebred champion Buckpasser charged home a winner in 1966. A year later Edith Woodward Bancroft dusted off the white with red polka dot silks of her late father’s renowned Belair Stud to win the Travers. The great Damascus cruised home by 22 lengths. His spectacular move accelerating past the leaders on the backstretch is an awe-inspiring moment in time. Another Hall of Fame inductee, Arts and Letters hit the wire a winner in 1969. It can be called the decade that the megastars fell on the Travers.
The roll call continued with names like Paul Mellon’s Key to the Mint and Calumet’s Alydar whose series of races with Affirmed, are the stuff of legends. Easy Goer joined the club in 1989 after grueling tests in the Triple Crown races against his nemesis Sunday Silence. He was later followed by Holy Bull and Point Given. How about Mary Lou Whitney, trainer Nick Zito, and Birdstone for a Saratoga triple in the year 2004. It was icing on the cake for the Spa’s emissary of good will. The 2016 version gave us the opportunity to see one of the new breed of champions. Arrogate got his well-deserved Travers and a one way ticket to the Hall of Fame. 2020 was one that Saratogians will never forget. Our own Jack Knowlton of Funny Cide fame took the Travers with his Sakatoga Stables Tiz the Law.
No historical article on the Travers is complete without a look at the immortal Man o‘ War. As the saying goes “We have saved the best for last.” He took the 1920 Travers with ease in track record time. It took very likely the greatest Travers in its long history to break the decades old mark.
The 1962 version saw two superb racehorses, Jaipur and Ridan go at each other’s throats for almost the entire race in spectacular fashion. Jaipur got the nod by a short nose, breaking Man o’ War’s long standing record by a fifth of a second.
Samuel Riddle’s great champion became an American institution before radio and television broadened the horizon of the sport. He gained national attention through his victories that were clocked in numerous track and world record times. He defied physics while winning races by as much as 100 lengths.
Man o’ War’s final career start was in a match race against a formidable opponent Sir Barton. The race was held in Canada with a purse of 75,000 dollars and a solid gold trophy crafted by Tiffany & Co. that would be presented to the winning owner.
Man O’ War easily trounced the first Triple Crown champion.
Mr Riddle accepted the trophy that stayed in his possession until 1936. His wife then donated the cup to be the official trophy of the Travers Stakes. Since then the spectacular trophy known as the Man o’ War Cup is brought out for every Travers running. It is put on display in the winner’s circle. The owner is presented with a stunning gold plated sterling silver replica. The original cup is treated as if it were one of the Crown Jewels of the British Empire. It is kept under the tightest security until it’s next Travers Day appearance. The trophy adds the perfect final touch to the mystique of the Travers Stakes and it’s status as “The Midsummer Derby.”
The Travers weekend is here to appreciate and enjoy. Whether you make it to the track, watch the race at home, or at your favorite watering hole, enjoy the occasion. It’s overflowing with the history, tradition, and racing on a grand scale that all comes to life on a walk down Union Avenue in a place called Saratoga.
