Positions, odds and more

A race that we are waiting all summer is here, and the 1st year, 1 million dollars Challenges of Travers offers racing enthusiasts a wealth of options in the Victory Zone.

Will the unlucky favorite, Tacitus, break through with added flashers? Jim Dandy (G2), the winner of Tax, will he again be neglected? Mucho Gusto's second to maximum safety in Haskell Invitational (G1) should it be enough to do the job on Saturday?

These are just a few questions in this group of 12 players who will travel 1 1/4 miles to Saratoga. Here is an overview of the candidates:

TimeformUSPace Projector believes that Looking At Bikinis is the pioneer of jockey Javier Castellano, who has won this race a record six times, including last year aboard Catholic Boy. Chad Brown's trainee also set up fractions at his previous start in the Curlin Stakes before weakening, albeit on a dead ramp and on a wet track in Saratoga.

Mucho Gusto is second behind Bikinis, and the amount of energy he can keep could be the key to reaching 1 1/4 miles. The scars are cool, the 10s, numbers to sit much further than what this projection shows.

And about all that … it's computer generated. Data-driven. We will see what coach Danny Gargan is worth, because he said that Tax would go to the top of the outside post.

Travers Stakes on TV

As a result of NYRA's increased engagement and partnership with the FOX family of networks, six and a half hours of live racing and testing will be broadcast on Saturday. This, of course, adds to TVGRegular coverage and live streaming options are available to account holders.

Saratoga Live starts at 11:30 am ET on Fox Sports 2, and coverage changes from 5 pm to 6 pm at Big FOX. AND. The post time for the Travers is 5:44 pm ET.

Advanced depositing services such as

NYRABets will also broadcast live the race.

Handicap Travers Stakes

• Choice of Travers experts

• Free past performance

• Crossing side and analysis

• How to play Pick 5

• Saratoga plays the value

• Top Super Screener selections

Travers Stakes sub card

The first hour of the post is a special hour at 11:35 am at the Spa with 13 pressure races, including six first year and one second year. See Full Listings for the day of Travers Stakes here, and take a look at the fields of the issues below:

Race 5: Grade 1 Renounce (1:48 p.m.)

Race 6: Grade 1 Ballerina (2:23 p.m.)

Race 7: Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens (2:59 p.m.)

Race 8: 2nd year Ballston Spa (3:35 p.m.)

Race 9: 1st year Personal teaches (4:12 p.m.)

Race 10: 1st year Sword dancer (4:49 p.m.)

Race 11: 1st year Challenges of Travers (5:44 p.m.)

Quiz on the issues

OK, so we're more used to seeing this type of historical analysis for the Kentucky Derby. But why not the mid-summer derby too?

• The winner of Travers finished first, second or third of his preparatory races in 59 of the previous 60 editions.

• Since 1960, 56 winners have been preparing for an auction.

• Since 1901, 82 winners have left positions 1 to 4.

• Only six of the last 20 favorites in the morning line (30%) have won, the most recent being Alpha, who heated up thoroughly with Golden Ticket in 2012.

• Berries (67) and chestnuts (48) represented the majority of Travers winners. Only three gray won.

• Five geldings won the Travers, most recently Unshaded in 2000.

• The most popular initials for the name of the winner of Travers are "B" with 15. The other popular letters are "S" with 14, and "T", "C" and "H" with 10.

If you apply these settings to this year's 12 horse field …

• Everfast and Laughing Fox finished fourth in their last outs.

• While 11 others were preparing for the auction, Scars Are Cool's last start was in an inaugural race.

• Owendale, Code of Honor, Highest Distinction and Laughing Fox awarded positions 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

• The morning favorite is Tacitus.

• The highest distinction and Tacitus are both gray.

• The tax is a gelding.

• There are no "B" horses in the Travers; Scars Are Cool can search for 14 previous winners of the "S"; Tacitus, Taxes, Mention Très Bien, The Chess Chief and the Code of Honor have the following most common initials with 10 winners each.

Travers Stakes Overview

Via the NYRA Press Office …

RA Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Hugh Lynch and Corms Racing, the former Tax claimant and Juddmonte Farms, gave birth to Tacitus, one of two sophomores in the second year, Jim Dandy, returning Saturday with rival Saratoga Race Course Grade 1, $ 1.25 Million Travers Stakes.

The familiar opponents – Tacitus' 5-2 favorite and the 6-1 tax – will meet for the fifth time this year, featuring an august group of 12 second-year students enrolled for the 1¼-mile race, including multiple classified issues. The Code of Honor winners, Mucho Gusto and Owendale, as well as two great contenders from Saratoga coach Chad Brown, in the highest honors and Looking at Bikinis.

Tacitus, formed by Hall of Fame member Bill Mott, struck the first blow between fierce rivals by capturing the Wood Grade 2 memorial on April 6 at the Aqueduct Racetrack circuit, at a distance of a quarter of the weight. of Tax.

Tapit's gray son, Close Hatches, winner of the 2014 Eclipse Award, continued with a solid rally to finish third in the Kentucky Derby, with Tax ranked 14th after a troubled trip.

Garrett O 'Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte Farms, said that a win in the Travers would significantly boost references to Tacitus stallions.

"It could not be better," said O & # Rourke. "I think everyone appreciates the fact that when we look at a pedigree and we see that you are the first product of a champion mare, hybrid race at Unbridled and the best ground stallion that He looks physically like Unbridled, but is also the same color as Tapit and has a lot of Tapit traits in him. "

Tacitus and Tax, both conditioned by Danny Gargan, jumped the middle leg of the Triple Crown and continued their fight in the final jewel, the Belmont Stakes, where Imperial duo Joevia, the imperial duo, re-entered seventh to finish second behind Sir Winston. settle for the fourth.

Last outing, in a dramatic edition of the Jim Dandy, Tacitus stumbled at the beginning of the nine-step road with Preakness winner War of Will winner of Preakness. Although Tacitus caught up on the back and scored the final 70 yards, Tax earned the first home turn and held on to a three-quarter mark.

With one win each, the Travers will serve as a tiebreaker when the two rivals come in search of a first victory in rank 1.

Tacitus, who won the Tampa Bay Derby in 2nd year in March, will add flashers for the first time as he leaves position 6 under Jose Ortiz's leadership.

"I think that in the end, good horses will overcome obstacles and a big horse like him, he ran very well in the Derby and the Belmont and again in the Jim Dandy," said O & # 39; ; Rourke. "He gets there gradually, but it's not a horse that was mature in May, but he can do it gradually, and when he gets there, he'll be able to get around his nasty surprises and get into the race early and use it effectively." this great stride. "

Tax, claimed $ 50,000 on a Keeneland win on Oct. 21, finished third in Remsen, in his second year, on his first start for new connections before a narrow Withers 3 class, both at Big A.

Gargan said that he loved the role of oppressed with Tax, a son of Arch's dark bay.

"Well, I have not taught him to read yet, so he does not know he's an underdog," Gargan laughs. "Nobody wrote about us in the Jim Dandy and we did a great job and no one really wrote about us now, but I think he's in his best form today.

"Tacitus beat us once [Wood Memorial]But I think it's a mistake on my part not to train him for this race from Florida, "added Gargan. We stayed with him in New York and missed a little time. In Derby, he did not really ride well on the track and this race cost him a lot. I do not think I would have it at 100% fit for the Belmont, but if I had done it, I think we would have won this race as well. Since then, he's been doing well and training before. We are enthusiastic and ready to run. "

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call onboard Tax Post from the outside.

W.S. The code of honor of Farish, a chestnut son of Noble Mission, won the 2nd year youthful fountain at Gulfstream Park in February. After a good third in the Florida Derby Grade 1, Code of Honor strongly rallied to the rail in the Kentucky Derby, where he ranked second. Code of Honor will benefit from two connections to the Hall of Fame: coach Shug McGaughey will be looking for his fourth win at Travers and jockey John Velazquez on board.

"I think it's come a long way in the past two or three months and I do not think distance is a problem," McGaughey said. "It's a type of casual horse, at a race, and that's what we're going to try to do with him." Hopefully, at quarter pole, we're in a decent position where he can continue to run and see what happens. "

Velazquez, aboard Flower Alley for a victory in Travers in 2005, will guide Code of Honor, 4-1, from position 2.

Mucho Gusto by Michael Lund Petersen, trained by Hall of Fame member Bob Baffert, arrives at Travers after a second place finish in the Haskell Invitational Grade 1 contest.

The four-time winner in the third year, who won the Bob Hope in Del Mar at the age of 2, as well as Robert Lewis, Affirmed and Laz Barrera this year in Santa Anita Park, has never finished the table with eight starts. The chestnut son of Mucho Macho Man will look to give Baffert his fourth win in Travers and his third on four races, with Arrogate winning the 2016 edition with a Travers record of 1 ¼ miles and the West Coast in 2017.

Baffert said that he was savoring his luck with another Travers score.

"It's always a pleasure to be part of Travers – it's an event," said Baffert. "The city adopts it and everyone participates in it, it will be an exciting race with lots of good horses."

Joe Talamo has the post 7 call to the 6-1 rating.

A $ 200,000 purchase at the September 2017 Keeneland sale, Rupp Racing's Owendale appears to be reaching its climax at the right time, capturing the 3rd year derby of Ohio after its third place in the Preakness.

Trained by Brad Cox, Owendale has recorded over 90 Beyer Speed ​​Figures in each of his last three starts, starting with a 98 win for his quarter-length win in Lexington 3rd year at Keeneland in April preparing him for his departure. in the jewel of the triple crown. The son of Into Mischief, who trained at Churchill Downs, will debut at Saratoga with a 6-1 rating.

Florent Geroux retains the mount from station 1.

Chad Brown, three-time Eclipse award-winning coach, is looking for his first win in Travers and will have two chances.

Farish's highest distinction, also 10-1, has been outdistanced in each of her previous three starts, including consecutive wins after finishing runner-up at 6½ stadiums in April in Keeneland. . Tapit foal beat his first lady on June 1 in Belmont on June 1, before winning the 1 1/8-mile Curlin last month at Spa.

Jockey Luis Saez will attempt to win his second Travers victory after winning six years ago aboard Will Take Charge, the 2013 3-year-old champion. The highest honors will start from station 3.

Long Lake Stable, Madaket Stables, Thomas Coleman and Looking At Bikinis of Doheny Racing Stable, also 10-1, finished third in their Curlin debut. Last April, Looking At Bikinis, who had bought two years in the formation of Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, won her first two starts beating Cutting Humor during her classic game debut in September at Belmont Park . The Hall of Fame, Javier Castellano, will be looking to add to his record six wins at Travers, including his triumph last year aboard Catholic Boy. They will leave post 9.

Godolphin's Endorsed, at age 15, begins his best effort, placing second to the highest distinction in the 1 1/8-mile Curlin. Released from the Tapit dancer 's card, he first broke his first daughter in Saratoga. He is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, who won Travers' 2012 edition when Alpha was out of breath with Golden Ticket.

Medaglia of Oro, the winner of Travers in 2002, will seek to become the first son of a Travers winner to participate in the "Derby of the summer" since Alpha, a son of the 2006 hero, Bernardini. . Joel Rosario has been calling since post 11.

McLaughlin said Endorsed, who has won six wins over twenty-two wins in his team's second title, Curlin, should take advantage of that extra distance on Saturday.

"He's gone from six to nine stages, we think he wants the distance," McLaughlin said. "He's doing a fabulous job coming out of the Curlin, I do not think there's any bad position in a one kilometer race, we'll let Joel decide whether we'll be well placed or not. if we recover. "

Dale Romans will field veteran Everfast at stakes at Calumet Farm, finishing fourth at the Haskell Invitational Level 1 competition in July at Monmouth Park. His efforts for War of Will in the Preakness, with a chance of 29-1, earned him a personal best of 96 Beyer Speed ​​Figure.

Son of Take Charge Indy, he has positioned himself ambitiously throughout his career. He ran two months later in the 3rd year Iroquois and followed a month later with the first year breeder's Futurity. On the Derby Trail, Everfast was second at Holy Bull 2nd year. Seventh in the final ranking of the Belmont Stakes, Everfast will participate for the fourth consecutive time in a first year. Martin Chuan will drive Everfast, a 30-1 pick, from fifth.

Laughing Fox of Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, who finished fifth in the Preakness Grade 1, returned to Saratoga for the first time since her debut in August 2018 and ranked fourth in the second year, Jim Dandy, in July. Union Rags' son has been coaching at Spa since and will be the fourth Travers coach in the Steve Asmussen Hall of Fame since 2016.

Asmussen said the remarkable deficiencies of Maximum Security and Game Winner Travers have changed the speed scenario for the 1/4-mile test.

"Clearly, the complexion of the race has changed considerably in the past two weeks and it's a very interesting three-year-old group," Asmussen said. "I think the conditions under which the race will run will be interesting.Most of the last races of these three years, it's about the time it's doing here at Jim Dandy or the Heat at Haskell, Belmont, whatever the conditions, they were not favorable.I think the race is running out of speed, Saratoga's speed seems to be so effective, it will be a major concern. "

Purchased $ 375,000 from the sale of breeders Ocala, Kentucky, raised in Kentucky, won for the first time the black bet type by capturing the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Invitational on May 4th. Ricardo Santana, Jr. will guide Laughing Fox, 30-1, from post 4.

The winner of the first victory, Chess Chief, was formed by Dallas Stewart for the estate of James Coleman, Jr. at a 30-1 rating; and Are Cool Scars, trained by Stanley Hough for Sagamore Farm, also at 30-1.

Four-time Traverser Mike Smith of the Hall of Fame rides the Chess Chef at Station 8, while Scars Are Cool leaves from Station 10 under Tyler Gaffalione.