How to watch Travers 2018; two-hour network TV coverage
Led by Good Magic, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and recent Haskell Invitational winner, an outstanding field of 11 3-year-olds, including one filly, are set for Saturday's Grade 1 $1.25 million Travers Stakes.
NBC will broadcast live from historic Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with a two-hour program airing from 4-6 p.m.
In addition to the Travers, the broadcast will also include live coverage of the Grade 1, $1 million Sword Dancer Stakes, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf, as well as the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, a Dirt Mile qualifier.
The series leads to the 35th Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs Nov. 2-3 on NBC and NBCSN.
Laffit Pincay III hosts Saturday’s telecast and will be joined by analysts Randy Moss and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk, and reporters Britney Eurton and Kenny Rice.
You can tune into the races via advanced deposit wagering services such as TVG and NYRA Bets, while Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) also will broadcast the Travers live from 3-6 p.m. ET on SiriusXM 93, with streaming at www.horseracingradio.net.
The Travers field from the rail out with jockey assignments and morning line odds is as follows: Trigger Warning (Irwin Rosendo, 30-1), Wonder Gadot (Irad Ortiz Jr., 5-1), Gronkowski (Joel Rosario, 4-1), Bravazo (Luis Saez, 12-1), Vino Rosso (John Velazquez, 10-1), Meistermind (Manny Franco, 30-1), King Zachary (Robby Albarado, 15-1), Mendelssohn (Ryan Moore, 12-1), Good Magic (Jose Ortiz, 2-1), Tenfold (Rafael Santana Jr., 8-1), and Catholic Boy (Javier Castellano, 8-1).
Post time for the Travers is 5:44 p.m. ET.
The Sword Dancer at 1 1/2 miles on turf could wind up as a battle between Gary Barber and Wachtel Stable’s Channel Maker and Woodslane Farm’s defending champion Sadler’s Joy, who finished first and third, respectively the recent Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga.
Post time for the Sword Dancer is 4:49 p.m. ET.
As for the Forego, Mr. and Mrs. William Warren’s City of Light, who won the Triple Bend Handicap at Santa Anita in March and the Oaklawn Handicap in April, faces seven rivals including Katherine G. Ball’s Limousine Liberal who qualified for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint when he won the Belmont Sprint Championship on July 7 for trainer Ben Colebrook.
Post time for the Forego is 4:12 p.m. ET.