Saratoga 2023: Chad Brown is well-stocked for another title run

Elmont, N.Y.

Chad Brown was interrupted by a call he had to take – from his tailor. The urgency reflected his need to enhance his wardrobe but also perhaps the optimism with which he approaches Saratoga.

Brown appears to be well-stocked to bring home the H. Allen Jerkens Award as the meet’s leading trainer for the fifth time in six years. It would be his sixth title overall.

Although Brown is not making any predictions, he is cautiously optimistic as he eyes his prospects for the 40-day stand that begins Thursday at iconic Saratoga.

“It’s always the toughest meet anywhere,” he said. “But we have a nice group, stakes horses, a middle group of allowance horses, and our 2-year-olds look pretty good so far.”

Brown went on, “The Saratoga meet is very challenging for a number of reasons. You are dealing with a wide range of weather conditions, field sizes are big, it’s a very tense meet.”

All trainers want the Saratoga spotlight to shine on them, knowing how much that can benefit their reputations. The pressure is especially intense for Brown because he grew up in nearby Mechanicville, N.Y. He developed his passion for racing at one of the sport’s most revered venues. Family and friends assess his performance daily from the picnic area.

“I get to see family and friends that I really get to see only during the meet,” Brown said. “That’s one of the special things about Saratoga. It’s really a meeting place for people annually in all different areas of the business.”

As much as the four-time Eclipse Award winner enjoys the chance to spend time with those who played a role in his rise to prominence, he must balance that with the intensity he brings to his massive operation.

“It’s a crowded environment to sort of keep your focus and hit your bullseyes in the middle,” he said. “Over the years, we’ve had really good Saratoga meets. Every year, we leave it learning something, how to maybe do it a little better.”

Brown will find it difficult to top himself this summer. He set the bar that high. He holds the record for most victories in a single season, registering 46 victories in 2020. He hit at a 21 percent rate last year with 42 victories from 199 starters. Rival Todd Pletcher enjoyed a 24 percent strike rate but finished four wins behind with 38 victories from 159 starters.

Even as he chases another title, Brown emphasizes that the quality of the wins matters most. “Now that we’ve won it a few times, it’s still very meaningful,” he said. “But at the top of the list is focusing on these graded-stakes races and developing 2-year-olds.”

It would be very surprising if the $500,000 Diana, the meet’s first Grade 1 race, did not go Brown’s way this coming Saturday. He is loaded for the 1 1/8-mile turf contest with In Italian, Fluffy Socks, Marketsegmentation and Whitebeam.

In Italian looms as a short price to successfully defend her Diana title. The runner-up in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf is perfect through two starts this season with Grade 1 scores in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland and the Just a Game Stakes at Belmont Park.

“This filly is the best horse I have in training right now,” Brown said. “Although she has yet to win a Breeders’ Cup race or an Eclipse Award, she’s among the top fillies I ever trained.”

The 5-year-old daughter of Dubawi boasts a record of 11: 7-3-1 with more than $1.9 million in earnings.

Fluffy Socks, Marketsegmentation and Whitebeam are coming off victories, a sign of Brown’s turf acumen. Fluffy Socks captured the May 6 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2), Marketsegmentation is riding a three-race winning streak and Juddmonte homebred Whitebeam took the May 20 Gallorette (G3) at Pimlico.

Whitebeam, a 4-year-old Caravaggio filly, might be ready for prime time in the Diana. “She’s stepping up significantly in class, but she is a filly I’ve loved since she arrived from Juddmonte,” Brown said.

He hopes Blazing Sevens, who lost precious ground in a head loss while victorious National Treasure was allowed to set a sluggish pace in the Preakness, might be the 3-year-old to provide him with a triumph he covets in the Aug. 26 Travers (G1). Blazing Sevens is expected to prep for the Travers in the July 29 Jim Dandy (G2).

With the 3-year-old title up for grabs, Brown hopes Blazing Sevens is ready to assert himself. “He’s training like he belongs in that group, so we’ll see,” he said.

If Blazing Sevens breaks through in the Travers, a tradition-rich race that has eluded Brown, expect him to have a new suit for the occasion.