Travers Stakes 2023: Odds, free PPs, picks, preview, more

In the months between the Triple Crown series and the Breeders’ Cup, there will not be a more anticipated race than the one scheduled Saturday afternoon at Saratoga.

Forte is the 7-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s running of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes. Post time is 6:11 p.m. EDT, with Fox showing the 1 1/4-mile race for 3-year-old runners.

Battling Forte in the Travers are all three Triple Crown race winners: Kentucky Derby hero Mage (4-1), Preakness Stakes victor National Treasure (8-1) and Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo (5-2). Disarm (8-1), Scotland (12-1) and Tapit Trice (12-1) round out the seven-horse field.

This will be the first time since 2017, and only the fourth time ever, that three winners of American Classic races meet in the Travers. None of those Derby, Preakness or Belmont hit the wire first at the Spa.

Forte will aim to follow 2022 Eclipse Award winner Epicenter as a 3-year-old who did not win a Triple Crown race but stated a championship case by winning the Travers. In Forte’s case, he was scratched from the Derby and forced to miss the Preakness before running second in the Belmont after a longer-than-expected layoff.

After winning the 2022 juvenile male title, Forte is 3-for-4 in 2023. He won the local Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) by a nose over Saudi Crown on July 29, staying atop the board after stewards inquired into jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.’s stretch ride.

Ortiz seeks his first Travers win Saturday, while trainer Todd Pletcher aims for a third. Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable campaign the Violence colt Forte.

Arcangelo has not raced since delivering trainer Jena Antonucci a Belmont Stakes triumph on June 10. He is on a three-race win streak that also includes a Peter Pan Stakes (G3) score.

Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby in only his fourth career start, has made two subsequent starts for trainer Gustavo Delgado. He was third at Pimlico in the Preakness and runner-up July 22 at Monmouth Park in the Haskell Stakes (G1).

National Treasure defeated Mage in the Preakness, taking advantage of a favorable pace setup. The Bob Baffert trainee then settled for sixth place in the Preakness.

Here is a look at the field for the 2023 Travers Stakes (trainers and jockeys in parentheses) with morning-line odds:

1. Forte (Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr.), 7-5

2. Arcangelo (Jena Antonucci, Javier Castellano), 5-2

3. Tapit Trice (Todd Pletcher, Jose Ortiz), 12-1

4. Mage (Gustavo Delgado, Flavien Prat), 4-1

5. National Treasure (Bob Baffert, John Velazquez), 8-1

6. Disarm (Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario), 8-1

7. Scotland (Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado), 12-1

TimeformUS pace projections show long shot Scotland going to the lead under jockey Junior Alvarado. Favorite Forte is projected to sit in the middle of the seven-horse field early on.

Visit Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for more information on the Travers Stakes and some of the other big races on a loaded Saratoga card.

Travers links

Reinier Macatangay explains why Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo will offer value as a Travers pick.

Ed DeRosa offers Travers Stakes fair odds, writing that Mage might offer favorable odds for a Kentucky Derby winner.

Laurie Ross and Ashley Tamulonis go head to head handicapping the Travers Stakes. One picks one of the three Triple Crown race winners to cross first, while the other goes a different direction.

Trainer Todd Pletcher added blinkers to Forte before his Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) win. He also makes an equipment change on fellow Travers starter Tapit Trice.

The mere presence of Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont stakes victor Arcangelo in the Travers Stakes on Saturday represents a significant victory for the game’s little guys and gals.

“It was not easy because I really like both horses. You don’t want to be in that position,” Arcangelo jockey Javier Castellano said of his choice between the Belmont Stakes winner and Mage.

Arcangelo trainer Jena Antonucci has maintained stability after becoming the first woman to train a Triple Crown race winner.

Disarm is one of three Winchell Thoroughbreds runners who will try to defeat a champion – in this case, Forte – on Saturday in a Grade 1 race at Saratoga.

The Travers Stakes marks a rare hole in the resume for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. He can change that Saturday if Scotland pulls an upset.

Ron Flatter makes the case for why the Travers Stakes is becoming just as important as the springtime Triple Crown series. Flatter also previews the Travers with DeRosa and Andy Serling.

Matt Shifman and Brian Zipse handicap the Travers Stakes this week on HorseCenter. Shifman also provides written analysis of the Travers field.

Arcangelo, Mage and National Treasure will all line up in the Travers Stakes. See where their fellow Triple Crown series runners are racing this summer.

Other Saturday stakes

Here is a look at other graded stakes taking place Saturday across North America. All post times are EDT.

3:07 p.m. – $500,000 Forego Stakes (G1), 4-and-up, Saratoga, seven furlongs, Fox

Elite Power (1-2) has reeled off eight straight wins for trainer Bill Mott, including the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Saratoga’s Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) in his last start July 29. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. rides the 5-year-old son of Curlin. Steve Asmussen trains Grade 1 victor Gunite (6-5), who was second by a head to Elite Power in a thrilling edition of the Vanderbilt. Pipeline (12-1) has not won since April 2022 and was sixth in a local allowance race Aug. 3 for trainer Chad Brown.

4:19 p.m. – $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1), 3-year-olds, Saratoga, seven furlongs, Fox

Arabian Lion (2-1) comes east from trainer Bob Baffert’s California barn, where he has trained since winning the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) on the Belmont Stakes undercard June 10. Jockey John Velazquez has the mount on the Justify colt, who also won on the Preakness Stakes card in May. Baffert also trains Fort Bragg (5-2), who made the grade July 1 at Belmont in the Dwyer Stakes (G3). New York Thunder (5-2) brings a 4-for-4 record into his first Grade 1 try for trainer Jorge Delgado and won the local Amsterdam Stakes (G2) on July 28.

4:55 p.m. – $500,000 Ballerina Handicap (G1), 3-and-up fillies and mares, Saratoga, seven furlongs, Fox

Echo Zulu (7-5), the champion 2-year-old filly of 2021, is favored for Asmussen in this “win and you’re in” prep race for November’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Jockey Florent Geroux will get a leg up on the 4-year-old Gun Runner filly, winner of Saratoga’s Honorable Miss Handicap (G2) on July 26. Brown trains reigning Ballerina winner Goodnight Olive (9-5), who took Belmont’s Bed o’ Roses Stakes (G2) on June 17. The Brad Cox-trained Matareya (6-1), twice a Grade 1 victor, takes on the best of her division after running third June 24 at Ellis Park in the Chicago Stakes (G3).

5:31 p.m. – $750,000 Sword Dancer Stakes (G1), 4-and-up, 1 1/2 miles (turf), Saratoga, Fox

Stone Age (6-5), runner-up in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf for trainer Aidan O’Brien, has moved to Brown’s stable for his first start since running 12th on Feb. 18 in a Group 1 race at Doha. Jockey Flavien Prat rides the 4-year-old Galileo colt in this Breeders’ Cup Turf qualifier. Mott trains Channel Maker (7-2), the 2020 champion turf male whose 55th career start comes after winning the local Bowling Green Stakes (G2) on July 30. Grade 1 winner Bolshoi Ballet (5-1) was sixth July 29 for O’Brien in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Ascot.

9:31 p.m. – $250,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2), 3-and-up, Del Mar, seven furlongs, FanDuel TV

Anarchist (7-2), a Grade 3 winner, runs over the same Del Mar surface where he was second by a head July 29 in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1). Trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Ramon Vazquez team up with the 4-year-old Distorted Humor colt in this Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile qualifier. George Papaprodromou trains Spirit of Makena (4-1), a Grade 2 victor who finished last of 12 in the Bing Crosby after a rough early trip. Brickyard Ride (5-1), a Grade 2 winner for trainer Craig Lewis, shortens up to one turn after a third-place run July 29 in Del Mar’s two-turn San Diego Handicap (G2).

11:15 p.m. – $200,000 (about U.S. $147,000) Canadian Derby (G3), 3-year-olds, Century Mile, 1 1/4 miles, FanDuel TV

Sunbird (3-1) has won all four starts for trainer Terry Jordan, including the Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial Handicap on Aug. 7 at Hastings. Jockey Enrique Gonzalez will climb aboard the Orb gelding. Robertino Diodoro trains Heroic Move (9-2), who looks to make a stakes breakthrough off a second-place run Aug. 7 in the Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia. Mano Dura (5-1) became a stakes winner with his Manitoba Derby score for trainer Jerry Gourneau.