Travers guide: Odds, PPs, more for Saratoga blockbuster
The Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes drew a star-studded field of eight, and the 1 1/4-mile attraction goes Saturday at Saratoga.
Thorpedo Anna will try her luck vs. the boys at the Spa. They include Belmont Stakes victor Dornoch.
The Travers is scheduled as race 13 at 6:10 p.m. EDT, and it will be shown live on Fox.
Check out Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for downloadable PPs for the Travers and more, courtesy of our partners at Brisnet.
We also have Super Screener picks and analysis for the Travers as well as recent top speed figures for each contender.
Travers best speed figures
| Post | Horse | ML | Beyer | TimeformUS | HRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thorpedo Anna | 3-1 | 99 | 122 | 101 |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 7-2 | 102 | 124 | 107 |
| 3 | Unmatched Wisdom | 8-1 | 99 | 120 | 105 |
| 4 | Corporate Power | 15-1 | 97 | 118 | 103 |
| 5 | Batten Down | 20-1 | 93 | 118 | 105 |
| 6 | Honor Marie | 20-1 | 96 | 116 | 99 |
| 7 | Dornoch | 5-2 | 103 | 128 | 108 |
| 8 | Fierceness | 3-1 | 110 | 126 | 108 |
The Saratoga card includes four other Grade 1 races:
3:44 p.m. Sword Dancer, a Breeders’ Cup Turf qualifier.
4:20 p.m. Ballerina Handicap, a Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint qualifier.
4:55 p.m. Forego.
5:30 p.m. H. Allen Jerkens Memorial.
Looking at the pace
A fast pace is expected in the Travers with Thorpedo Anna, Dornoch and Fierceness fighting for the front.
Pace projector appears courtesy of TimeformUS.
HRN picks for Travers
This week's Super Screener tries to sweeten the exotics in the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar featuring The Chosen Vron with Arrowthegreat.
Mike Shutty said Arrowthegreat "is a horse-for-course type who might be worth considering particularly as an under player in your exacta wagers with the opportunity to generate value in an otherwise chalky race. His last effort at Del Mar was deceptively strong, knocking out those 90-plus Brisnet pace and speed ratings throughout. Now he cuts back in distance, and form-cycle analysis is predicting a big improvement here."
Grab the Saratoga through Breeders' Cup Super Screener package now for just $97, a savings of nearly $400, and get all the stakes analysis you need for this weekend.
Ed DeRosa’s Travers fair odds favor the late-running Sierra Leone in a race loaded with pace.
Matt Shifman supplied his Travers analysis, and Laurie Ross and Ashley Tamulonis went head to head handicapping the mid-summer derby.
DeRosa also has fair odds for the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) on the Travers day undercard, and he sees the Jersey Shore Stakes setting up as a key race for this 3-year-old sprint.
For more Travers undercard picks, check out Ross and Tamulonis's Ballerina selections.
J. Keeler Johnson's latest Horses to Watch column features a four-pack of Travers contenders and more.
Chip Gehrke's latest divisional rankings believe a win in the Travers would make Dornoch the clear-cut favorite for an Eclipse Award, perhaps two.
Ken McPeek, trainer of Thorpedo Anna, joined the Ron Flatter Racing Pod to discuss his chances of winning the Travers.