Travers draw: Field & posts for $1.25 million mid-summer derby

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The eight-horse field entered for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes will feature a marquee match-up between Thorpedo Anna, the leader of the 3-year-old filly division and Dornoch, the top 3-year-old male in the country.

Thorpedo Anna, who is trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., drew the rail post and was assigned 3-1 odds on the morning line. She comes to the Travers with a four-race winning streak that includes Grade 1 victories in the Kentucky Oaks, the Acorn and the Coaching Club American Oaks. She will attempt to become the first filly since Lady Rotha in 1915 to win the mid-summer derby.

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“It’s exciting, and it’s historic,” McPeek said describing the upcoming Travers. “I really think she deserves an opportunity to compete against the best. And she’s pretty much shown that she’s the best in her division, and I think she’s perfectly capable of handling a mile-and-a-quarter. She’s going to get a five-pound weight allowance, and there’s a million and two reasons to give it a shot.”

Dornoch, who got post 7, was made the 5-2 favorite by morning-line writer David Aragona. He won a pair of Grade 1 races in the Belmont Stakes and the Haskell Stakes for his trainer Danny Gargan. With jockey Luis Sáez, he looks to become the eighth horse to win the Haskell and the Travers and the first to do it since Point Given in 2001. Point Given also was the only horse to have won the Belmont, Haskell and Travers.

“It’s the best race of the year. It’s as good of a race as we’ve seen all year. It’s exciting to be in it,” Gargan said of the Travers. “Look, we’ve won two grade ones in a row. It’s hard to win three Grade 1s in a row, but if he can do it, it’ll be crazy, amazing. We’re just happy and blessed that we’re even in this position.”

The field that was drawn Sunday afternoon is formidable for Thorpedo Anna and Dornoch. All eight of the 3-year-olds are stakes winners. Two others have Grade 1 victories. That means the field has won a total of eight Grade 1s. Thorpedo Anna, Dornoch, Sierra Leone and Fierceness, each a millionaire, have combined earnings of $8,529,788.