Saratoga guide: Get odds, PPs, more for Grade 1 Whitney
The Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes is always a must-see race at Saratoga, and that's especially so for Saturday's edition that drew a field of 12.
The 1 1/8-mile event at the Spa features National Treasure trying to follow up on his authoritative Met Mile (G1) score, but it will be no cakewalk with First Mission, Bright Future and Skippylongstocking among the logical contenders.
Post time for the Whitney, race 11 of 13, is 5:42 p.m. EDT. The automatic qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Classic will air live on Fox.
Check out Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for downloadable PPs for the Whitney and more, courtesy of our partners at Brisnet.
We also have Super Screener picks and analysis for the Whitney as well as recent top speed figures for each contender.
Whitney best speed figures
| Post | Horse | ML | Beyer | TimeformUS | HRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Post Time | 20-1 | 103 | 120 | 113 |
| 2 | Disarm | 15-1 | 103 | 125 | 108 |
| 3 | National Treasure | 9-5 | 107 | 132 | 112 |
| 4 | Warrior Johny | 20-1 | 98 | 116 | 117 |
| 5 | First Mission | 9-2 | 106 | 128 | 111 |
| scr | Il Miracolo | ||||
| 7 | Crupi | 15-1 | 98 | 122 | 103 |
| 8 | Tumbarumba | 20-1 | 97 | 121 | 107 |
| 9 | Bright Future | 5-1 | 103 | 123 | 109 |
| 10 | Skippylongstocking | 8-1 | 107 | 125 | 109 |
| 11 | Arthur's Ride | 8-1 | 111 | 123 | 109 |
| 12 | Charge It | 30-1 | 106 | 126 | 107 |
Looking at the pace
A fast pace is expected in the Whitney with National Treasure up front, followed by the trio of Arthur's Ride and Tumbarumba. Il Miracolo might have figured in the early pace, but he was scratched.
Pace projector appears courtesy of TimeformUS.
HRN picks for the Whitney
Buy the special Saratoga through Breeders' Cup Super Screener package for just $97, a savings of nearly $400, and get analysis for the Whitney Stakes (G1) and much more this weekend.
Ed DeRosa’s Whitney Stakes fair odds believe Warrior Johny could be the value of the race.
DeRosa also has fair odds for the Clement L. Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar, where he sees Scylla as the better bet over Adare Manor in the race that is a win-and-you're-in for the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
It's a fair odds trifecta this Saturday with Ray Cotolo's Hambletonian fair odds. While he's not crazy about trying to beat the likely heavy favorite Karl, Cotolo thinks Bella’s Musclehill is an intriguing contender.
Ashley Tamulonis and Laurie Ross went head to head handicapping the Whitney. Although they both are tossing National Treasure out of the superfecta, they did not agree on a winner.
J. Keeler Johnson's latest Horses to Watch column features several runners at Saratoga, including Arthur's Ride in the Whitney.
For notes on the 11 remaining contenders plus a win prediction, check out Matt Shifman's Whitney analysis.
NYRA TV analyst Acacia Clement joined the Ron Flatter Racing Pod to discuss all the stakes races at Saratoga on Saturday.