Loading ...Aug 08 2020
Saratoga Sat.Aug.8: Travers Day is Here! Precap of Pick 6 and Stakes
.
Saturday, August 8. Saratoga is having its historically biggest race day of the year today, with no fans in the stands, which is quite a strange spectacle. The Travers G1 “Midsummer Derby” is the featured race, preceded by the Test G1 and several other graded stakes.
.
This also the last 100 point prep race for the Kentucky Derby, also an unusual thing to say since it has never preceded the Derby before in history. So a ticket to run for the roses is possible for those who don’t already have one. The Ellis Derby worth 50 points tomorrow could also offer a berth.
.
The stakes racing begins with race 7, the Ballerina G1 at 3:42PM ET. The beginning of the almost all stakes Empire Pick 6, a jackpot bet with a carryover of over $1.1 million today, will begin the race before that at 3:02PM with a turf MSW for 2yo’s, the only non-stakes race in the sequence. We’ll start with the Travers and work backwards.
The Pick 6 sequence:
R6 3:02ET 8.5fT MSW 2 YO 72000 PICK6
R7 3:42ET 7f D Balrina-G1 3 UP FM
R8 4:22ET 5.5f T Troy-G3 4 UP
R9 5:02ET 12f t Waya-G3 4 UP FM
R10 5:39ET 7f D Test-G1 3 YO F
R11 6:15ET 10f D Travers-G1 3 YO
.
The Travers features heavy KD favorite Tiz The Law, who already set an incredible new record with his Belmont Stakes win, racking up a total of 272 Derby points. The Constitution colt trained by Barclay Tagg looks to add another G1 win, of which he already has 3, 2 of which were in NY state.
.
.
By contrast, 2nd choice Uncle Chuck has only 20 points and will need to finish in the money today to assure his Derby ticket. Of course it will only be his 3rd career race and 2nd stakes race, but Bob Baffert has the Uncle Mo colt looking strong right now.
There are 5 others in the race, none of which have looked capable as of yet to take on the top two. But you know how 3yo’s are, they can rapidly improve in the blink of a month. I almost forgot, grab the free Grid here to follow along.
The top non chalk to look out for is Max Player, who improved yet again in his 4th race, getting 3rd in the Belmont for Linda Rice. He’s the 2nd best late runner in the Grid, and already has a Derby ticket.
Country Grammer also had his best career effort last out for Chad Brown, winning the Peter Pan at Belmont, and the Grid says he’s the 3rd best late runner, and also has his Derby ticket stamped.
Caracaro looked great in his first stakes race and 3rd career start for Gustavo Delgado, taking the lead in the Peter Pan and dueling down the line before folding to Country Grammer. He needs some points today.
So it looks like this year’s edition of the Travers will finish in morning line order or somewhere thereabouts. An exciting stretch duel between the two favorites is highly likely.
.
The Test G1 is Gamine’s to win or lose, so Baffert could very well sweep the late G1’s. The only filly in the short field of 5 that can keep up is Venetian Harbor, the fastest in the field and who will benefit from the race only being 7f. The others will hope for some kind of speed duel up front and pick up the remains.
.
Race 9 is the Waya G3, another short field of only 6 after scratches, but there are a surprising amount of possibilities. Because of the lack of early speed, the two front runners Beau Belle and Fools Gold could win or hold on at good odds.
The two late closing favorites will have difficulty running their usual game with the lack of early speed. Olympic Games looks like the best in this spot, with her tactical pace pressing style and good late kick.
.
The Troy G3 in race 8 looks open for the field of 7 going only 5.5 on the turf, but the favored Imprimis with top power will be tough to beat, and the other chalk looks good too American Sailor looks like the only good long shot, with top EP.
.
The Ballerina G1 has a field of 7 talented fillies going 7f. ML favorite Bellafina has an appropriate name for this race and will be hard to beat, and the same exact thing can be said of the 3rd choice Come Dancing. 2nd choice Serengeti Empress will benefit cutting back to 7f.
But we’re about long shots here, and the Grid says Victim of Love had the best PF last out in winning the Vagrancy G3 at Belmont, staying ahead of a late charge by Come Dancing. No way 15-1 holds up.
.
Sorry for the MSW race 6 you’re on your own. As usual, you can get the Grid for all the major races and tracks right here. It’s a great time to get a 1 month subscription to get you thru the Kentucky Derby, or 2 months to get by the Preakness.
