07 Aug Travers Stakes 2020 – Saratoga Race Course

This weekend marks the 151st running of the Travers Stakes at the Historic Saratoga Race Course. Although like most things this year, The Travers Stakes will have a much different look  amid the Covid 19 pandemic.

Below are Nine Things to Know about the Run Happy Travers Stakes

1. For the first time in history, the Travers will be a race where horses can earn points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. Traditionally, the Travers is known as the “Mid-Summer Derby,” frequently facilitating a reunion of 3-year-old horses that contested the Triple Crown races earlier in the year.

2.The Travers Stakes is named for William Travers, the first president of Saratoga Race Course. His horse Kentucky won the first       running of the event in 1864. Kentucky was by a legendary stallion named Lexington, who sired nine of the first 15 Travers winners.

3. In 1930, then-governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was among an estimated crowd of 50,000 to witness one of the most memorable upsets of all time. That year, Jim Dandy beat Triple Crown winner and race favorite Gallant Fox at odds of 100-1. Jim Dandy is the namesake of another race for 3-year-olds at Saratoga, which is often used as a prep for the Travers but this year will be held on Sept. 5.

4. In the early years of the Travers, the distance fluctuated several times. At its longest it was run over 1 ¾ miles, and the shortest distance was 1 1/8 miles. The Travers has been run over a distance of 1 ¼ miles since 1904.

5. This year might be the 151st Travers, but it could have been the 157th. The Travers was not run in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, and Saratoga Race Course was even shut down for a short period.

6. Of the 13 horses who became Triple Crown legends, only four raced in the Travers, and only Whirlaway in 1941 officially won the            race.

7. Seven fillies have won the Travers, all of them before 1915. The first was Maiden in just the second running of the Travers in 1865. Four of the seven contenders in the race were fillies, and the top three finishers were fillies.

8. Linda Rice, trainer of Max Player, will attempt on Saturday to become only the second woman in history to train a Travers winner. The first was Mary Hirsch, who won the 1938 edition with Thanksgiving for owner Mrs. Parker Corning. Hirsch was also the first woman to be awarded a trainers license by the Jockey Club.

9. If you are looking for a unique Travers betting angle, here is an overview of winning percentages according to coat colors: Since 1864,  nearly 45% of Travers winners were bay (67); 33% chestnut (49); 19% dark bay or brown (29); 2% gray (3); and 1% black (2).

Enjoy the Race!!!