Hopefully, most of the handicapping has been completed, but be sure that savvy horseplayers are still poring over their betting options for Whitney Day at Saratoga Race Course.
A sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70s is in the forecast for the 13-race blockbuster lineup highlighted by the 98th running of the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) for 4-year-olds and up.
The Whitney is one of the most prestigious races in North America, and this edition has racing fans buzzing with excitement as one of the strongest fields in years has been assembled.
The main attraction is Fierceness [the 9-5 favorite] versus Sierra Leone [2-1] once again – the last time these champions met was in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in November, with Sierra Leone topping Fierceness by 1 ½ lengths.
The 4-year-olds also met twice in last summer’s Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and the Travers Stakes (G1) -- both at Saratoga and both won by Fierceness, with Sierra Leone second in the Jim Dandy and third in the Travers [Thorpedo Anna was second].
The likely field of nine – Pletcher-trained Mindframe was expected to be scratched – is packed with top contenders starting with White Abarrio [4-1], who won the Whitney in 2023 under trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr., and is now back in the barn of Saffie Joseph, Jr., who also sends out Skippylongstocking [10-1].
The 1 1/8-mile Whitney is one of two Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races on the card, with the $750,000 Fourstardave Stakes (G1) the other.
The winner of each race earns an all-fees-paid berth in their respective Breeders’ Cup races – the $7 million BC Classic (G1) for the Whitney victor, the $2 million BC Mile (G1) for the Fourstardave winner.
Also on the card is the $500,000 Test Stakes (G1) at 7 furlongs for 3-year-old fillies and the $750,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1) at 1 3/16 miles on turf for 3-year-olds.
And there’s a Grade 2 on the card as well – the Saratoga Special Stakes for 2-year-olds.
If you can’t be at the track on Saturday, the race from Saratoga will be televised by FOX from 3-6 p.m. ET as well as FOX Sports channels FS1 and FS2 as part of the Saratoga Live broadcast.
Bet Whitney Stakes (race 11, post time 5:41 p.m. ET)
Fierceness drew gate 9 and will be ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez. The 2-year-old champion and winner of the BC Juvenile (G1) in 2023 should be near or on the lead as he has in the past – he won the Alysheba Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on May 2 and ran second to top talent Raging Torrent in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Saratoga on June 7.
“He’s been training great like he always does and, so far, everything has gone according to plan,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He’s just super talented, and when he’s able to put together his ‘A’ race, he’s very, very good.”
Chad Brown, who trains 3-year-old champion Sierra Leone, believes his son of Gun Runner is ready to return to the winner’s circle with a closing run to victory. The colt ran third in the New Orleans Handicap (G2) in his 4-year-old debut and was second to Mindframe in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs on June 28.
“Hopefully the race sets up for him. He's run some good numbers here and just come up a little short,” Brown said. “His end results have been better at other racetracks, but I don't think he hates this track. We'll see how the track is playing Saturday and if it's playing fairly and the pace is fair, I think he has a good shot.”
While this could turn into a match race, others are ready to play spoiler.
White Abarrio, the top earner in the field, topping $7 million, certainly knows how to win the big ones. The 6-year-old won the 2023 Whitney by 6 ¼ lengths, then won the BC Classic by a length. He ran poorly in the Saudi Cup and Met Mile under Dutrow, then was transferred back to Joseph and is 3-for-5 since.
Regular rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., the nation’s top jockey and seeking a fifth Whitney win, leaves from gate 7.
Longshots to watch include Post Time [12-1] for trainer Brittany Russell and Highland Falls [8-1] for trainer Brad Cox.
Post Time has finished in the top 3 in all 18 of his races, winning 11 times, most recently taking the Deputed Testamony at Laurel on June 28.
Highland Falls won the 2024 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and has only one start this year – a win in an optional claimer at Aqueduct on June 27.
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Johannes, the 5-2 favorite, makes his East Coast debut after an eight-month layoff dating back to his victory last December in the San Gabriel Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita. He sustained a mild bone bruise that led to his lengthy hiatus.
“We’re coming into it in great shape,” trainer Tim Yakteen of Johannes, whose only loss in six 2024 starts came when second to More Than Looks in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. “He pretty much looks identical [to December]. He’s always a horse that carries a great coat and he carries his condition well. It’s been an uneventful trip back to his first race, and hopefully we’ll continue with that this week.”
The 5-year-old son most recently worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.40 at Del Mar on July 26.
Top challenges should come from Deterministic (9-2), who won the Manhattan Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on June 8 for trainer Miguel Clemente and Spirit of St Louis (6-1), winner of the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs on May 3 and sixth in the Manhattan, seven lengths behind Deterministic.
Ireland bred Hotazhell is the 7-5 favorite, and Test Score is at 7-2 in a field of nine.
With a sunny day in the forecast, the turf should be in top-notch condition, something Hotazhell may not enjoy, leaving Test Score, America’s top 3-year-old turf horse trained by H. Graham Motion, as the likely horse to beat.
“We don't want firm ground for him, that's all,” Hotazhell’s trainer Jessica Harrington said.
Test Score won the Belmont Derby (G1) at Saratoga on July 4, and Motion figures this Derby could work well for the son of Lookin At Lucky.
“It was not my plan to go into the Saratoga Derby, but it just made sense,” Motion said. “It's a Grade 1 and he just won up here on the course. I also think the added distance will help.”
Longshots to watch include Capitol Hill (15-1) for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez aboard and Tiberious Thunder (15-1) with Frankie Dettori aboard.
This surely will be a test for trainer Rusty Arnold’s Echo Sound, the 9-5 favorite, and Kilwin at 6-1 in the 7-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies.
Echo Sounds is 5-for-6 with her lone defeat a second-place finish in the Fern Creek Stakes at Churchill Downs to close out her 2-year-old season.
She’s come back better and stronger, capturing a pair of graded stakes to launch her 2025 season. She won the Miss Preakness (G3) at Pimlico and then easily defeated three rivals in the Victory Ride (G3) last month.
Kilwin is the leading money earner in the field with over $800,000. She won the $1 million Untapable at Kentucky Downs and ran fifth in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Now she’s back on the dirt.
