Jim Dandy Stakes Odds: Commandment, Renegade Top Five-Horse Field

Jim Dandy Stakes Day is one of the most popular events of the Saratoga summer season, with 12 races topped by the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2), a high-profile test for 3-year-olds often contested by just a handful of horses.

The field for Saturday’s 63^rd edition once again is compact, but features another matchup of Triple Crown warriors, Renegade and Commandment.

Renegade ran second, and Commandment finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby (G1) in May. In the Belmont Stakes (G1) five weeks later, it was Commandment second and Renegade third.

Golden Tempo, the Derby and Belmont winner, is bypassing the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy and training up to the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1), where all three could meet again.

For now, though, the two will vie for the role of favorite in a field that also includes Chip Honcho, Silent Tactic and Asked and Answered.

The morning-line odds are scheduled to be posted on Wednesday.

Jim Dandy: Recent History of Small Fields

While the Jim Dandy is a prestigious race on the road to a year-end championship, the field has not topped six runners since 2013. Recent winners include 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, Fierceness (2024), Forte (2023), Epicenter (2022), and Essential Quality (2021).

Sovereignty, winner of last year's Derby, Belmont, Jim Dandy and Travers, defeated four rivals; Fierceness beat five rivals; Forte faced four challengers; Epicenter defeated three rivals; and Essential topped four challengers.

Jim Dandy Betting: Commandment, Renegade Meet for Third Time

Commandment, trained by Brad Cox, put up a four-race win streak from November to March, including the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and the Florida Derby (G1). After a bumpy trip in the 18-horse Derby, he finished seventh, 5 ¼ lengths behind Golden Tempo.

In the Belmont, he closed well as is his style, but came up short of Golden Tempo, finishing 1 ¼ lengths back.

Flavien Prat, who incredibly was uninjured Saturday after falling off his mount and hanging on to another before crashing to the ground during a race, has the call from post 5.

Commandment most recently worked 5 furlongs in 59.40 seconds at Saratoga on July 18. He will wear blinkers on Saturday.

“I’m super pleased with what he’s done since the Belmont, and I think he’s set up for a big run,” Cox said. “He seems to be as good now as he’s been all year and he’s going to need to step up next week, but if we get the same effort out of him as the Belmont, that’s going to make him a player.”

“I’m putting some blinkers on him to keep him a little more engaged in the turns,” Cox said. “He sometimes seems to want to drop the bit and not run into the far turn like we need him to.”

Is Renegade Ready for a Big Win?

Renegade leaves from post 3 under Irad Ortiz, Jr., who won a record-tying six races at the Spa on Saturday. After losing by a neck to Golden Tempo in the Derby, Renegade was the Belmont favorite but finished third, four lengths behind Commandment with Golden Tempo the winner.

Renegade won the Sam F. Davis Stakes and the Arkansas Derby (G1) to secure his spot in Louisville, where he had a troubled trip but still rallied for second.

Looking ahead, trainer Todd Pletcher said: “We're more focused on trying to do well in the Jim Dandy and the Travers and see what we can do.”

Silent Tactic Returns After Four-Month Break

Chip Honcho (post 1, Jose Ortiz), who skipped the Kentucky Derby and ran third in the Preakness Stakes (G1), comes into the race off a win in the Ohio Derby (G3) for trainer Steve Asmussen; Silent Tactic (post 4, Luis Saez), winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3), returns for his first start since March 28 when he ran second to Renegade in the Arkansas Derby; and Asked and Answered (post 2, Jaime Rodriguez) comes into the race winless in six starts. The last horse to break his maiden in the Jim Dandy was Laoban in 2016.

The Jim Dandy card includes two other graded stakes, the $250,000 Saratoga Special (G2) for 2-year-olds and the $225,000 Lake George Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf.

Post time for the Jim Dandy, race 10, is 5:44 p.m. ET

The Picks: 1 Renegade 2 Commandment 3 Chip Honcho

The field for the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2), from the rail out, with jockey and trainer (odds will be posted after the draw on Wednesday, July 29):

Chip Honcho (Jose Ortiz, Steve Asmussen)
Asked and Answered (Jaime Rodriguez, Antonio Arriaga)
Renegade (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Todd Pletcher)
Silent Tactic (Luis Saez, Mark Casse)
Commandment (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox)

Richard Rosenblatt

Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.

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