The Travers Stakes (G1) has seen its share of thrilling finishes, from longshots to sure shots, romps to stretch-long duels – even a dead heat.
Another defining moment in the 157th running of the showpiece race at Saratoga takes place Saturday (post time 6:35 p.m. ET). With Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo and most of the other top 3-year-olds lining up, this edition could rank among the best since ... let’s look at a handful-plus of thrillers in the 21st century, from 2001-2025.
A day after Triple Crown winner American Pharoah galloped around Saratoga to tens of thousands of adoring fans, then lined up for the Travers as the 1-5 favorite. No problem. The first horse to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness (G1), and Belmont in 37 years set the pace, posting comfortable fractions while being pressed by Frosted. American Pharoah lost the lead briefly to Frosted, battled back to regain it, only to come up short at the wire to Keen Ice, who won by three-quarters of a length. The Spa crowd of 50,000 was stunned, almost silent as horse racing fans tried to take in what had just happened. It ranks as one of the biggest upsets at a track known as the “Graveyard of Champions.” Keen Ice was 16-1 and returned $34 on a $2 win bet.
He won the Derby, edging Journalism and Baeza. He skipped the Preakness and won the Belmont, beating the same two colts by wider margins. He won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) over Baeza. Then came the Travers. And it was no contest as he faced only four rivals, including Baeza. As he turned from home, he kicked away under Junior Alvarado and cruised to a dazzling 10-length victory that had the crowd on its feet. Yes, he was 3-5, but the power he displayed in pulling away was a thrilling sight.
This one was a doozy. Fierceness, the consistently inconsistent 2-year-old champion colt who flopped in the Derby, came into the Travers off a win in the Jim Dandy. The sensational filly, Thorpedo Anna, was taking on the boys after overpowering fellow fillies in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), the Acorn Stakes (G1) and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1). Fierceness led in the deep stretch and barely held off a hard-charging Thorpedo Anna by a head, with Sierra Leone, second in the Derby, third in the Belmont and second in the Jim Dandy, another head back in third. By the end of the year, Thorpedo was voted Horse of the Year and Sierra Leone won the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Arrogate, competing in his first stakes race, was still sent off at lower-than-expected odds of 11-1, largely due to the big-name trainer/jockey duo of Bob Baffert and Mike Smith. Also in the field: Exaggerator (the Preakness and Haskell Stakes winner), Creator (the Belmont winner), and Gun Runner, who was not quite yet at the top of his game but getting close. The race is widely considered one of the most dazzling performances in Travers history: Arrogate not only led from the start, but he also soared away from the field and won by 13 ½ lengths, setting a track record of 1:59.36 for 1 ¼ miles (and the record still stands).
The first dead heat in the Travers since 1874. Alpha, the 2-1 favorite trained by Kiran McLaughlin, and Golden Ticket, 33-1 for trainer Kenny McPeek, hit the wire at the exact same time. Both horses were forwardly placed most of the race, and Alpha ran down Golden Ticket to create the dead heat. Unlike 1874 (Attila and Acrobat), there was no runoff to determine the winner. Alpha returned $4.10; Golden Ticket returned $26.80 on $2 win bets.
Of course, just about every Travers is a thriller, but here are a pair of emotional editions worth mentioning:
Cheers, then tears of joy went with this one. Arcangelo won a historic Belmont as Jena Antonucci became the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race. Eleven weeks at the Travers, Arcangelo took on Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Preakness winner National Treasure. Arcangelo, under Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano, moved into contention approaching the far turn, found room along the rail, took control, and held off Disarm by a length. There were some who said the Belmont win was a fluke, but this win over the top 3-year-olds in the division in one of America’s oldest and most prestigious races proved otherwise. Arcangelo was voted the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old; Castellano won a record-extending seventh Travers.
Birdstone’s Travers win will perhaps be remembered more for the thunderstorm minutes before the race than for Nick Zito’s colt adding a victory after spoiling Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid two months earlier in the Belmont. The race set up nicely for Birdstone, the 36-1 longshot who ran down Smarty Jones in the final 75 yards in the Belmont. Birdstone rallied from last, picking off horses around the far turn, moved into the lead, and beat stablemate The Cliff’s Edge by 2 1/2 lengths over a sloppy track.
As post time drew near, a fast-moving storm rolled in, causing the sky to turn completely black. Thunder and lightning began, and a 10-minute rain shower started. The race went off, and as Birdstone crossed the finish line, the sky opened, and torrential rain, with rolling thunder and lightning, forced the cancellation of the final race that day.
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.
