And the hits just keep on coming at Saratoga Race Course. Next up on the world stage for handicappers and racing fans is Whitney Stakes Day on Saturday (Aug. 2) -- a superb day for those who bet on horse racing.
The 98th running of the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) -- one of the most prestigious races in the country -- is the centerpiece on a card featuring three additional Grade 1 races. The others are the Test Stakes, the Fourstardave Stakes, and the Saratoga Derby Invitational.
The morning-line odds for the Whitney will be posted later this week. Entries were taken on Sunday (July 27).
Fierceness and Sierra Leone top the lineup and are set to meet for a third time in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney, which drew a field of 10 4-year-olds and up.
These two champs – Fierceness was the 2023 2-year-old Eclipse Award winner and Sierra Leone the 2024 3-year-old Eclipse Award winner – battled in the 2024 Travers Stakes (G1) and the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Fierceness edged the filly Thorpedo Anna with Sierra Leone third in the Travers, while Sierra Leone edged Fierceness in the BC Classic at Del Mar in November.
Fierceness, second in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in his last start, drew post 9 with John Velazquez aboard; Sierra Leone, second in the Stephen Foster (G1) last out, leaves from gate 5 under Flavien Prat.
“It's early in the season still and a lot of racing to go,” Brown said after Sierra Leone posted a workout on Saturday. “The horse is the reigning 3-year-old champion, and he's coming off a very nice race. I'm happy with how he's training and that's all that really matters to me at the moment.”
The Whitney field is loaded with rising stars and familiar names.
Fierceness trainer Todd Pletcher also entered Mindframe, winner of the Stephen Foster (G1) in his most recent start. The 3-year-old leaves from post 1 under Jose Gomez. However, Pletcher Mindframe is more likely to run next in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) on Aug. 31.
White Abarrio – the 2023 Whitney winner – is back again under trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., who also entered Skippylongstocking. The 6-year-White Abarrio ran fourth in the Met Mile last time out.
Also in the field: Highland Falls (Aqueduct allowance winner on June 27); Mama's Gold (2nd in the Commentator last out); Disarm (4th in the Oaklawn Handicap); Contrary Thinking (Aqueduct allowance winner June 29); and Post Time (won Deputed Testamony last out).
The Whitney and the Fourstardave, run at 1 mile on the turf, are part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, with the winners earning automatic berths in their respective Breeders' Cup races.
The Whitney winner gets an all-fees paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1, with the Fourstardave winner collecting an all-fees paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1).
The Whitney is the 11th race at Saratoga with a post time of 5:41 p.m. ET
The Whitney is named after the family that for generations has had so much to do with racing at Saratoga. The Whitney family’s involvement with thoroughbreds began when William Collins Whitney, co-founder of The Jockey Club, began campaigning racehorses in 1898, bearing the famed Eton blue-and-brown silks.
Whitney Day is a special summer day of racing. The $1 million Whitney draws top older horses and has been won by many champions.
On Whitney Day, Saratoga is bathed in pink in honor of Marylou Whitney, one of racing's finest ambassadors who passed away in 2019.
On Friday, 2004 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Smarty Jones Stakes will be inducted Friday (Aug. 1) into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, with the ceremony at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs – across the street from the track
The popular Pennsylvania-bred won all right of his races entering the Belmont Stakes (G1) with a chance to become a Triple Crown champion. But he was overtaken in the deep stretch by Birdstone in one of the more dramatic Triple Crown-near misses in history.
The feature race this day, naturally, is the $400,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2), which drew a field of nine 3-year-olds.
The likely betting favorite is Zulu Kingdom, a winner in six of seven career starts for trainer Chad Brown. Flavien Prat has the call out of gate 7. Zulu Kingdom, 3-for-3 in 2025, won the Manila Stakes (G3) at the Spa on July 4.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
