West Saratoga

West Saratoga made his career debut in a 2-year-old maiden race at Keeneland on April 7, 2023 and it took him five starts to get his maiden victory, which finally came in a one mile dirt race at Ellis Park on Aug. 5, when he went wire-to-wire to graduate by 1 1/4 lengths over a 10-horse field.

West Saratoga had improved going long and the connections chose a stakes race for West Saratoga's next start in the Grade 3 $300,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 16. Sent off as a 12-1 longshot in the Iroquois, West Saratoga sat mid-pack in an eight-horse field and worked his way up to striking position at the top of the stretch and then was able to pass the front runners en route to a 1 3/4-length victory in a one mile winning time of 1:37.28. The Iroquois Stakes was the first official race on the road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby and with his victory, West Saratoga earned 10 qualifying points.

West Saratoga is trained by Larry Demeritte. He was bred in Kentucky by the sire Exaggerator out of the mare Mo Wicked by Uncle Mo.