One of the marquee races of Saratoga Race Course’s summer meet is set for this weekend, when the $500,000, Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap will be run on the inner turf course. The Fourstardave is held at one mile and offers an automatic berth to the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF on Nov. 2 at Del Mar as part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series. The race is named after a beloved New York-bred gelding who won at least one race at the Spa every meet from 1987 to 1994, including two wins in this race.

The Fourstardave has been won by some of the top grass racehorses of the past quarter-century-plus, including such standouts as Lure (1993), Da Hoss (1996), Leroidesanimaux (2005), Wise Dan (2012, 2013), Tourist (2016), World Approval (2017), and Got Stormy (2019, 2021).

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This year’s 40^th edition of the Fourstardave originally was slated to be held on Saturday, Aug. 10. Because of steady rain in the area as a result of remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, the race was rescheduled for Sunday, Aug. 11, to give the turf course some time to dry out after several days of wet weather.  

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Read on for information about all of the Fourstardave starters:

Lou Hodges, Jr. /Hodges Photography

1. Strong Quality

Jockey: Dylan Davis

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owners: Gary Barber and Kinsman Stable

Career record: 20 starts – 6 wins – 5 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $643,060

Earnings per start: $32,153

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 114

Pedigree: Quality Road – Tiz So Sweet, by Tiznow

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: A confirmed frontrunner, Strong Quality should give Ottoman Fleet company early in the Fourstardave, and he’ll need to run the race of his career in order to have a shot at the upset. The son of Quality Road has tallied a pair of stakes wins over the past year and a half, but both of those have come against lesser opposition and one of them – the Knicks Go Stakes back in early May at Churchill Downs – came on dirt. After that win, Strong Quality contested the pace in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes June 8 over Saratoga’s outer turf course but gave way in the far turn of the 1 3/16-mile race and finished last of eight. Over his past 12 starts dating back to February 2023, Strong Quality has finished worse than fourth only four times, all in Grade 1 or Grade 2 stakes. First-time rider Dylan Davis is having an outstanding Saratoga meet, and look for him to let this one-dimensional runner do what he does best. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has won this race three times, with World Approval in 2017 and then with the great filly Got Stormy in 2019 and 2021. Gary Barber co-owned Got Stormy for her initial Fourstardave win and also co-owned 2015 victor Tourist.

Bet Strong Quality in the Fourstardave Handicap

Eclipse Sportswire

2. Master of The Seas (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Charles Appleby

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 17 starts – 9 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $2,520,582

Earnings per start: $148,270

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 119

Pedigree: Dubawi – Firth of Lorne, by Danehill

Age: 6

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Already a Breeders’ Cup winner, Master of The Seas will try the tight turns of Saratoga’s inner turf course for the first time Saturday. He’s a nose shy of being a perfect 4-for-4 in North America, winning the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes last fall, just missing against Up to the Mark in the Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland, and then surging through Santa Anita Park’s homestretch to nip Mawj by a nose in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF in November. The gelding then returned after a break of over five months in the April 12 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland and easily defeated four opponents including runner-up and stablemate Naval Power. Master of The Seas won five group stakes in England and Dubai before competing on these shores, and lost the 2021 English Two Thousand Guineas – the first jewel of the English Triple Crown – by a nose. He’s a true mile specialist and should be able to handle a turf course with moisture in it as his recent win in the Maker’s Mark Mile came on yielding ground (there’s a 60 percent chance of rain Saturday in Saratoga Springs). Godolphin stable jockey William Buick will be at Colonial Downs riding in the Arlington Million Stakes, but his replacement could not be a better choice, as Flavien Prat is winning at a 23 percent clip during the current Saratoga meet. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, owner of Godolphin, won the Fourstardave in 2003 with Trademark and in 2009 with Justenuffhumor under the Darley Stable banner. UPDATE: Master of The Seas was reported as an early scratch from the Fourstardave on the evening of Aug. 5.

Eclipse Sportswire

3. Major Dude

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Spendthrift Farm

Career record: 15 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $852,712

Earnings per start: $56,847

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Bolt d’Oro – Mary Rita, by Distorted Humor

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Major Dude has started his 4-year-old season in good form but will step back into stakes company and faces a tough challenge in the Fourstardave. The Bolt d’Oro colt made his first 2024 start in a 1/16-mile allowance optional claiming race at the Belmont at the Big A meet (Aqueduct) in late June and finished second by a neck to Big Everest before impressively winning a 1 1/8-mile allowance optional claiming race three weeks ago on the outer turf course at Saratoga. In that race, Major Dude saved ground through the backstretch and far turn, found room on the inside during the stretch run and won going away by two lengths. Prior to 2024, Major Dude made 12 consecutive starts in graded stakes, nine of the last 10 of them on turf, with his best efforts being a win in the Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy Stakes in early 2023 at Gulfstream Park and then in a win in the Grade 2 Penn Mile Stakes at Penn National in June of last year. He’s a consistent type who usually can be counted on to rally from off the pace, but his speed figures have topped out around 10 points below the historical standard for Fourstardave winners and are the lowest in this year’s field. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez rode Major Dude in his July allowance win and retains the mount – look for him to attempt a similar trip positioned close to the rail in the Fourstardave. Velazquez has won this race a record nine times: in 1992 (Now Listen), 1996 (Da Hoss), 2001 (Dr. Kashnikow), 2004 (Nothing to Lose), 2005 (Leroidesanimaux), 2008 (Red Giant), 2011 (Sidney’s Candy), and 2012 and 2013 (Wise Dan). Fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher has two wins, with Red Giant and Halladay (2020). Spendthrift Farm co-owned 2020 winner Got Stormy.

Bet Major Dude in the Fourstardave Handicap

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

4. Carl Spackler

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owners: e Five Racing Thoroughbreds

Career record: 8 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $704,475

Earnings per start: $88,059

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 114

Pedigree: Lope de Vega – Zindaya, by More Than Ready

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This talented turf runner arguably has the best chance among U.S.-based Fourstardave entrants to upset Godolphin’s likely post-time favorite Ottoman Fleet.. Irish-bred Carl Spackler has tallied four stakes wins, three of them graded, through only eight career starts. His most recent win came July 13 when he outfinished common foe Talk of the Nation to take the Grade 3 Kelso Stakes at Saratoga by a half-length. The Kelso is Saratoga’s local prep for the Fourstardave, also held at one mile on the inner turf course, and Carl Spackler’s win in that race boosted his career record on the Spa’s inner turf to 3-for-4, adding to two graded stakes wins during the 2023 meet. He earned a career-top 114 Equibase Speed Figure in the Kelso and retains the services of jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who has been aboard for each of his starts going back a year, including all of his stakes wins. Look for Gaffalione to position Carl Spackler just behind projected frontrunners Ottoman Fleet and Strong Quality and ahead of the other three Fourstardave horses, which should enable him to judge the early pace and determine the right time to urge his mount into contention. Surprisingly, perennial leading Saratoga turf trainer Chad Brown has yet to win the Fourstardave. Gaffalione rode Got Stormy to the second of her two wins in this race, coming in 2021.

Bet Carl Spackler in the Fourstardave Handicap

Coady Photography

5. Money Supply

Jockey: Manuel Franco

Trainer: Joe Sharp

Owner: Jordan Wycoff

Career record: 19 starts – 8 wins – 2 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $717,481

Earnings per start: $37,762

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Practical Joke – Evita’s Sister, by Candy Ride

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Fourstardave longshot Money Supply ships to Saratoga off a victory in his first career turf start. That happened on July 6 in the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis, a 1 1/16-mile grass stakes run on yielding turf. In that race, the Practical Joke horse sat next to last early on before moving up in the far turn and unleashing a sustained charge through the stretch to win by a head over Runaway Storm. Money Supply had matured into a graded stakes-level racehorse on dirt earlier this year, winning the Grade 3 Mineshaft Stakes Presented by Relyne GI by Hagyard at Fair Grounds back in February and then finishing third in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic Stakes Presented by Relyne GI by Hagyard at the same track in March. Overall, he’s put together a fine career, winning half of his starts and showing plenty of stamina. In fact, a mile may be shorter than his preferred distance. His connections are showing supreme confidence in shipping Money Supply to Saratoga after one start on turf to take on the likes of Ottoman Fleet and Carl Spackler. Manny Franco rode this horse early in his career in three straight dirt allowance races, and he gets back aboard for the biggest test yet. Franco rode 2017 Fourstardave winner World Approval.

Bet Money Supply in the Fourstardave Handicap

Eclipse Sportswire

6. Ottoman Fleet

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Charles Appleby

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 19 starts – 7 wins – 5 seconds – 5 thirds

Career earnings: $1,088,717

Earnings per start: $57,301

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 122

Pedigree: Sea The Stars – Innevera, by Motivator

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This gelded son of European Horse of the Year Sea the Stars still gives Godolphin and Charlie Appleby a big chance at winning the Fourstardave even after Master of The Seas was scratched. Unlike a lot of European-based horses that do their best running late, Ottoman Fleet prefers to be forwardly placed in his races, and he’s employed that strategy to win two out of his three U.S. starts in 2024. After first making an impression during the Belmont Park meet in spring 2023 with a win in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy Stakes and a third-place finish in the Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes, Ottoman Fleet spent last winter in Dubai and won one of four stakes starts before coming back for a repeat bid in the 1 1/8-mile Fort Marcy on May 4, held at Belmont at the Big A (Aqueduct). He bobbled at the start but recovered to nearly prevail, finishing second by a neck to Master Piece, and then shipped to Churchill Downs and posted comfortable back-to-back wins during the track’s spring/summer meet in the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes and most recently the Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes, both held at 1 1/16 miles. He led at every point of call in the Wise Dan and drew clear to prevail by 1 ½ lengths, earning a 114 Equibase Speed Figure that followed a 122 ESF in the Arlington. Ottoman Fleet will race at one mile for the first time Saturday – this gelding customarily goes longer – and look for jockey Flavien Prat to be aggressive on his mount in the early stages since Grade 3-level turf runner Strong Quality is the only other front-running type entered. Prat rode this horse in both of his recent stakes wins at Churchill and is having a sizzling hot Saratoga meet, winning at a 23 percent clip. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has two wins in this race under his former Darley Stable banner: Trademark (2003) and Justenuffhumor (2009).

Bet Ottoman Fleet in the Fourstardave Handicap

Eclipse Sportswire

7. More Than Looks

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Cherie DeVaux

Owner: Victory Racing Partners

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $493,215

Earnings per start: $61,652

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: More Than Ready – Ladies’ Privilege, by Harlan’s Holiday

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This multiple stakes winner will have to unleash a career-best effort coming back after a nine-month layoff to have any shot at pulling the upset Saturday, although his task became easier after Master of The Seas was withdrawn. More Than Looks was last seen rallying from last of 13 to finish sixth in the Nov. 4 FanDuel BC Mile at Santa Anita Park, showing a swift kick in the lane to finish two lengths behind Master of The Seas, who closed even faster from 12^th in the early stages. Prior to that, the son of More Than Ready had won two out of three stakes races in summer and fall 2023, rallying late in all three of them. His wins came in the Grade 3 Manila Stakes held at one mile on Belmont Park’s outer turf course and then in September in the Jefferson Cup Stakes at Churchill Downs, also going one mile on grass. In between those victories, he finished third following a slow start behind Carl Spackler in the August 2023 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes held at one mile on Saratoga’s inner turf. More Than Looks flashed plenty of potential during his 3-year-old season and arguably hasn’t reached his ceiling having made only eight starts. That said, coming back for his first 4-year-old start at this Grade 1 level in late summer is a very tough assignment. If he’s indeed ready to reach another level off of the layoff, first-time jockey and reigning Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr. should have More Than Looks closing from back of the pack when the field turns for home. Ortiz has yet to win the Fourstardave, but it’s worth noting that he’s won half of his 10 starts over the past year when riding for trainer Cherie DeVaux, who is having a fine Saratoga meet.

Bet More Than Looks in the Fourstardave Handicap