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Horses run through the first turn during the 2023 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. (Amira Chichakly/NYRA)
The $1 million, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course is one of the most important races in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic division as well as one of the marquee summertime races in U.S. horse racing. The 1 1/8-mile dirt race is a “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series qualifier for the Longines Classic, giving the race winner an automatic berth to the $7 million Classic to be held Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
Winners of the Whitney often go on to assemble careers worthy of consideration for the Racing Hall of Fame, and this prestige has endured ever since the race was first held nearly a century ago. Past winners include stars such as Discovery (1934, 1935, 1936), War Admiral (1938), Gallorette (1948), Tom Fool (1953), Kelso (1961, 1963, 1965), Carry Back (1962), Dr. Fager (1968), Alydar (1978), Slew o’ Gold (1984), Lady’s Secret (1986), Personal Ensign (1988), Easy Goer (1989), Awesome Again (1998), Medaglia d’Oro (2003), Invasor (2006), Blame (2010), Honor Code (2015), Gun Runner (2017), Knicks Go (2021), and Life Is Good (2022).
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The 97th Whitney Stakes is headlined by National Treasure, who has won two Grade 1 races so far this year including the June 8 Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap, which was held at Saratoga this year. He is set to face a quality field of 11 opponents, nine of them prior graded stakes winners. The Whitney will be televised nationwide on FOX as part of a three-hour “FOX Saratoga Saturday” program with a scheduled post time of 5:42 p.m. ET.
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Read on for information on all of the 2023 Whitney Stakes contenders.
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
1. Post Time (20-1 morning-line odds)
Jockey: Sheldon Russell
Trainer: Brittany Russell
Owner: Hillwood Stable
Career record: 11 starts – 8 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $817,910
Earnings per start: $74,355
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 116
Pedigree: Frosted – Vielsalm, by Fairbanks
Age: 4
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Maryland-bred Post Time has successfully stepped up in class this year to hold his own competing with some of the best dirt horses in training. After winning a one-turn mile stakes race restricted to state-breds to kick off 2024 and earning a 116 Equibase Speed Figure, he won back-to-back graded stakes in the spring, the General George Stakes at Laurel Park and the Carter Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets at Aqueduct. Both of those stakes were held at seven furlongs and since then, Post Time has stretched out to a mile and continued to run well, finishing second by three-quarters of a length to Messier in the May 3 Westchester Stakes at Belmont at the Big A (Aqueduct), and most recently a distant second to runaway winner National Treasure in the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap June 8, held at Saratoga. National Treasure blew away the field in the race commonly known as the Met Mile, but Post Time closed with energy along the inside to secure the runner-up spot over Hoist the Gold and Castle Chaos. Now, the Frosted colt will attempt to race 1 1/8 miles around two full turns for the first time, and while the Whitney field will be the toughest he’s ever faced, he’s never finished out of the money through 11 career starts. He’s a longshot win candidate but worthy of using in exacta and trifecta bets. It’s also worth pointing out that he’s 2-for-2 racing on a wet track (including one of his 116-figure races) and there’s a better than 50 percent forecast for showers in Saratoga Springs on Saturday.
Bet Post Time in the Whitney Stakes
Coady Media
2. Disarm (15-1)
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds
Career record: 11 starts – 3 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $1,086,790
Earnings per start: $98,799
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107
Pedigree: Gun Runner – Easy Tap, by Tapit
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This son of Whitney winner Gun Runner, who had some success in major races for 3-year-olds in 2023 before taking a break of over eight months, came back strong in his 2024 debut with an easy allowance win at Churchill Downs in May but then disappointed when finishing sixth of eight in the Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill on June 29. Disarm started slow in the 1 1/8-mile Foster yet managed to find a good spot racing on the inside through the backstretch, but had no punch when asked to run by jockey Joel Rosario and faded late. He’s eligible to rebound in his third start off of the layoff, has a good pedigree for stamina, and will be racing on a track he’s shown an affinity for, winning his maiden at Saratoga in 2022 and finishing fourth in the Jim Dandy Stakes and then a good second in the Travers Stakes last summer. That being said, Disarm doesn’t match up with the top Whitney contenders in terms of graded stakes success and speed figures. Even cycling back to his Travers effort from nearly a year ago probably won’t be good enough to win Saturday. Jockey Joel Rosario won the 2021 Whitney aboard Knicks Go; he’ll be inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame one day prior to this year’s race. Fellow Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen trained Gun Runner, the dominant 2017 Whitney winner, eventual Horse of the Year, and 2024 Hall of Fame inductee co-owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds.
Bet Disarm in the Whitney Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
3. National Treasure (9-5)
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Career record: 13 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $5,372,000
Earnings per start: $413,231
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115
Pedigree: Quality Road – Treasure, by Medaglia d’Oro
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: National Treasure ships across the country as the deserved Whitney Stakes favorite having reached peak form during the first half of his 4-year-old season. Last year’s Preakness Stakes winner who nearly bested eventual 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile started 2024 by setting the pace and holding on for a neck victory over Senor Buscador in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat at Gulfstream Park. He next traveled halfway around the world to finish a tiring fourth behind that foe in the $20 million Saudi Cup, which like the Pegasus was held at 1 1/8 miles. National Treasure then returned to the U.S. and cut back in distance for the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap June 8, where he unleashed a tour de force, shaking off mild early pressure from Hoist the Gold to dominate by 6 ¼ lengths. The Met Mile is traditionally held at Belmont Park around one turn, but this year it was held at Saratoga and around 1 ½ turns, and that experience should benefit National Treasure as he returns for an encore. It’s worth pointing out that this colt’s two best career races have come at a mile (at the Breeders’ Cup last fall and in the Met Mile) and that in his races longer than that he’s either faded to finish off of the board or managed to hold on for dear life and prevail (in last year’s Preakness and this year’s Pegasus). National Treasure projects as the controlling speed in the Whitney Stakes, with possible pressure from Arthur’s Ride, Tumbarumba, Skippylongstocking, and possibly First Mission. If he’s left alone on the lead, this talented racehorse will certainly be tough to run down under red-hot jockey Flavien Prat, but his tendency to tire late in races longer than a mile makes him an underlay at morning-line odds of 9-5. Trainer Bob Baffert won back-to-back Whitneys in 2019 with McKinzie and 2020 with Improbable, who was co-owned by SF Racing.
Bet National Treasure in the Whitney Stakes
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
4. Warrior Johny (20-1)
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Trainer: Philip Bauer
Owner: Rigney Racing
Career record: 19 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 5 thirds
Career earnings: $434,488
Earnings per start: $22,868
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113
Pedigree: Cairo Prince – Warrior Girl, by War Chant
Age: 5
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This veteran 5-year-old gelding takes a big class jump Saturday and comes into the Whitney off of a huge effort a little more than three weeks ago. On July 11, Kentucky-based Warrior Johny shipped to Saratoga for trainer Philp Bauer to contest a 1 1/8-mile allowance optional claiming race, and he overcame bumping and bouncing between rivals early in the race to save ground and then draw clear in the stretch en route to an impressive four-length win. He defeated nine opponents, several of them stakes-caliber horses, and earned an Equibase Speed Figure of 113. That figure is a career-best for this Cairo Prince horse, and it’s worth noting that his prior top figure of 109 came back in 2022 when Warrior Johny romped by 8 ½ lengths in another 1 1/8-mile allowance race at Saratoga. In his only other race over Saratoga’s dirt track, Warrior Johny received betting support at odds of 8.60-1 in the 2023 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes and dueled for the early lead in that 1 ¼-mile test before tiring to finish seventh of eight runners, 10 lengths behind Whitney foe Bright Future. Even though Warrior Johny concedes stakes experience to most of his opposition, those two open-length victories on Saratoga’s track and at the Whitney’s distance make him worthy of using in exotic bets at high odds. He’ll have to run without the anti-bleeder medication Lasix Saturday after running with it in his prior six starts, as it’s prohibited in Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races.
Bet Warrior Johny in the Whitney Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
5. First Mission (9-2)
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owner: Godolphin
Career record: 9 starts – 5 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $1,321,670
Earnings per start: $146,852
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115
Pedigree: Street Sense – Elude, by Medaglia d’Oro
Age: 4
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: First Mission has a good chance to win the Whitney if – and it’s a big if – he can bounce back from a disappointing fourth-place finish in the June 29 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs in his most recent start. He came into the Foster off of back-to-back routs in the Essex Handicap in March at Oaklawn Park and the Alysheba Stakes Presented by TwinSpires in May on a sloppy track at Churchill, earning 115 Equibase Speed Figures in both races. First Mission tired in early stretch after dueling for the lead with Skippylongstocking in the 1 1/8-mile Foster and finished 3 ¼ lengths behind Kingsbarns as the 0.93-1 favorite. Prior to his wins in the Essex and Alysheba, the Godolphin homebred also failed to fire in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat in his 2024 debut, checking in ninth when 20 ½ lengths behind National Treasure. The Pegasus and Foster are his only two off-the-board finishes through nine career starts and at his best, First Mission possesses a dangerous combination of speed and stamina up to 1 1/8 miles. In every one of his route races save the puzzling Pegasus, he’s been able to secure a good early position and either press or stalk the pace. It will be interesting to see how aggressive jockey Florent Geroux is coming out of the starting gate and whether he urges this colt to challenge projected frontrunner National Treasure, although trainer Brad Cox told NYRA’s press office Aug. 2 that he plans to instruct his rider to settle First Mission off the pace, a definite change of tactics from earlier races. Geroux won the 2017 Whitney riding the great Gun Runner. Cox won in 2021 with Knicks Go. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Godolphin won the 2016 Whitney with Frosted.
Bet First Mission in the Whitney Stakes
Nicole Thomas/Coglianese Photo
6. Il Miracolo (SCRATCHED)
Jockey: Manny Franco
Trainer: Antonio Sano
Owner: Eduardo Soto
Career record: 20 starts – 4 wins – 5 seconds – 4 thirds
Career earnings: $726,635
Earnings per start: $36,332
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108
Pedigree: Gun Runner – Tapit’s World, by Tapit
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Il Miracolo has assembled a solid race record and earned more than $700,000 without ever really establishing a position among the top rank of dirt route horses in any of his three seasons of racing, and it’s difficult to envision him breaking through in the Whitney. The son of Whitney winner Gun Runner has finished in the top three in seven of his last eight races going back to last August when he tallied his first stakes win in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing. Since then, he’s added another stakes victory to his résumé, defeating Tumbarumba by a neck in the one-mile Ghostzapper Stakes March 30 at Gulfstream. In his only race between then and Saturday, he nearly nabbed second in the Alysheba Stakes Presented by TwinSpires May 3 at Churchill Downs, finishing a nose behind Japanese-based runner-up T O Saint Denis when four lengths behind winner First Mission. Il Miracolo has raced seven times at a mile and an eighth, finishing second twice and third twice and his Equibase Speed Figures have topped out in the mid-100s as compared to several of his Whitney foes who have reached the mid-teens. He’s a hard-trying type who certainly has the ability to rally past a few tired runners in the stretch and pick up a minor award in the Whitney, but finishing better than third against this field would be a surprise.
Bet Il Miracolo in the Whitney Stakes
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
7. Crupi (15-1)
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable
Career record: 16 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 4 thirds
Career earnings: $891,750
Earnings per start: $55,734
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109
Pedigree: Curlin – Don’tforgetaboutme, by Malibu Moon
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This long-winded deep closer will need a pace meltdown in order to have any chance at pulling a Whitney upset and he might not get it in a field lacking an abundance of elite early speed aside from National Treasure and possibly Arthur’s Ride. Crupi does, however, have some pluses as a longshot contender. He’s 2-for-4 at Saratoga in his career including a rallying half-length win in the 1 ¼-mile Suburban Stakes two races ago on June 8, and he’s got a record of three wins, one second, and one third in eight 1 1/8-mile races, including a pair of stakes victories at Aqueduct in late 2023. On the other hand, when he’s stepped up to face the top echelon of dirt racehorses, he’s not been able to do better than grind up and secure a minor award, such as in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park back in January, where he finished third, 4 ¾ lengths behind National Treasure. In his most recent start, Crupi closed ground to finish second in the Brooklyn Stakes held at 1 3/8 miles on July 5 at Belmont at the Big A (Aqueduct), but was no threat to dominant 9 ¼-length winner Next, who is regarded as one of the best long-distance dirt horses in training. Reigning two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has been aboard Crupi for his prior two starts and retains the mount Saturday, which is a plus. All in all, Crupi is a classic “trifecta filler” horse racing at this level – he should get into gear once the field turns for home but will probably be too far back to have a real impact on the Whitney outcome. Irad Ortiz has won four Whitneys in the past seven editions of the race, starting with Diversify in 2018 and then riding Improbable in 2020, Life Is Good in 2022, and White Abarrio last year. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has visited the Whitney winner’s circle four times as well with Left Bank (2002), Lawyer Ron (2007), Cross Traffic (2013), and Life Is Good.
Bet Crupi in the Whitney Stakes
Coglianese Photos/Gulfstream Park
8. Tumbarumba (20-1)
Jockey: Luis Saez
Trainer: Brian Lynch
Owner: Wathan Racing
Career record: 15 starts – 5 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $538,190
Earnings per start: $35,879
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108
Pedigree: Oscar Performance – Naïve Enough, by Street Sense
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This very consistent and talented Louisiana-bred gelding seems best suited to competing in races held at or around one mile in distance, and as such will be hard pressed to hit the board in Saturday’s Whitney. Tumbarumba has posted a top-three finish in nine out of his prior 10 starts, and he’s finished in the top two in eight of those races, a very impressive record indeed. He’s usually engaged in a heated rivalry at the finish as well, as his four wins in that stretch have come by margins of three-quarters of a length, a neck, a neck, and a nose and three of his losses over that period have been by a head or less. Through four starts this year, he’s tallied one win back in January in the Fred W. Hooper Stakes Presented by Whispering Angel at Gulfstream Park held at a one-turn mile, and then added three runner-up efforts including losing by a neck to Il Miracolo in the 1 1/16-mile Ghostzapper Stakes at Gulfstream in late March. After a three-month break, he finished a length behind Cagliostro in the one-turn mile Hanshin Stakes Presented by JRA June 30 at Churchill Downs. Tumbarumba should gain a prominent early position in the Whitney under Luis Saez, who’s been aboard for three out of his four starts this year, and he could move forward in his second start after the break to build upon his good comeback in the Hanshin. That being said, his competitive running style coupled with stamina questions could tire him out somewhere around the far turn of Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Whitney.
Bet Tumbarumba in the Whitney Stakes
Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
9. Bright Future (5-1)
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable
Career record: 9 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $926,940
Earnings per start: $102,993
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112
Pedigree: Curlin – Sophia’s Song, by Bellamy Road
Age: 5
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This son of Hall of Famer Curlin emerged as a leading contender in the older dirt male division last September when he won the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes by a nose at Saratoga, which he followed up with a late-running sixth-of-12 finish in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic held at the same distance at Santa Anita Park. Bright Future was given a long break after the Breeders’ Cup and made an auspicious return June 15 in the Salvator Mile Stakes at Monmouth Park, drawing clear in midstretch to win by 1 ¾ lengths. He’s been patiently campaigned by Todd Pletcher and owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable – the same connections as Crupi – and could be sitting on a career-best effort Saturday if he can move forward from his return race at Monmouth. Unlike several of the Whitney contenders, Bright Future prefers racing at a mile and an eighth or longer, and if jockey Javier Castellano is able to give him a trip similar to that in the Jockey Club Gold Cup where he sat a length or two off of the early pace, he should be in a good position to pick up his second marquee win at Saratoga when the field turns for home. Castellano won the 2015 Whitney aboard Honor Code, and fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher has four prior wins in this race, with Left Bank (2002), Lawyer Ron (2007), Cross Traffic (2013), and Life Is Good (2022).
Bet Bright Future in the Whitney Stakes
Coady Media
10. Skippylongstocking (8-1)
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Owner: Daniel Alonso
Career record: 24 starts – 8 wins – 2 seconds – 5 thirds
Career earnings: $2,388,985
Earnings per start: $99,541
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 114
Pedigree: Exaggerator – Twinkling, by War Chant
Age: 5
Color: Bay
Running style: Press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: As in most of his races over the past couple of years, Skippylongstocking profiles as a win candidate in the Whitney who could offer good betting value if his post-time price stays in the range of 6-1 to 10-1. He’s hit the board in six of his past seven starts going back to last summer, and his only blemish came when he was pulled up in last January’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat won by National Treasure. Since then, he’s posted easy wins in the 1 1/16-mile Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn Park, followed by a decent third-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster Stakes in his start preceding the Whitney. In the Foster, Skippylongstocking pressed the early pace set by First Mission and fought on through the stretch to finish 2 ½ lengths behind impressive winner Kingsbarns and only a neck behind runner-up Pyrenees. Look for jockey Jose Ortiz, who rode Skippylongstocking in the Oaklawn Handicap and the Foster, to be aggressive with his mount breaking from an outside post in order to stay in touch with National Treasure and perhaps engage that foe for early prominence. Skippylongstocking is 4-for-10 racing at 1 1/8 miles, including a frontrunning win last summer in the Charles Town Classic Stakes held around three turns. He’s established as a Grade 2-caliber horse so far in his busy career, and will need to run the race of his life to win this prestigious event, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Bet Skippylongstocking in the Whitney Stakes
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
11. Arthur’s Ride (8-1)
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Trainer: Bill Mott
Owner: Glassman Racing
Career record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $214,955
Earnings per start: $35,826
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115
Pedigree: Tapit – Points of Grace, by Point Given
Age: 4
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This well-bred colt by top sire Tapit and out of a Canadian champion turf mare is the wild-card entry in the Whitney, carrying morning-line odds of 8-1 that seem to be underlaid considering he’ll be making his stakes debut in the Grade 1 event. Arthur’s Ride was briefly a buzz horse on last year’s road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve after winning a maiden race at Gulfstream Park in February 2023, but was then sidelined for over a year before returning with another impressive win in a Gulfstream allowance optional claiming race back in March. The Bill Mott trainee romped in that one-turn mile race by 7 ½ lengths, but followed it up with a ninth-place finish in an allowance optional claimer held at the same distance May 3 at Churchill Downs, finishing 23 lengths behind the winner as the 1.53-1 favorite. That Churchill race was held on a sloppy track, and when Arthur’s Ride came back for his third start of 2024 on a dry fast track at Saratoga June 7, he validated those faithful bettors who backed him at 2.35-1 by routing eight opponents in a 1 ¼-mile allowance optional claimer. He won by a geared-down 12 ¾ lengths under Junior Alvarado and earned a 115 Equibase Speed Figure, which matches figures from National Treasure and First Mission as the highest number earned by a Whitney starter in a two-turn race. As impressive as that victory was, it’s important to keep in mind that it came against a field far less accomplished than the one Arthur’s Ride is going to face next, and he’ll also have to run without Lasix. He set an uncontested pace in that victory and was never really challenged, which won’t be the case in the Whitney should Alvarado employ the same strategy. We’ll know whether or not Arthur’s Ride was thrown in the deep end too soon around 6 p.m. ET Saturday, but he’s got a bright future regardless of where he finishes. Junior Alvarado won the 2013 Whitney on Moreno.
Bet Arthur’s Ride in the Whitney Stakes
Janet Garaguso/NYRA
12. Charge It (30-1)
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: Whisper Hill Farm
Career record: 15 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $881,270
Earnings per start: $58,751
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 114
Pedigree: Tapit – I’ll Take Charge, by Indian Charlie
Age: 5
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Charge It entered last year’s Whitney Stakes off of a dominant 4 ¾-length win in the 1 ½-mile Suburban Stakes at Belmont at the Big A (Aqueduct) but made no impression against five opponents, finishing fourth and 10 lengths behind White Abarrio at odds of 6.20-1. He’s been searching for that early summer 2023 form ever since, finishing fourth, fourth, third, and most recently fifth in stakes races held at either one mile or 1 1/6 miles, and as such is a deserved longshot on the 2024 Whitney morning line. He’s done battle with several Whitney foes in his recent races, finishing 3 ¼ lengths behind runner-up Post Time in the one-mile Westchester Stakes at Belmont at the Big A back in May and 6 ½ lengths behind runner-up Tumbarumba in the one-mile Hanshin Stakes Presented by JRA June 30 at Churchill Downs. This horse is bred to run all day and should benefit from stretching back out to two turns and 1 1/8 miles. The problem is he’s a one-paced type whose two best career races in the Suburban and the 2022 Dwyer Stakes came against short fields that in retrospect were not very accomplished. Drawing the outside post should work against his chances of hitting the board as well. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has won this race four times, aboard Left Bank in 2002, Lawyer Ron in 2007, Commentator in 2008, and Cross Traffic in 2013. Three of those runners – Left Bank, Lawyer Ron, and Cross Traffic – were trained by Todd Pletcher, who also won the 2022 Whitney with Life Is Good.
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