Saratoga Offers Racing a Chance to 'Reset the Clock'

As much as memories of the Fourth of the July are still fresh in the mind, the 156th season at Saratoga Race Course starts July 11 and the meet's earliest start since 1882 could not have come at a better time.

After a forgettable first half of the year that included the horrific death of 30 horses during the Santa Anita Park meet, a disqualification of the winner of the Kentucky Derby that is still being contested in the court system, major tracks ruling off a Hall of Fame trainer, and Department of Labor investigations, the start of Saratoga—and Del Mar as well on July 17—offer a perfect opportunity to absorb the painful lessons of the first six months and enjoy the best racing of the year at the sport's summer boutique meets.

"It's the second half of the year," two-time Triple Crown winning trainer Bob Baffert said. "It's resetting the clock."

Picturesque Saratoga will offer 76 stakes—40 of them graded—worth nearly $21 million through Sept. 2 and will be home to a sizeable collection of Eclipse Award winners and contenders during its new eight-weekend, Wednesday through Sunday format.

There are 18 grade 1 stakes on the tap and the very first one will be a blockbuster with Sistercharlie, the champion turf female of 2018, taking on Rushing Fall, a winner of eight of nine starts, in the $500,000 Diana Stakes (G1T), a 1 1 1/8-mile test that brings together the two best turf fillies in North America—and in trainer Chad Brown's massive barn.

As much as its Victorian charm, lively downtown nightlife, and the cool, mountain air have become hallmarks of a visit to Saratoga, it's still the high-quality racing that makes the meet so cherished by generations of fans.

"Saratoga is a special place and it's nice to get up here," said Martin Panza, the New York Racing Association's senior vice president of racing operations. "It's what the horsemen make of it. If owners and horsemen participate, it becomes a very strong meet. Certainly, with the history of the place and purse levels ($90,000 maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds), we hope they'll participate during the meet. We want to bring the best horses to Saratoga. We'll keep trying for this meet and hope it materializes."

Once again, enough stars to fill a planetarium will be on display during the 40 days of racing. Though top-ranked Bricks and Mortar is expected to run in the Arlington Million (G1T), at least eight of the horses in the most recent National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top 10 poll are targeting stakes during the long-awaited meet.

"It's a whole new ballgame when you get to Saratoga," said Brown, who won a record 46 races at the 2018 meet. "You have new, very good outfits coming in that don't normally run on the New York circuit. It's a new challenge. It never gets any easier. Luckily we have another good group of horses that can be very competitive. It should be an outstanding meet."

The centerpiece, as always, will be the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), which will turn 150 years-young this season. The 1 1/4-mile Midsummer Derby figures to add some clarity to a muddled 3-year-old division with the leading hopefuls including Maximum Security, who was disqualified from first to 17th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), 2018 2-year-old champion colt Game Winner, Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will, Kentucky Derby runner-up Code of Honor, and Derby third and Belmont runner-up Tacitus the leading hopefuls.

The $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) will top the Aug. 3 card with Baffert's McKinzie (No. 4 in the NTRA Poll), Thunder Snow (No. 8) and Vino Rosso (No. 9) among the leading candidates.

"The Whitney is a pretty important race. I've never won the Whitney and I'd like to win it. I'm trying to build up my resume just in case I ever want to become a private trainer, so it will help my resume look good," joked Baffert, the sport's only living two-time Triple Crown winner.

McKinzie is one of at least three horses trained by Baffert who will be shipping east for grade 1 stakes at the meet, joining Game Winner and Marley's Freedom, who is bound for the Aug. 24 Kettle One Ballerina Stakes (G1). Baffert said he also plans to send some 2-year-olds to the Spa.

While the Diana, with its Sistercharlie vs. Rushing Fall matchup, will be the center of attention of the opening weekend, 2-year-olds will help usher in the meet with the opening-day Schuylerville Stakes (G3) for fillies July 11 and the Sanford Stakes (G3) July 13.

The July 17 card promises to be emotionally charged with the first running of the $100,000 Rick Violette Stakes, honoring the late trainer and longtime horsemen's leader.

Week Two features the July 20 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies, and 3-year-old males will get their stepping stone prep for the Travers in the July 27 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2).

Whitney Weekend will also include the debut of two new stakes that compromise the second leg of NYRA's Turf Trinity and Turf Tiara series for 3-year-olds. The $750,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes for fillies will be contested Aug. 2, with the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes following Aug. 4.

The Test Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs will also be part of the Aug. 3 card.

Just across the street from the racetrack, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2019 Aug. 2. Equine stars Royal Delta, Waya, and My Juliet, jockey Craig Perret, and Pillars of the Turf James E. "Ted" Bassett III, Christopher T. Chenery, Richard L. "Dick" Duchossois, William S. Farish, John Hettinger, James R. Keene, Frank E. "Jimmy" Kilroe, Gladys Mills Phipps, Ogden Phipps, Helen Hay Whitney, Marylou Whitney, and Warren Wright Sr., will be honored at the annual ceremonies.

The weeks before the Travers are topped by the Aug. 10 Fourstardave (G1T) and the famed Aug. 17 Alabama Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies.

On Travers Eve, Aug. 23, Saratoga's New York Breeders' Showcase Day will offer six stakes for state-breds with a combined purse of $1.15 million.

As usual, Travers Day will be a stakes bonanza with six grade 1 stakes and the Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa (G2T) on the star-studded card. Joining the Travers in the grade 1 category are the Sword Dancer (G1T), Personal Ensign Presented by Lia Infinity (G1), Forego Stakes Presented by Encore Boston Harbor (G1), Ballerina, and H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Presented by Runhappy (G1).

Owner Jeff Bloom said Midnight Bisou is targeting the Molly Pitcher Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park July 20 and then the $700,000 Personal Ensign, while the seven-furlong $600,000 Forego could be the lure to bring together Mitole and World of Trouble.

The meet then closes on a high note with the Woodward Stakes Presented by NYRA (G1) for the older dirt division Aug. 31, which is a target for Catholic Boy, and then the Spinaway (G1) for 2-year-old fillies and the closing day Runhappy Hopeful Stakes (G1) for 2-year-old males.

Among the track's new amenities, the biggest hit promises to be the 1863 Club, which will offer patrons and groups a chance to enjoy a day at the races in an upscale, air-conditioned setting.

Television coverage will be at an all-time high with more than 190 hours of national coverage on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) and the FOX Broadcast Network airing the Travers.

Weather, of course, will hold the key to success on the business side  and after last year, with more than 10 inches of rain and 50 races taken off the turf (nearly double the 2017 total), Mother Nature owes the Spa an abundance of sunshine.

"We have our fingers crossed about the weather," Panza said, "and hope it works out."

If it does, it could be the kind of summer to remember—and help the sport move forward.