Tips for the 2024 Travers Stakes Day, featuring five Grade 1 races including Breeders’ Cup qualifiers.
Travers Stakes 2024 runner Sierra Leone (#2) is narrowly beaten by Mystic Dan in 2024 … (+)
The 155th Travers Stakes race is the culmination of the biggest summer race at Saratoga. Five Grade 1 races on Saturday, August 24, are included in the Travers Stakes Day preview with trainer commentary and tote odds. Now is the time to add some picks and exotics to your betting options, as the $1.25 million Travers “Midsummer Derby” caps off the five Grade 1 races.
FOX Sports will broadcast television coverage from Saratoga on Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET with Travers Stakes Race 13 at 6:10 p.m.
Horse racing Betting and strategy
All eight horses in the 2024 Travers are stakes winners and four have won their last race. This includes the great filly and dominant mare in her division Thorpedo Anna.
Understanding horse racing and Betting types
In addition to the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers in Race 13 at 6:10 p.m. ET, there are four other Grade 1 races at Saratoga on Saturday. Two of them are also Breeders’ Cup (BC) Win and You’re In races for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 1-2 at Del Mar – Race 9 Sword Dancer and Race 10 Ballerina.
Tips for Travers Day
I turned to the experts’ Guaranteed Tip Sheet (GTS) and their Travers Day betting guide to learn more about the Travers and Saturday’s biggest races at Saratoga, offering the best contenders and insight.
Monitor the weather and track conditions for Saturday in Saratoga Springs, NY. Cloudy with occasional showers (40%). Temperatures around 80 degrees with light winds up to 10 mph.
Understanding horse racing and Betting types
Opening odds for parimutuel races are subject to change and adjustment as more bets are received for the races.
Race 9: Resorts World Sword Dancer (G1) $750,000 – 1 1/2 miles for older horses on inner turf – 7 runners with winner for BC Turf
- #2 Measured time (7/5)
- #4 Silver Knot (1/1)
- #1 Risen Soldier (8/1)
- Value & Longshots: #6 Grand Sonata (10/1) and #3 Far Bridge (8/1)
Measured time wnow has 6 wins in 8 starts and made his U.S. debut as the GTS top pick, easily winning the Grade I Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga during Belmont Stakes weekend. Silver Knot possibly had the most potential and achieved the highest speed figure in the last race.
Race 10: ballerina (G1) $500,000 – 7 furlongs for F/M – 11 scheduled runners with the winner automatically qualifying for the BC Filly & Mare Sprint
- #3 Vahva (1/1)
- #4 Society (4/1)
- #8 Munny’s Gold (10/1)
- Value & Outsiders: #7 Accede (8/1) and #5 Scylla (7/2)
Vahva has just reduced the gap with five wins and two close second places in seven attempts. Company is the most consistent horse in the top class race at this distance. Her best speed figure was last achieved at Del Mar.
Race 11: Waive (G1) $500,000 – 7 furlongs for older horses – 8 scheduled runners
- #8 Cagliostro- (9/2)
- #6 Mullikin (8/5)
- #1 Weapon Pilot (3/1)
- Value & Longshots: #4 Baby Yoda (8/1) and #7 Angkor (12/1)
Cagliostro is the only horse in the race who has run at this level recently and has run his two best published workouts since his last race, suggesting another strong performance today. Mullikin has won the last three races with ease. He now has two wins and two second places in four races at this distance, and he has finished first or second in seven of eight races.
Race 12: H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) $500,000 – 7 furlongs for 3-year-olds – 11 scheduled runners
- #8 Book’em Danno (7/2)
- #2 Speak Easy (8/1)
- #10 Jefferson Street (12/1)
- Value & Longshots: #1 World Record (4/1) and #5 Prince of Monaco (4/1)
Book’em Danno has won 6 of 8 races, including Woody Stephens’ Grade 1 race at Saratoga in June. He is just one length away from winning the other two races. Just speak is undefeated and has achieved two easy victories against weaker opponents.
Race 13: Cross (G1) $1.25 million – 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-olds – 8 scheduled runners
- #8 Wildness (3/1)
- #2 Sierra Leone (7/2)
- #1 Thorpedo Anna (3/1)
- Value & Outsiders: #7 Dornoch (5/2) has won two Grade I stakes races in a row. #3 Unsurpassed wisdom is undefeated in three races but has never competed against horses of this caliber.
Wildness has shown he can be the best or the worst horse in this race. He has yet to run two races in a row. His victory over Sierra Leone last month at Saratoga in the Jim Dandy (G2) gave him the highest speed figure in the last race. Sierra Leone has 6 of 7 exacta wins (1st or 2nd) and a 3rd place in the Belmont Stakes. He narrowly lost the Kentucky Derby. Thorpedo Anna has six wins in seven races and is the dominant mare in her class.
In the Travers, Horse Racing Nation also adds that #2 Sierra LeoneThe Super Screener Energy Reserve Index is 6 points higher than the next highest horse (#8 Wildness), which translates into a very large race advantage. Of the leading group, Fierceness will be the hardest to catch as Thorpedo Anna, along with Unmatched Wisdom, will apply pressure to help his stablemate Sierra Leone, who is not quite as fast.
US jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. on Thorpedo Anna celebrates after winning the Kentucky Oaks race in … (+)
Available in up to 60 million U.S. homes, FanDuel TV offers horse racing coverage from many U.S. racetracks. Racing fans can also place mobile bets through FanDuel Racing. That includes another big race on Saturday at Del Mar, the site of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup north of San Diego. The Pat O’Brien Stakes is race 9 at Del Mar at 9:03 p.m. ET and will send the winner to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
Find out more horse racing news, racing and tips with information on where to bet on the key races heading into the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 1-2 at Del Mar.
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