For all the prestige of the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) and tradition of Saratoga Race Course's showcase of 3-year-olds at the classic distance, this year it falls four weeks ahead of North American racing's biggest prize.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has caused perhaps the most unique racing schedule in North American racing history, another chapter will unfold Aug. 8 at Saratoga when for the first time the Travers also serves as a prep for this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).
The Travers even carries Derby qualifying points of 100-40-20-10 for the top four finishers, making it the final big-point race ahead of this year's classic Sept. 5 in Louisville. The remaining points races on the schedule arrive Aug. 9 with the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, which has attracted Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner Art Collector and offers 50-20-10-5 in Derby points; and the Aug. 15 TVG.com Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, a "last chance" race and offering points of 20-8-4-2.
With its traditional date nearly in place—it's being run two weeks early—other than not having a Saratoga packed with fans, the Travers should feel like the Travers. The race also is run at its usual mile-and-a-quarter distance.
The oddity will be going forward as spring Derby preps contested in the U.S. often top out at 1 1/8 miles. This year's Travers winner will face the challenge of turning around in four weeks and winning another race at 1 1/4 miles.
On paper, this Travers field is not as accomplished as typical fields lined up for this race but some of that can be attributed to opportunity. There's only been one classic race offered this year, the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), and the winner of that race, Tiz the Law , is entered. The Preakness Stakes (G1) will be contested Oct. 3 amid pandemic rescheduling.
Besides the Derby and Preakness being postponed this year, injury has sidelined three of this year's biggest winners of preps for the 2020 rescheduled classics: Nadal, Charlatan , and Maxfield , taking them out of the mix for Saturday's test.
Granted, if the Derby weren't coming up in four weeks, Art Collector might have been part of this Travers field. But some good news: The Travers often serves as a bridge from spring to summer in which top runners from the spring take on the summer's emerging 3-year-olds and that hasn't changed much this year.
Tiz the Law, who also won the Curlin Florida Derby (G1), is the top 3-year-old from the spring currently in training. The field also includes Max Player , who won the Withers Stakes (G3) in February and earned a classic placing with a third in the Belmont. So two of the three runners to win or place in a classic this season are on board, with the other, Belmont runner-up Dr Post, taking another path and running third in the July 18 TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1).
They'll face a field that includes a talented runner for Bob Baffert in Uncle Chuck , who has won his first two starts including a four-length romp in the Los Alamitos Derby (G3); and the top two Peter Pan Stakes (G3) runners in winner Country Grammer and runner-up Caracaro , who was just a neck back after a stretch duel.
