A Breeders’ Cup Distaff Win & You’re In berth will be a tough ticket to earn in this Travers Day undercard showcase. The Grade 1 $500,000 Personal Ensign features the reigning Horse of the Year, the race’s defending champion and five other highly credentialed stakes stars across the division. For more on this race and the entire Saturday program at the Spa, access the free 1/ST BET and VSIN Travers Wager Guide.
Horseplayers with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet be sure to take part in Saturday’s $5,000 Exacta-Thon for Saratoga.
Let’s meet the contenders for the Personal Ensign (Race 9):
#1-RANDOMIZE: Grade 1 Alabama and Grade 1 Ogden Phipps winner over this track in 2023 and 2024, she got her first win of 2025 last out at Monmouth in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher. All 6 career wins have come wire-to-wire and is expected to show early speed once again. Trainer Chad Brown won his first Personal Ensign last summer with Raging Sea, who returns and lures jockey Flavien Prat. Manny Franco picks up the mount on Saturday.
#2-DAZZLING MOVE: Shuvee, Phipps and Allaire duPont pacesetter has held on to win just 1 of her last 8 starts. The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee gets regular rider Jose Ortiz back in the saddle and should contest the early tempo with inside-drawn Randomize. Back-to-back bullet workouts pre-date her bid to win for the first time at the Spa and first time at the 9-furlong trip.
#3-RAGING SEA: Defending Personal Ensign champ will try to become the fourth 2-time winner of this race and first since Beautiful Pleasure in 1999-2000. Raging Sea rallied to win the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend in her first start in more than 6 months, but failed to fire in her pair of subsequent races. Regular rider Flavien Prat opts here over Chad Brown stablemate Randomize – who has been her workout partner in the morning all summer. Late runner should get a hot pace to help her cause.
#4-DORTH VADER: Upset winner of the Grade 1 Phipps over this track in distance during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival returns to the scene. Dueled and faded most recently at Monmouth in a matchup vs. Personal Ensign return rival Randomize. Jockey John Velazquez is a 4-time winner of the Personal Ensign, most recently Malathaat in 2022. George Weaver trains the mare who has gone off nearly 15-1 odds on average in her Grade 1 starts and often outruns expectations.
#5-BERNIETAKESCHARGE: Cross-entered Friday in the Yaddo Stakes on turf for fellow New York-breds, but is a multiple stakes winner on dirt in those ranks. She’s won 3 of her last 4 starts for regular pilot Rajiv Maragh and trainer Dominic Schettino. There’s some all-or-nothing about her performances and she’s done nearly all her damage when able to set the pace. Could be part of a busy front end Saturday if she goes here.
#6-LESLIE’S ROSE: Grade 2 Shuvee winner last out for Todd Pletcher snapped a 5-race losing streak in the process, a skid that included 3 losses in which she defeated a grand total of 1 horse. Leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. returns to ride as she looks for back-to-back wins for the first time since her debut maiden and allowance scores. Ortiz won the Personal Ensign in 2021 aboard Letruska, while Pletcher’s trio of wins came with Fleet Indian (2006), Love and Pride (2012) and Malathaat (2022).
#7-THORPEDO ANNA: The 2024 Horse of the Year returns to Saratoga for the first time this campaign, having won last season’s Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks before a valiant second in the Travers against the boys. Her longtime connections of Brian Hernandez Jr. and Kenny McPeek both seek their first Personal Ensign victories, while Thorpedo Anna looks to advance to 4-for-5 on the 2025 season. She won Churchill’s Fleur de Lis most recently in late June. Thorpedo Anna is 5-for-5 lifetime at the 1-1/8 miles distance. Her younger half-brother, McAfee, competes in the featured Travers Stakes on Saturday.
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