The massive Travers Day card literally has a new Pick 4, Pick 5, or Pick 6 starting in every possible race, which gives horseplayers plenty of ways to leverage their top opinions over the 14-race extravaganza. All pools on the biggest day of the summer at Saratoga will be bigger than normal, but naturally the All Grade 1 Pick 5 that concludes with the Midsummer Derby is a sequence that will attract a ton of interest.
Grade Descriptions: Grade A=Highest degree of confidence; Grade B=Solid Play. Grade C=Least preferred or pass; Grade X=probable winner but likely at odds too short to play.
Race 9: Personal Ensign (G1)
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 6 Leslie’s Rose
Backups: 4 Dorth Vader
Forecast: 2024 Horse of the Year #7 Thorpedo Anna bounced back last out with an easy victory in the Fleur De Lis (G2) after disappointing against the strongest field she has encountered in 2025. She meets a similar challenge in the first leg of the All-Stakes Pick 5, but very well could go off as the odds-on favorite for the seventh consecutive time. She has run well over this surface in all 3 starts and is the likeliest winner, but is all but certain to be an underlay on Saturday afternoon.
I like the chances quite a bit of #6 Leslie’s Rose. The Into Mischief filly has lacked consistency, but comes in off a career best performance in the Shuvee (G2) last month. She draws outside the main speeds, which should allow Irad Ortiz Jr. to relax off the pace. A move forward off of her last and she will be tough to deny. Hopefully we get close to the 9-2-ML offering.
Race 10: H. Allen Jerkens (G1)
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 7 Captain Cook; 1 Patch Adams
Backups: 5 Verifire; 6 Smoken Wicked; 8 Madaket Road
Forecast: One of the most intriguing races on the card is also one of the more difficult to handicap. A case of some sort can be made for all 8 3YOs set to enter the starting gate for the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1).
#1 Patch Adams is the one to beat off of his win in the Woody Stephens (G1), but draws down on the inside for the first time. The probable difference in trip from his previous starts makes him tough to rush to the windows to bet at his 3-1-ML price. That said, he is extremely difficult to outright toss off of his last couple. I will use the likely post-time favorite, as well as longshot #7 Captain Cook. The Practical Joke colt sheds the blinkers after wearing shades in his first 6 starts, including last out when he finally got back to doing what he does best, sprinting. The problem that afternoon in Louisville was his hand was forced being down on the inside against a strong group in the Maxfield that included #5 Verifire and #6 Smoken Wicked. Captain Cook comes in off a freshening, makes his first start for a higher percentage barn, and moves to an outside post. Hopefully, this leads to a career best effort. The price should be right to find out.
Race 11: Ballerina (G1)
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 5 Claret Beret; 9 Hope Road
Backups: 8 My Mane Squeeze
Forecast: I will take a swing against 5-2-ML favorite #7 Scylla in this year’s Ballerina. The extremely well-bred Tapit mare has had a great career earning nearly $1.1M, but has not been as good in 2025 as she was a year ago. She is likely to be finishing with energy, but I do not expect it to be enough to get to the wire first.
I will use three other logicals against the favorite, including top choice #5 Claret Beret. The daughter of Not This Time has been a new horse since arriving in the Saffie Joseph Jr. barn earlier this year. She crushed a field in Florida before proving she belongs at this level in her runner-up effort to Vahva in the Chicago (G2). Saffie has given her time since the pair of huge runs this spring and legs up Irad Ortiz for the first time. #9 Hope Road also merits serious respect. The Bob Baffert trainee comes in fresh off a strong series of drills at Del Mar and should find a favorable forward position under Jose Ortiz.
Race 12: Forego (G1)
Grade: X
Main Ticket: 5 Book’em Danno
Backups: None
Forecast: The best Jersey-bred in the country is back in action and looks very tough to beat in this 7-furlong affair over the main track. The Bucchero gelding has rattled off back-to-back wins over this racetrack for trainer Derek Ryan, including an easy win in the Vanderbilt (G2) on July 19. If he avoids traffic issues, he should have no issue making it 4 for 5 over the Saratoga dirt.
Race 13: Travers (G1)
Grade: X
Main Ticket: 4 Sovereignty
Backups: None
Forecast: I decided starting in mid-May that the top two colts in this 3YO crop were not worth trying to beat in their subsequent starts. They have proven classy, fast, and consistent. Some may try to wire the field out with #1 Magnitiude or hope #3 Strategic Focus puts it altogether in his biggest race to date and I respect that, but it is difficult for me to see Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner #4 Sovereignty losing if he fires. He did what he needed to do in the Jim Dandy (G2) and now gets more ground in his second start of the form cycle. He will be a short price, but I would argue his two biggest rivals will be underlays making him a clear single in all sequences.
Good luck!
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