In the modern world of horse racing, betting on the sport has gradually become an exercise in gatekeeping and constantly steepening the learning curve. Any casual fan that looks at the Daily Racing Form now will immediately be confused, and this is by design; the people who already know how to read it stand a better chance of making money, and they’d rather keep it that way.
Tag: Travers
New Wave: Guest Novices Handicap the Travers Stakes
After last week’s guest handicapping article for Whitney Day was a success in every sense of the word, I’ve decided to expand the idea for the Travers. This article features a new generation of handicappers that have taken painstaking efforts to learn a game from a bygone era.
Handicapping Roundtable: Travers Stakes Analysis from the Best
When I’m undecided about a race, the people included in this article are the ones I invariably turn to. They represent decades of combined experience at the track, and their opinions are as reputable as any other out there. In my small racing world, these are the handicapping elite, and today, they’ve been gracious enough to provide their Travers analysis to my small, but loyal, audience.
Travers Day Analysis: Saturday, August 8, 2020
There are few bigger days on the racing calendar than Travers Day at Saratoga. Five graded stakes will be contested between some of the best runners in the country, and the crown jewel at the end, the G1 Travers, will be the true test of a champion this year.
Top Ten Travers Stakes of the 21st Century
Since the turn of the millennium, Saratoga has provided 20 runnings of the Travers Stakes, the unofficial fourth leg of the Triple Crown and final classic test for three-year-olds. Some renditions have reaffirmed the stars of the Triple Crown trail, while others have established new runners as the ones to beat as the season wears on. Champions have been crowned, rising stars have shone and disappointed, and massive upsets have turned the racing world on its head.
Every now and again, it’s important to look back on the history of the sport in order to appreciate events to come. On the eve of the 2020 Travers, let’s look back on the 10 greatest Travers Stakes of the last 20 years.