2025 Travers Stakes Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key takeaways:

• The $1.25M Travers Stakes headlines Saratoga on August 23, with Sovereignty (2-5) the clear favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Jim Dandy.
• Magnitude (2-1) looms as main challenger, returning to top-level company after an easy Iowa Derby win.
• Strategic Focus, Bracket Buster, and McAfee round out a compact five-horse field, but all need big improvement to topple the favorite.
• The Travers’ history is rich, with legends like Man o’ War and Arrogate among past winners—Sovereignty looks poised to join that company if he holds form.

The featured race on Saturday, August 23, at Saratoga Race Course, and the flagship event of the summer season in Saratoga Springs, is the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes. Called the Midsummer Derby because it is the best and most historic three-year-old race of the summer, the race perennially draw the best of the best.

This year, the Travers attracted the best horse of the sophomore class: Sovereignty, who has won the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Jim Dandy (G2) in his last three starts. His most intriguing foe is Magnitude: the impressive Risen Star (G2) winner who was sidelined with an injury after that race, but came back with a blowout score in the Iowa Derby last month and now steps up to the top level for the first time. Pegasus Stakes winner Bracket Buster, multiple graded-stakes placed McAfee, and lightly-raced Strategic Focus complete the field.

The history of the Travers dates back to 1864, making it the oldest stakes race for three-year-olds in the United States. It was named after Saratoga Racing Association president William R. Travers. Not only was he the namesake, but he also owned Kentucky, the first horse ever to win this historic race. The Travers Stakes has been run at distances ranging from 1 ⅛ miles to 1 ¾ miles, but has been run at its current distance of 1 ¼ miles since 1904.

The list of Travers Stakes winners over the years features some of the best in horse racing history. Ruthless, Man o’ War, Whirlaway, Native Dancer, Alydar, Holy Bull, and Arrogate have all won this race across its history, so whoever crosses the wire first in 2025 and gets their silks painted on the Travers canoe in the infield will join illustrious company.

In addition to the namesake race, the Travers Festival also features top-class races in several divisions on Travers Day. Other graded stakes races include the Personal Ensign (G1) for older fillies and mares on dirt, the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) for sophomore dirt sprinters, the Ballerina (G1) for filly and mare dirt sprinters, the Forego (G1) for older dirt sprinters, and the Lake Placid (G2) for sophomore filly turf milers.

Travers Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025
• Track: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York
• Post Time: 6:14 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ¼ miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing, Fox
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Travers Stakes Draw and Odds

These are the runners in the 2025 Travers Stakes, along with their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and official morning-line odds from Saratoga Race Course.

Travers Stakes Prep Race Results

All five of the entrants in the 2025 Travers Stakes come out of stakes races.

The only one coming out of a graded-stakes win is Sovereignty, the morning-line favorite. He endured a wide trip in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga Race COurse on July 26, but still won by a confident length over Baeza with what looked like plenty in the tank. The other last-out stakes winner is Magnitude, who romped by 9 ¼ lengths in wire-to-wire fashion in the Iowa Derby, a listed race July 5 at Prairie Meadows.

Two of the long shots come out of graded-stakes company. McAfee chased on to finish second in the West Virginia Derby (G3) on August 3 at Mountaineer, 4 ¼ lengths behind wire-to-wire winner Chunk of Gold. Bracket Buster disputed the early pace in the Haskell (G1) on July 19 at Monmouth, but flattened out for fourth, eight lengths adrift of Preakness Stakes winner Journalism.

Strategic Focus rounds out the field. He tried stakes company for the first time in the Curlin, a restricted stakes at Saratoga Race Course on July 24. He stalked the pace and led mid-stretch, but could not hold off the late runners and crossed the finish line third, half a length behind stablemate Chancer McPatrick.

Travers Stakes Contenders

These are the five entrants for the 2025 Travers Stakes, in order of their post draws:

1. Magnitude: Magnitude is the wild card. He took a massive step forward when he won the Risen Star at 43-1 odds, leading at every call and looking like an odds-on favorite when he crossed the finish almost 10 lengths clear. He came out of that race injured, took a few months off, returned in the Iowa Derby—and, judging both from numbers and visuals, ran right back to his Risen Star. A short field certainly helps this horse, who has done his best on the front end. However, with Bracket Buster being another dyed-in-the-wool speed horse and McAfee drawing well to get an outside spot close up, he’ll have more company on the front end than in his impressive victories. That leaves him with something to prove.
2. Bracket Buster: He always finds a spot close up, meaning he is the one most likely to give Magnitude a challenge through the early stages. The good news is that he is able to dispute the early pace and run well: he won the Pegasus at Monmouth two back after battling early, and was second in the Lexington after having to fight through part of the race. However, he has never gone this long before, and did not stay the trip in the Haskell—a race a furlong shorter—after having company up front. He should have company again, and will find this a difficult ask.
3. Strategic Focus: He lost at odds-on in the Curlin last out, but that was still only his third career start and his first try in stakes company. He may also have regressed a bit after taking a huge step up from his debut maiden win to an allowance win Belmont week. The step up in trip is interesting—though his dam is a full sister to classy sprinter Curlin’s Approval, the Gun Runner on top and other runners in the female family, combined with his ability at two turns, suggest the step up in trip is worth trying, especially when his trainer, Chad Brown, is so adept with long-distance runners. His running style, rallying from a few lengths off, should also add to his chances.
4. Sovereignty: In short, this winner of two-thirds of the Triple Crown is the horse to beat. He has never run a bad race, even if he ran off the board on debut, the only time he tried sprinting; that trip was just too short for him. He has also shown an exciting dimension of versatility in his last two starts. Though he looked like a closer, he has run a stalking style in his last two starts, both on the dirt at Saratoga Race Course. He made it to the winner’s circle in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes at 1 ¼ miles, making him the only horse in the field proven at the distance. In short? He’s consistent, classy, fast, and capable of working just the right trip under Junior Alvarado. If he shows up, he’s hard to beat.
5. McAfee: After seven starts, he seems a cut below the best of his class, but he often runs to his company enough to figure. He hasn’t won a race since his six-furlong debut in an auction maiden at Churchill Downs last November. But, he has nabbed graded-stakes placings in his last three races, most recently with a runner-up effort in the West Virginia Derby. His post draw is nice for his tracking style, as he should be able to get a clean trip while not losing too much ground, as there are only five in the field. The major question, however, is whether he is good enough to figure down the lane if the likes of Sovereignty, Magnitude, and even Strategic Focus show up with one of their better races.

Travers Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Travers Stakes?
A: The Travers Stakes happens Saturday, August 23, at 6:14 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Q: Where is the Travers Stakes?
A: The Travers Stakes is the flagship race of the season at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is the featured 13th of 14 races on the card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Travers Stakes?
A: Trainer Bert Mulholland leads all conditioners with five Travers Stakes wins, dating between 1939 and 1963, with his best-remembered winner being Jaipur, now the namesake of a Grade 1 turf sprint at Belmont Park. All five trainers with horses in the 2025 edition of the Travers are seeking their first victory in the race.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Travers Stakes?
A: Sovereignty is the 2-5 morning-line favorite for the Travers Stakes. Coming off of impressive victories in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Jim Dandy Stakes, Sovereignty should hold as a heavy favorite in the Travers.

Q: Who is the best Travers Stakes jockey?
A: Javier Castellano leads all riders with seven victories in the Travers, most recently with Arcangelo in 2023. He does not ride in the race this year. Among jockeys with horses in the field, John Velazquez leads with three wins, most recently in 2024 with Fierceness. The only other jockey in the field who has won before is Luis Saez; he has two wins, most recently with Essential Quality in 2021.

Q: Who was the Travers Stakes winner in 2024?
A: Fierceness was the 2024 Travers winner in a thriller over eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. Fierceness is trained by Todd Pletcher and was ridden by John Velazquez. Pletcher does not have a Travers horse in 2025, though Velazquez takes the call with McAfee for trainer Rick Dutrow.

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