2026 Jim Dandy Stakes Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key Takeaways:

• The Jim Dandy serves as Saratoga's premier Travers prep, featuring a compact but elite field loaded with proven Grade 1 performers.
• With little confirmed early speed, race shape could be just as important as class in deciding the outcome.
• Chip Honcho: The likely pace-setter enters in top form and could prove tough to reel in if allowed to dictate soft fractions.
• Renegade: The Arkansas Derby winner should appreciate the cutback to 1⅛ miles and has shown he can finish strongly without a fast pace.
• Commandment: The Florida Derby winner brings proven top-level form and has already shown he can overcome slow fractions to win at this distance.

The Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes on Saturday, August 1 at Saratoga Race Course is the premier local prep for the Travers, the flagship three-year-old race of the summer. The race covers 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt, and what it lacks in field size it makes up for in quality. Four of the five runners are graded-stakes winners, including two Grade 1 winners and two more who have also placed at the Grade 1 level.

Those Grade 1 winners include Florida Derby (G1) winner Commandment, who makes his first start since finishing runner-up to Golden Tempo in the Belmont Stakes, as well as Renegade, the Arkansas Derby (G1) winner who was second to Golden Tempo in the Kentucky Derby and third behind him and Renegade in the Belmont. Chip Honcho, third in the Preakness, makes his first start since winning the Ohio Derby (G3). Silent Tactic, scratched from the Kentucky Derby, makes his first start since a runner-up finish to Renegade in the Arkansas Derby. The lone long shot is Asked and Answered, a maiden who will need to run the race of his life.

The Jim Dandy Stakes, which has been run since 1964, takes its name from the 100-1 upset winner of the 1930 Travers Stakes, Jim Dandy, who toppled Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox. Last year, Sovereignty used a win in the Jim Dandy to propel him to an even more dazzling score in the Travers. Other major Jim Dandy winners include Hall of Fame inductee Arts and Letters (1969), Triple Crown winner Affirmed (1978), and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and major sire Awesome Again (1997). Its recent winners have been champion after champion: Essential Quality (2021), Epicenter (2022), Forte (2023), Fierceness (2024), and the aforementioned Sovereignty.

2026 Jim Dandy Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 1
• Track: Saratoga Race Course
• Post Time: 5:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing, Fox
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Jim Dandy Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2026 edition of the Jim Dandy Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Jim Dandy Stakes Prep Race Results

Two of the five runners in the Jim Dandy make their first start since the Belmont Stakes on June 6. Commandment was the 1 ¼-length runner-up, only outfinished by Golden Tempo, who was kept out of the Jim Dandy by a training setback but is pointing to return in the Travers. Renegade, the beaten favorite in the Belmont, was in range midstretch but flattened to third, 5 ¼ lengths behind Golden Tempo.

Two other contenders come out of other graded-stakes races. Chip Honcho, third behind Napoleon Solo in the Preakness two starts back, broke through at the graded-stakes level in the Ohio Derby (G3) on June 20, getting up by a length over Ocelli. Silent Tactic, who spent the Triple Crown season battling a foot bruise, makes his first start since a second-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1) on March 28, four lengths behind Renegade.

The only horse coming out of a non-stakes race is Asked and Answered. A maiden, Asked and Answered was most recently seventh, six lengths beaten, in a $100,000 maiden-claiming turf mile on July 16 at Saratoga.

Jim Dandy Stakes Contenders

These are the five runners in the 2026 Jim Dandy, in order of their post positions.

1. Chip Honcho: For as much guff as the Preakness got at the time for being a big field of questionable quality, the race has actually graded out pretty well. 1-2 finishers Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor came back to finish 2-3 in the Haskell (G1) behind improving (and, clearly, slop-loving) local Baby Vino, and 3-4 finishers Chip Honcho and Ocelli finished 1-2 in the Ohio Derby (G3) next out, ahead of Lexington (G3) winner Trendsetter. Now, Chip Honcho faces his biggest test yet, and perhaps the biggest test yet of the Preakness’s quality. And, the Steve Asmussen trainee appears to be in the driver’s seat: in a five-horse field with very little speed, the runner who has some pace is king, and Chip Honcho is the closest thing this field has to speed. If Jose Ortiz can find the same zip he tapped into when riding Chip Honcho to his maiden win, he might just kiss this bunch goodbye.
2. Asked and Answered: This field has four graded winners and a maiden; this is the maiden. He’s even a maiden with graded-stakes experience – but he’s no Ocelli, at least so far. He was well beaten as a 122-1 shot in the Pennine Ridge (G3) on the grass almost two months ago. His dirt debut three back in a dirt mile at Aqueduct was promising, at least, but he wasn’t able to come anywhere near that form next out when going 1 ⅛ miles at Saratoga, and his lack of early speed will leave him pace-compromised, to boot.
3. Renegade: He wasn’t bad at 1 ¼ miles, and may have even won the Kentucky Derby had he not drawn the fence and had to deal with the resultant trip trouble. The cut back to 1 ⅛ miles is a positive: his Arkansas Derby win at the distance was downright dazzling, and he showed that sharp turn of foot behind a pace that wasn’t terribly fast for the distance and level. That should help, given the likely pedestrian pace in this spot. He closed into a slow pace in the Sam F. Davis as well, meaning it’s no fluke that he can finish with a flourish into pedestrian fractions. Add in the fact that he is trained by prodigious Jim Dandy winner Todd Pletcher, and he looks dangerous.
4. Silent Tactic: On one hand, he hasn’t raced since March. He was battling a foot issue through the entire Triple Crown season, and he’ll have to come back with a top effort off the bench in order to hold his own with the sharper, top-class horses he faces here. He certainly has to take a step forward – he was a no-match second last out against Renegade, a horse who ran in two-thirds of the Triple Crown and should be immaculately prepared for this spot. He also won’t be helped by the pace, as he is a late-running type against good horses. On the other hand? He has been working regularly, and his trainer Mark Casse has gotten a phenomenally successful start to the Saratoga meet. That may not be enough to win this, but an exacta or trifecta finish wouldn’t be a shock.
5. Commandment: Even after his seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, it was hard to dismiss him, given what quality preps it looked like he was coming out of. And, that shook out in the Belmont: he got a fairer shot, and fought on well to finish second behind Golden Tempo – a long-shot Kentucky Derby winner who returned to prove that he was just a good horse the public underestimated. The drawback with him, like several of the other contenders, is the pace setup: he’s yet another midpack-to-closing type. But, he closed into a downright languid pace to win the Florida Derby, meaning he doesn’t need a pace collapse to win, and meaning he has a shot – especially on the cut back to 1 ⅛ miles – to buck the pace and win this anyway.

Jim Dandy Stakes FAQ

Here are answers to commonly asked questions about the Jim Dandy Stakes.

Q: When is the Jim Dandy Stakes?

A: The Jim Dandy will be run Saturday, August 1 at 5:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Jim Dandy?

A: The race takes place at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is carded as the tenth race on Saturday’s 12-race card at the Spa, a card that also includes the Lake George (G3), a 1 1/16-mile turf race for sophomore fillies, and the Saratoga Special (G2) for two-year-olds.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Jim Dandy?

A: Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Jim Dandy more than anyone. He has eight wins dating back to 2000, most recently with Fierceness in 2024. He can extend his record to nine if Renegade wins in 2026.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Jim Dandy?

A: The top of the morning-line odds are tight, with Commandment named a slight 6-5 morning-line favorite over Renegade (7-5). Commandment had a difficult trip on Kentucky Derby day but may have the advantage on the tote board after beating Renegade on the square in the Belmont, finishing a good second to Golden Tempo. However, Renegade came close to winning the Kentucky Derby after a tough trip, and his trainer Todd Pletcher always takes wagering action in New York.

Q: Who is the best Jim Dandy jockey?

A: John Velazquez has five wins in the Jim Dandy, the most in history; that most recent win came in 2024 with Fierceness. He is not named on a horse in 2026. Among jockeys who are, two have won the race twice already. Irad Ortiz, Jr. (Renegade) won with Tax in 2019 and Forte in 2023. His younger brother Jose Ortiz (Chip Honcho) won in 2016 with Laoban and 2020 with Mystic Guide.

Q: Who won the Jim Dandy in 2025?

A: Sovereignty, who would go on to win the Travers and champion three-year-old honors, won the 2025 Jim Dandy for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado. Neither Mott nor Alvarado is in the 2026 edition.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.