Annise Montplaisir appreciates nature’s beauty and is known to work in her Lexington, Ky., garden until fading daylight makes it impossible to continue. She delights in tending to delicate young plants and watching them grow until they thrive.
The DraftKings Travers Stakes is coming to Saratoga Race Course this Saturday, and if you’re planning to attend New York’s biggest day of summer racing, we have ten things you need to know before you go.
1. The Travers is also known as the “Mid-Summer Derby”
The next three weeks on the horse racing calendar promise to be among the most exciting of 2026, starting Saturday, Aug. 22 when the 36th edition of the Pacific Classic Stakes will be run at Del Mar.
After a very busy week in the Thoroughbred industry focused largely on Saratoga (racing, Hall of Fame induction, yearling auctions), the action shifts north of the border this weekend to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, which is scheduled to host the $1 million King’s Plate on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Over the course of two days Aug. 10-11, approximately 200 colts and fillies will go through the sales ring, their hoof steps echoing the thousands who have come before and the dreams that go forward with them. As each yearling dances to the tune of the auctioneer’s patter, a drama plays out, spotters gesturing frenetically as bids crisscross the arena.
