This Saturday, Aug. 23, the marquee race of Saratoga Race Course’s summer meet will be held for the 156^th time, with more than 40,000 fans expected to be in attendance and a nationwide audience viewing on FOX. The 1 ¼-mile DraftKings Travers Stakes is inarguably the most important race in the 3-year-old male division aside from the Triple Crown series in the spring and summer and is often a crucial test in determining the 3-year-old champion at year’s end.

This year’s Travers, however, has a clear favorite in Sovereignty, who can cement his championship credentials with a victory Saturday at the Spa. The Godolphin homebred colt enters the Travers off of three consecutive wins in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, and Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, all by open lengths.

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Top California-based 3-year-olds Journalism and Baeza will stay west. As such, Sovereignty will face only four opponents in the Travers, led by talented Magnitude, who last month came back from a minor injury that forced him to miss the Triple Crown and easily won the Iowa Derby.

The 2025 Travers quintet will vie for the winner’s share of a hefty $1.25 million purse and the right to inscribe their name in the horse racing lore. Notable Travers winners from years past include Kentucky (1864), Ruthless (1867), Duke of Magenta (1878), Hindoo (1881), Henry of Navarre (1894), Broomstick (1904), Roamer (1914), Man o’ War (1920), Twenty Grand (1931), Granville (1936), Whirlaway (1941), Native Dancer (1953), Gallant Man (1957), Sword Dancer (1959), Buckpasser (1966), Damascus (1967), Arts and Letters (1969), Alydar (1978), Temperence Hill (1980), Forty Niner (1988), Easy Goer (1989), Holy Bull (1994), Thunder Gulch (1995), Point Given (2001), Medaglia d’Oro (2002), Bernardini (2006), Street Sense (2007), Arrogate (2016), Essential Quality (2021), and Arcangelo (2023).

Last year’s Travers was one of the most exciting in history, as Fierceness narrowly defeated the filly Thorpedo Anna, 2024’s Horse of the Year, with eventual 2024 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone finishing third.

As mentioned above, the 156^th Travers will  be broadcast nationwide on FOX during NYRA’s “Saratoga Saturdays” show airing from 3 to 6:30 p.m. ET. Post time is set for 6:14 p.m. ET.

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Read on for information about the Travers Stakes contenders plus some betting insights:

Susie Raisher/NYRA

1. Magnitude (2-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Ben Curtis

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $596,165

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Not This Time – Rockadelic, by Bernardini

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: Much, if not all, of the scant suspense in this year’s Travers Stakes centers around this contender, who will be making his big-stage debut Saturday for 2022 Travers-winning trainer and Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen after missing the Triple Crown due to an ankle chip. The son of rising young sire Not This Time didn’t show much in his early races on the road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby but on Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds, the light switch flipped on to klieg level when Magnitude unleashed a front-running, 9 ¾-length romp in the 1 1 1/8-mile Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes. He broke from the far outside post in a field of 12 that day, shot to the front under first-time rider Ben Curtis, and never looked back at odds of 43.20-1. Magnitude earned impressive speed figures in the Risen Star, but his injury was diagnosed a day after the race and he was given ample time to recover. He returned to competition July 5 in the 1 1/16-mile Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows, and once again led from start to finish in a 9 ¼-length runaway. Magnitude has transformed since Curtis jumped aboard and aggressively rode him to the early lead, and the Irish jockey makes the trip to Saratoga Saturday. Look for Curtis to once again urge Magnitude to take command right after the starting gate opens in an attempt to control the pace throughout. Racing against a small field should help this strategy, but it is very likely that he’ll get some early pressure from Bracket Buster to his immediate outside, and Junior Alvarado aboard Sovereignty should keep Magnitude in his sights and not race too far behind through the first mile or so.

Bet Magnitude in the Travers Stakes.

Eclipse Sportswire

2. Bracket Buster (20-1)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Victoria Oliver

Owner: BBN Racing

Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $286,318

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101

Pedigree: Vekoma – Spring Dance, by Dance With Ravens

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Bracket Buster should be a pace factor in the Travers Stakes if he matches the form he showed in the 1 1/16-mile NYRA Bets Pegasus Stakes June 14 at Monmouth Park and the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes held at the same distance back in April at Keeneland. He won the Pegasus after contesting the early lead and then pulling away by seven lengths, and set a contested pace before yielding late to talented Gosger in the Lexington. In his start since the Pegasus, the Vekoma colt raced close to the lead early in the 1 1/8-mile NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes July 19 at Monmouth but weakened when turning for home and finished a distant fourth behind Journalism (Gosger ran second). This Kentucky-based contender should provide early pressure to expected pacesetter Magnitude with Luis Saez, a two-time Travers winner and an aggressive rider, getting aboard for the first time. If he summons a career-best effort and Magnitude fails to fire, Bracket Buster could round out the exacta behind Sovereignty competing in a short field. It’s very difficult to envision him defeating the Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner.

Bet Bracket Buster in the Travers Stakes.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

3. Strategic Focus (6-1)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owner: Klaravich Stables

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $82,200

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Curlin’s Mistress, by Curlin

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: This lightly raced colt from the successful owner-trainer partnership of Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown still has plenty of upside but will be hard pressed to upset Sovereignty in the Travers, even if he does make a big move forward. Strategic Focus debuted April 19 in a one-mile race at Aqueduct and won by 1 ¼ lengths. He then finished first in a 1 1/8-mile allowance-optional claiming race held during Saratoga’s boutique early June meet but was disqualified and placed second after racing erratically in the stretch and interfering with the runner-up. Then, he made his stakes debut racing the same distance in Saratoga’s Curlin Stakes Presented by Casamigos on July 24. After a rough start, Strategic Focus stalked the pace and seized command in early stretch, only to flatten late and check in third, a half-length behind stablemate Chancer McPatrick. Having two 1 1/8-mile races under his belt should give Strategic Focus a decent foundation for racing a mile and a quarter Saturday, and he’ll add blinkers as well for the Travers which will hopefully help eliminate some of his stretch-running immaturity. Unless Sovereignty misfires, Strategic Focus – along with the other four Travers contenders –  is competing for second, and a patient ride from Flavien Prat plus expected improvement in start number four could get him there.

New to racing? Let us explain…

Blinkers are cups that are placed on the outside of each eye on a horse prior to a race. They can be cut to different lengths and are used to restrict the horse’s field of vision, which ideally will enable him/her to perform better through improved focus on what is in front of him rather than what is behind. When a trainer removes blinkers it usually is a sign of confidence that the horse is maturing.

Bet Strategic Focus in the Travers Stakes.

Susie Raisher/NYRA

4. Sovereignty (2-5)

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Trainer: Bill Mott

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 8 starts – 5 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $5,147,800

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Crowned, by Bernardini

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott is renowned for his patient, long-term approach to managing horses, and for months a start in the Travers Stakes has been squarely in his sights for Sovereignty, even during the months the colt prepped for the Triple Crown. Everything has gone perfectly according to plans set by Mott and Godolphin this year, and aside from a runner-up effort in late March’s Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’  Dale Farm at Xalapa, Sovereignty has met every challenge, often in spectacular fashion. As it stands now, we’re witnessing one of the best 3-year-old seasons of the 21^st century in North American racing, and although the competition came up light in the Travers, that should take nothing away from what Sovereignty could accomplish - becoming only the fourth Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner to take the Travers (along with Twenty Grand, Whirlaway, Shut Out, and Thunder Gulch). Sovereignty has been training steadily at Saratoga for his sixth start of 2025, and jockey Junior Alvarado is completely locked in with the colt by this point and should keep him in touch with speedy Magnitude to prevent that colt from establishing an insurmountable lead. Look for Alvarado and Sovereignty to make their patented rally soon after wheeling into the homestretch and take aim on Magnitude (or possibly Bracket Buster) just as they did on Journalism in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. There are no certainties in horse racing, of course, but it would be a major surprise if odds-on favorite Sovereignty were to lose the Travers based on his superior résumé and continued strong training.

New to racing? Let us explain…

Odds-on favorites are horses that are bet at odds less than even money by the time the wagering pools closed. This means that if you were to bet $2 on a horse that goes off at 2-5 odds, you would receive $2.80 back – two-fifths of each dollar wagered plus your $2 investment.

Bet Sovereignty in the Travers Stakes.

Eclipse Sportswire

5. McAfee (20-1)

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Richard Dutrow Jr.

Owners: Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Judy Hicks, and Scott Rice

Career record: 7 starts – 1 win – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $280,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Pedigree: Cloud Computing – Sataves, by Uncle Mo

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: This colt, who is a half-brother (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna, has improved this year competing in graded stakes against fellow 3-year-olds while still seeking that elusive breakthrough victory. McAfee has raced well in his three starts leading into the Travers, all held at 1 1/8 miles – finishing a close second behind Hill Road in the Peter Pan Stakes at Aqueduct in May, third in the Ohio Derby at Thistledown in June, and then second behind Chunk of Gold in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort on Aug. 3. He’s no match for Sovereignty based the colts’ respective portfolios, of course, but another top-three finish is well within his scope Saturday in such a small field. It would not be shocking to see Hall of Famer and three-time Travers winner John Velazquez concede victory to a degree and position McAfee close behind that heavy favorite with the goal of following him through the stretch in an attempt to secure runner-up honors.

Bet McAfee in the Travers Stakes.