2025 Travers Stakes at Saratoga

Bet the Travers Stakes online with OffTrackBetting.com - US Legal Online Wagering

The 156th running of the Grade 1, $1,250,000 Travers Stakes will be held on Saturday, August 23 at Saratoga Race Course.

When is the 2025 Travers Stakes?

The Travers Stakes will run on Saturday, August 23, 2025!

Where is the Travers Stakes?

The Travers Stakes is raced at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Where can I watch the Travers Stakes?

You can watch the Travers Stakes live on OffTrackBetting.com website or downloadable OTB app.

Where can I bet on the Travers Stakes?

Watch and wager on the Travers Stakes with OffTrackBetting.com. All wagers made through OffTrackBetting.com are directly commingled into track pools, so you can play all of your favorite bet types with confidence, knowing that you'll receive full track odds on all wagers made with us. And with free, high-quality video, you can watch the races online or with your mobile device.

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2025 Travers Stakes - Bet with OTB

The Travers Festival, which offers nine stakes including six Grade 1s from Wednesday, August 20 through Saturday, August 23, is headlined by the 156th edition of the 1 1/4-mile Travers on Saturday, August 23. Horseplayers from around the Untied States can bet and watch all of the action here at OffTrackBetting.com.

The lucrative Travers Day card features five Grade 1 stakes and an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup to the winner of the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Stakes [Turf] and Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina Handicap [Filly and Mare Sprint.]

In addition to the Travers, the stacked card will also include the Grade 1, $500,000 Forego Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and upward, and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs.

The Travers Festival kicks off August 20 with the restricted $135,000 John's Call for older turf horses and continues on Thursday, August 21, with the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa at 1 1/16-miles for turf fillies and mares.

The August 22 card will offer the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at nine-furlongs for older fillies and mares along with the $150,000 Smart N Fancy for older filly and mare turf sprinters.

OffTrackBetting.com - US Legal Travers Stakes betting online is a great way to wager horse racing at Saratoga Race Course. Available to customers across the United States, OTB features both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing from major racing venues in the US as well as top international racing from Europe, Italy, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.

Nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby," Saratoga's Travers Stakes is the oldest major Thoroughbred horse race in North America. Inaugurated in 1864, the Travers is held each August and regularly attracts the best three-year-old racehorses in North America. Handicappers welcome the Travers as one of the premier betting events in the United States, and bettors are virtually ensured to be rewarded significantly when their bets are winning ones.

Horses that compete in the Travers were likely to have been prevalent throughout the Triple Crown races - the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

The race is named for William R. Travers, the first president of Saratoga who won the iaugural running in 1864 with a horse named Kentucky. The race has had gaps in its history and was not run in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1911, and 1912.

In addition, There have been three disqualifications in the Travers: Trial By Jury finished first in 1915, but was disqualified and placed last; Run Dusty Run finished first in 1977 but was disqualified and placed second, and Affirmed finished first in 1978 but was disqualified and placed second.

In 2012, the Travers wound up with two winners for the first time in history when Golden Ticket and Alpha finished in a dead heat. The 1874 Travers also ended in a dead heat, but Attila was declared the official winner after a runoff with Acrobat.

It was contested at distances ranging from 1 1/8 miles to 1 ¾ miles before settling on its traditional distance of 1 ¼ miles more than a century ago.

• 1 miles (2.81 km): 1864 to 1889
• 1 miles (2.41 km): 1890 to 1892
• 1 miles (2.01 km): 1893 to 1894, 1897
• 1.12 miles (1.81 km): 1895, 1901 to 1903
• 1¼ miles (2.01 km): 1904 to present

The present distance of 1 mile is a perfect distance for contemporary three-year-olds. The race is open to colts and geldings, carrying 126 lb (57.2 kg) and fillies, carrying 121 lbs. (54.9 kg).

Over the years, the Travers has produced countless unforgettable moments. Here are some of the top highlights from the race's 150-year history:

1920 Travers: Man o' War won the 1920 Travers in 2:01 4/5, a record time that stood until bested by Jaipur 42 years later. In doing so, he beat Upset, who had beaten him in the 1919 Sanford Stakes. The Man o' War Cup, which Man o' War originally won by defeating 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race, is now presented each year to the winner of the Travers.

1962 Travers: arguably the greatest Travers in history, Jaipur won by a nose in track record time over Ridan after a head-to-head duel throughout the entire race.

1978 Travers: Continuing one of the sport's all-time greatest rivalries, Affirmed crossed the finish line ahead of Alydar in the 1978 Travers, but Affirmed is taken down for interference and Alydar is declared the winner.

1992 Travers: Thunder Rumble followed up a victory in the Jim Dandy to become the first New York-bred to win the Travers since 1867.

2004 Travers: Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito and Hall of Fame rider Edgar Prado team up with Marylou Whitney's Birdstone to win a memorable running of the Travers, as a powerful thunderstorm descends upon Saratoga and the race is contested in near darkness.

2012 Travers: Golden Ticket and Alpha hit the wire together, resulting in two winners for the first time in the history of the Travers. The 1874 Travers also ended in a dead heat, but Attila was declared the official winner after a runoff with Acrobat.

2016 Travers: In his first stakes appearance, Arrogate stopped the clock in 1:59.36, winning by 13 1/2 lengths and setting a new track record.

2023 Travers: For just the fourth time ever, the Travers drew all three of the year's individual Triple Crown winners - Mage, National Treasure, and Arcangelo (who won the 2023 Travers).

Famous Travers Upsets & Longshots

There are no sure things in horse racing, especially at Saratoga! American Pharoah, Whirlaway, and Gallant Fox are the only Triple Crown champions to ever compete in the Travers. Of the group, only Whirlaway was able to win the race.

1918 Travers: For the first time ever, all three of the year's individual Triple Crown winners faced off in the Travers - Belmont Stakes winner Johren, Preakness winner War Cloud and Kentucky Derby winner Exterminator. However, it was the speedy Sun Briar who pulled off the victory by a head, setting a new stakes record in the process.

1930 Travers: At 100-1, Jim Dandy defeated Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox on a muddy track in a result that still ranks among the biggest upsets in racing history. The feat earned Jim Dandy both a race and bar named in his honor at Saratoga.

1982 Travers: Canadian-bred Runaway Groom won at 13-1 odds, beating Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol, Preakness winner Aloma's Ruler, and Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo.

2015 Travers: Keen Ice, ridden by Javier Castellano, defeated Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. So great was the excitement surrounding the race that NYRA capped attendance at 50,000. It was Castellano's fifth victory in the Travers, the all-time record for a rider. He has since extended the record to seven, winning aboard Catholic Boy (2018) and Arcangelo (2023).

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Travers Trophy - Man o' War Cup

The Man o' War Cup is a solid gold trophy awarded to the winner of the Travers. Created in 1920 by Tiffany & Co., the trophy was commissioned for the match race between 1920 Travers winner Man o' War and 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton. Man o' War won the contest by 7 lengths, and drank from the cup in the Winner's Circle after his victory.

In 1936, the trophy was donated to Saratoga Race Course and has been presented to the Travers-winning connections each year since. The winning horse's name is engraved inside the bowl for eternity.

The original Man o' War Cup remains property of the New York Racing Association; a smaller, gold-plated replica is also awarded to the winning owner, which is theirs to keep.

Travers Blanket

The winner of the Travers Stakes will receive an extravagant floral blanket, a beautiful blanket of flowers to drape over the horse, hand-made locally with over a thousand carnations.

Travers Canoe

Like any great tradition, the fable of the Saratoga canoe has murky origins. Newspaper reports as early as 1927 mention a canoe in the infield lake; some saw it as a sign that the racing season was near, while others speculated that the vessel would provide unlucky bettors transportation home via the Hudson River!

In 1962, fans returned to find that the original blue paint had been covered over with the colors of Calumet Farm, whose horse Beau Prince had won the 1961 Travers. Each year since, the Travers-winning owner's colors have been painted onto the canoe, which floats peacefully in the lake for the following year.

The infamous 2012 dead heat between Alpha and Golden Ticket created unprecedented circumstances; naturally, two canoes were added to the lake that summer.

Travers Festival

The city of Saratoga Springs NY celebrates the entire week leading up to Travers Day with various events, including a restaurant week, racing events, live music and more. It's the annual Travers Festival!