2025 Travers Stakes Contenders & Odds

The 156th running of the $1,250,000 Travers Stakes will be held on Saturday, August 23 at Saratoga Race Course and can be wagered on and watched here at OffTrackBetting.com - US legal online OTB.

The Travers Stakes, also known as the Midsummer Derby, is one of the most historic races in the country and has been an annual feature at Saratoga for nearly as long as the track has been running.

Belmont Stakes Winner Sovereignty possible for Travers

June 8 - For many in horse racing, success is all in the family, whether it be the connections of the sport's star athletes or the pedigrees of blue-blooded horses. For the trio of Godolphin, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, and jockey Junior Alvarado, "family" is the best way to describe the closely-knit connections of Saturday's Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-winner Sovereignty.

"I do my best for everybody, but you feel the power when you get those blue Godolphin silks on," Alvarado said. "You know that it could be something special. If it's a horse that's never run, you always think this could be a good one."

The trio have achieved success at the pinnacle of the sport with horses like Grade 1-winner Speaker's Corner, three-time graded stakes-winner Caramel Swirl, and dual-Champion Cody's Wish, who retired in 2023 after a career that featured back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and a story that touched the nation as he ran in honor of the late Cody Dorman.

Cody's Wish brought the venerable connections closer together than ever, and when the Curlin colt departed the Mott barn to take up stud duties at Darley's Jonabell Farm, a question lingered about who the next great horse could be for the team. Enter Sovereignty, who debuted last summer at Saratoga Race Course and went on to piece together the next chapter in the great saga of Mott-trained and Alvarado-ridden Godolphin color-bearers.

Sovereignty has solidified his status as one of the greats for Mott, adding a three-length triumph in Saturday's 10-furlong Belmont Stakes to a similar 1 1/2-length annexing of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May. The Belmont victory, which came thanks to a close stalking trip engineered by Alvarado, was awarded a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure.

Patience was key to Saturday's victory for Sovereignty, who was pointed towards the Belmont immediately following the Derby instead of the traditional route a Derby winner takes to the Grade 1 Preakness two weeks later in Baltimore. Mott quickly returned the colt to his home base at Saratoga's Oklahoma training track, where he made his preparations for his rematch with Journalism.

"He's a horse who is pretty adaptable. This is a pretty good environment for both of us," Mott said. "He's here. He's comfortable. He's got a nice shade tree out here. He's got some green grass to eat, and he's got pretty good people who take care of him. Here is a good spot for him. I'm sure if we were somewhere else, I don't know if it would change anything dramatically. Here, I think the good thing is, naturally, the environment that he lives in with the racetrack that he is able to train on, I think we feel pretty comfortable about training over this track."

Luckily for the Sovereignty camp, some of the nation's most prestigious events for sophomores take place right in their backyard again this summer during the Saratoga meet, led by the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 23, one of the only marquee events absent from Mott's remarkable list of accolades. The traditional local prep for the Travers is the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented on July 26, a race Mott sees as a logical steppingstone.

"I think we are very lucky, if we are talking about the Travers, we'll probably stay here until then. I think we would probably run in the Jim Dandy," Mott said. "I think that's a good possibility. Surely, it's not set in stone. It's here. This is all depending on him, what he's doing, and what the next couple of months brings. If he was going to have a race before the Travers, it would be the Jim Dandy. I'm sure by the time the Jim Dandy rolls around, he's probably going to be ready to do something."

About the Travers Stakes

The Travers Stakes is the oldest major stakes race in the U.S. having first been conducted in 1864.

The Travers was named for William R. Travers, president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. The initial running of the race was won by his horse Kentucky. From 1864 to 1889, the race was run at 1 3/4 miles, and the current distance was adopted for the 1904 running.

In 1941 Triple Crown champion Whirlaway became the first and only horse to win the Travers after sweeping the Triple Crown. In the 1982 Travers, Canadian champion Runaway Groom became the first horse to defeat the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont winners in a single race. No other horse has accomplished this feat since. In 2012 Alpha and Golden Ticket won the race the first and only Travers dead heat.

Other top horses to win the Travers include Bernardini, Medaglia d'Oro, Holy Bull, Easy Goer, Forty Niner, Alydar, Arts and Letters, Damascus, Sword Dancer, Native Dancer and Man o' War.

The Travers is amongst the most prestigious races for sophomores, and predates all three Triple Crown races. Inaugurated in 1864, the historic 10-furlong event is the Spa's marquee race and honors Saratoga's first president William Travers, who won the first running with the A.J. Minor-trained Kentucky. Since then, the Travers has been captured by a total of 25 Hall of Fame thoroughbreds including Kentucky, Ruthless [1867], Harry Bassett [1871], Tom Bowling [1873], Duke of Magenta [1878], Hindoo [1881], Henry of Navarre [1894], Broomstick [1904], Roamer [1914], Man o' War [1920], Twenty Grand [1931], Granville [1936], Eight Thirty [1939], Whirlaway [1941], Native Dancer [1953], Gallant Man [1957], Sword Dancer [1959], Buckpasser [1966], Damascus [1967], Arts and Letters [1969], Alydar [1978], Easy Goer [1989], Holy Bull [1994], Point Given [2001], and 2024 inductee Arrogate [2016].