The 1 ¼-mile, Grade 1 Travers, known as the Mid-Summer Derby, is the centerpiece of the Saratoga meet and is, aside from the Triple Crown, the most sought after prize for 3-year-old racehorses.

Here is a look at the very competitive field of seven:

1. FORTE [ML 7-5] Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Trainer: Todd Pletcher. Was a veterinarian scratch on the morning of the Kentucky Derby, then finishing a late-running 2nd in the Belmont Stakes. Won the Jim Dandy Stakes here in controversial fashion- once again establishing himself in the upper echelon of three-year-olds. He has been training steadily for Pletcher since his bounce-back Win in the Jim Dandy and will probably go off as the deserving post-time favorite in Travers 154. Irad Ortiz, who Won the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey last year among four times in his career, is seeking his first Travers Victory and surprisingly has never finished in the top three positions through 11 career starts.

2. ARCANGELO [ML 5-2] Jockey: Javier Castellano. Trainer: Jena Antonucci. ARCANGELO Winning the Belmont Stakes made Antonucci the first woman to train a Winner of a Triple Crown race. She decided not long after the Belmont to condition ARCANGELO all the way up to the Travers Stakes, bypassing a prep race in July, and the ridgling has been turning heads every morning he’s exercised at Saratoga in recent weeks. ARCANGELO should be fit and ready for a career-best effort in the Travers, and if he can pull it off against a field that’s arguably even more formidable than the one he faced in the Belmont Stakes, an Eclipse Award is in his future.

3. TAPIT TRICE [ML 12-1] Jockey: Jose Ortiz. Trainer: Todd Pletcher. After Winning four races in a row from December 2022 through April and establishing himself as a leading divisional contender, TAPIT TRICE has apparently reached a plateau that is a rung below that elite level. He seeks redemption here against a Travers Stakes field that includes several horses who have already defeated him, and the fact that this Grade 1 Winner and millionaire could possibly go off at double-digit odds speaks to the quality of the field. Those looking for positive signs should note that he only finished a nose behind stablemate FORTE out of 2nd-place in the Belmont and that he should benefit from racing on Saratoga’s dirt track for the first time as opposed to the speed-favoring surface at Monmouth that didn’t suit his late-closing style in the Haskell Stakes.

4. MAGE [ML 4-1] Jockey: Flavien Prat. Trainer: Gustavo Delgado Sr. Another live Win contender in what is a very competitive renewal of the Travers Stakes. Back in May, this Florida-based runner entered horse racing history with a visually impressive, rallying Win in the Kentucky Derby. He didn’t secure the second jewel of the Triple Crown, finishing a decent 3rd in the Preakness, after which he came back with an encouraging runner-up effort in the Haskell. This easy-to-root-for colt is dependent on a fast pace to set up his closing rally, and that’s a dicey proposition in a small field with only a couple of front-running types. That said, it would be a surprise if MAGE didn’t show up with his usual competitive effort, which should be good enough to ensure a top-three finish.

5. NATIONAL TREASURE [ML 8-1] Jockey: John Velazquez. Trainer: Bob Baffert.  The Preakness Winner enters the Travers somewhat overshadowed by several opponents who have been training at Saratoga for weeks while this Baffert trainee has been preparing at Del Mar. He has put in a series of fast breezes for Baffert over the past two-plus months, however, and figures to be ready for a rebound effort after he found the 1 ½-mile distance of the Belmont not to his liking- finishing 6th of nine runners. NATIONAL TREASURE will be competing against another runner with a frontrunning style in SCOTLAND, however, and that gelding may have more upside going into this race with only four career starts (three Wins) and a much higher last-race Speed Figure. If NATIONAL TREASURE has things his own way for the first mile or so, he should be in contention into early stretch at least – although even then, the final furlong of this classic distance looms as a major obstacle to his Win chances.

6. DISARM [ML 8-1] Jockey: Joel Rosario. Trainer: Steve Asmussen. Since coming back for this 3-year-old campaign, this colt has not had an outright bad effort through six starts, but he’s only got one Win to show for it – a gritty half-length score in the Matt Win Stakes at Ellis Park. DISARM was reserved off the pace in the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy here and briefly loomed a threat when angling out in early stretch, but he failed to sustain a rally and finished 4th out of five starters, defeated 2 ¼ lengths by FORTE. Obviously, he’ll need a much better effort to be competitive in the Travers Stakes, and on the positive side, he earned a career-best 106 Speed Figure in the Jim Dandy and has posted a couple of solid workouts for Asmussen since then. The Travers’ 1 ¼-mile distance should suit him, and he adds blinkers for this race which his connections hope will help him concentrate more in the late stages.

7. SCOTLAND [ML 12-1] Jockey: Junior Alvarado. Trainer: Bill Mott.  This lightly raced but talented runner is the Travers wild card as he makes his first Graded Stakes appearance against an accomplished field. He enters having Won three of four career starts since debuting back in March, his last a very impressive 3 ¼-length romp in the 1 1/8-mile Curlin Stakes July 21st at Saratoga, which was his first start around two turns. Hall of Fame trainer Mott has put SCOTLAND through a series of good workouts at the Spa over the past month, topped by a bullet four-furlong workout Aug. 20 in :47.60, after which he told the NYRA press office, “I think we’re fit enough.” He faces a big class test, to be sure, but this gelding could be up to it and is definitely worth using in exotic bets based on his excellent record to date and his eye-catching performance on the Saratoga track last month.

The Travers Stakes is slated as race 12 on a marathon card of thirteen with a scheduled Post Time of 6:10. Best of luck however you play it.