Saturday is the 156th edition of the Travers Stakes– the marquee race of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course.

The 1 ¼-mile Travers is the most important race in the 3-year-old male division aside from the Triple Crown series in the spring and summer.

The Mid-Summer Derby often proves a crucial test for determining the 3-year-old Champion at year’s end.

Here is a brief look at the field of five:

1. MAGNITUDE [ML 2-1] Trainer: Steve Asmussen. Jockey: Ben Curtis. Had a breakthrough victory this year in the Risen Star (G2) by almost 10 lengths with a front-end effort. But an injury sidelined him through the Triple Crown series. He returned last month in the Iowa Derby, where he again rolled to win by open lengths and earned another speed figure that can compare to the favorite in this race.

2. BRACKET BUSTER [ML 20-1] Trainer: Vickie Oliver. Jockey: Luis Saez. Broke his maiden in his third try at Keeneland in October. He then ran 5th in the Street Sense (G3) at Churchill and 2nd in the Lexington Stakes (G3) in his two tries on the Derby trail. In June, he was the winner of the Pegasus at Monmouth Park on a sloppy and sealed track. His last out was the Haskell Stakes (G1) where he was on the lead briefly and faded to 4th. 

3. STRATEGIC FOCUS [ML 6-1] Trainer: Chad Brown. Jockey: Flavien Prat. The most lightly raced horse in the field with only three starts. He won his debut at Aqueduct in April going a mile. In the June Saratoga meet he ran for the second time in a two-turn allowance and finished 1st but was disqualified to 2nd for interference in the stretch. Next out he ran in the Curlin at Saratoga where he had the lead at the stretch call but ended up 3rd. Blinkers go on to try to correct focus issues.

4. SOVEREIGNTY [ML2-5] Trainer: Bill Mott. Jockey: Junior Alvarado. The only Grade 1 winner in the field, and his total purse money of $5.1 million is more than twice what the rest of the field has combined to win. He has won four of his last five races, with his only loss being a 2nd in the Florida Derby (G1). Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will try to win the Travers for the first time. 

5. MCAFEE [ML20-1] Trainer: Rick Dutrow. Jockey: John Velazquez. Comes to the Travers with a Maiden victory as his one trip to the Winner’s Circle. But since that win in his first career start as a 2-year-old, he has finished in the top three four times. That includes his last three starts in Grade 3 Stakes in the Peter Pan, the Ohio Derby and the West Virginia Derby.

The $1.25 million dollar Travers Stakes is slated as race 13 on a whopping card of 14 with a scheduled Post Time of 6:15.

Best of luck however you play it.