Travers 2025
The Travers Stakes only features five horses and a heavy favorite, but the beauty of horse racing is that you never quite know what you are going to get. In this instance, many expect Sovereignty to cross the finish line first after a 1 ¼-mile run around the Saratoga track. Magnitude and Strategic Focus are the two closest contenders on the odds board.
Post time is set for 6:14 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 23 with $687,500 to the winner and an overall price purse of $1.25 million.
Travers Stakes 2025 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Magnitude | B. Curtis | S. Asmussen | 2-1 |
| 2 | Bracket Buster | L. Saez | V. Oliver | 20-1 |
| 3 | Strategic Focus | F. Prat | C. Brown | 6-1 |
| 4 | Sovereignty | J. Alvarado | W. Mott | 2/5 |
| 5 | McAfee | J. Velazquez | R. Dutrow Jr. | 20-1 |
Trainer William Mott has never won the Travers, but he and the Godolphin connections have an excellent opportunity as an odds-on favorite this weekend. Connections for Journalism and Baeza opted not to ship to New York for this one, so we probably won’t have a repeat of last year’s thrilling Travers Stakes, but the 156th running will still draw a big crowd and plenty of interest.
With only five horses in the race, there will be no show wagering.
Here are some thoughts on each horse at the odds at time of publish:
1. Magnitude (2-1; Curtis/Asmussen): The, ahem, magnitude of this race is not hard to see for jockey Ben Curtis and trainer Steve Asmussen. This would be a huge win for the Winchell Thoroughbred and son of Not This Time and Rockadelic. We’ll never know what this talented 3-year-old would have done in the Triple Crown because an ankle chip prevented the Risen Star Stakes winner from running. While it wasn’t a good field, his return in the Iowa Derby led to a career-best 111 Equibase Speed Figure and a win by more than nine lengths.
The mile and a quarter is a bump from the mile and a 16th he ran at Prairie Meadows last time out and an extra quarter mile up from his Risen Star win. He’s going to run to the front and set the pace. Will he have enough gas left in the tank to close?
2. Bracket Buster (20-1; Saez/Oliver): The appropriately-named long shot Bracket Buster has a strong rider in Luis Saez for trainer Victoria Oliver. Saez will open it up early and challenge Magnitude for the lead under the Pegasus Stakes winner at Monmouth. A game effort in the Haskell and a second to Gosger in April’s Lexington Stakes will make him an attractive price in an exacta. He’ll need to run with Magnitude at the start and fade less than him at the end, but those looking for a sweetener with Sovereignty, or even Magnitude, could buy in.
3. Strategic Focus (6-1; Prat/Brown): Another appropriately-named horse here, as Strategic Focus could have improved focus with blinkers going on for Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables. Flavien Prat got the ride in the Curlin Stakes last time out after Dylan Davis was unable to control the horse in an allowance race in June, where his win was stripped away. In the Curlin, Strategic Focus struggled leaving the starting gate and still got to the front before falling back and finishing third. The blinkers could make a world of difference for an obviously-talented horse.
4. Sovereignty (2/5; Alvarado/Mott): The heavy favorite has five wins in eight starts, including the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. For good measure, Sovereignty also reigned supreme in the Jim Dandy last month at Saratoga. Since finishing fourth in his maiden voyage, he’s finished second twice and first five times. He’s already racked up $5 million in earnings this year, so the son of Into Mischief and Crowned was one hell of an investment by Godolphin.
As the best stalker and best closer in the field, the only question seems to be whether or not Magnitude can hold onto the lead long enough to beat what is being considered one of the best 3-year-old horses of all-time. With only five horses and no worries about getting caught up in the race to the front between Magnitude and Bracket Buster, Junior Alvarado has a great chance at getting the right trip.
5. McAfee (20-1; Velazquez/Dutrow): John Velazquez hops above the one-time winner from the far outside post here, as the half-brother of Thorpedo Anna is 7-1-3-1 in his career. The son of Cloud Computing and Sataves is 0-for-5 in graded stakes races and hasn’t won since breaking his maiden last November at Churchill Downs. You can’t help but wonder if this is a horse that takes a step forward as a 4-year-old given the bloodline and the inability to find another gear thus far.
Travers Stakes Predictions
It doesn’t make for great content or a whole lot of excitement when an odds-on favorite wins, but I think that’s what we’ll have here. Sovereignty is just too good. Maybe Magnitude would have been a legitimate challenger in the Triple Crown after that nice Risen Star win, and maybe the layoff has him fresher than others, but Mott has targeted this race for Sovereignty since the Belmont and we haven’t seen Magnitude at this track or this distance.
Frankly, after digging in deeper, I like Strategic Focus to run second, as the son of Gun Runner feels like a good fit at this distance so long as he can stay in a straight line. The blinkers should help.
Prediction: 4-3-1-2
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