Travers 2026
The Saratoga card is absolutely loaded for Saturday, but the Grade 1 Travers Stakes is the main event of the day. Spectators at The Spa will be treated to several G1 races, including the Personal Ensign, Forego, and Ballerina, which are all Breeders’ Cup qualifiers. The Travers is not, but it has an enormous purse and some of the nation’s top 3-year-olds.
This is the 157th running of the race with $1.25 million in the purse and it is a field befitting that kind of money. This is a spectacular field of 10, including Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Golden Tempo and Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo. This is Race 13 on the Saturday, August 29 Saratoga card with post time expected to be at 6:35 p.m. ET on FOX.
Here are the Travers Stakes post positions, horses, jockeys, trainers, and odds.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Emerging Market | R. Santana Jr. | C. Brown | 15-1 |
| 2 | Leading Change | M. Franco | B. Cox | 12-1 |
| 3 | Napoleon Solo | J. Velazquez | C. Summers | 8-1 |
| 4 | The Puma | J. Castellano | G. Delgado | 8-1 |
| 5 | Renegade | T. Gaffalione | T. Pletcher | 3-1 |
| 6 | Ocelli | E. Zayas | D. Beckman | 20-1 |
| 7 | Sea Strike | F. Prat | C. Brown | 5-1 |
| 8 | Baby Vino | P. Lopez | L. Schultz | 10-1 |
| 9 | Golden Tempo | J. Ortiz | C. DeVaux | 5/2 |
| 10 | Silent Tactic | L. Saez | M. Casse | 10-1 |
This field boasts over $13 million in collective earnings, as we have some horses that have accomplished a lot in their young careers. The pacesetter with earnings is obviously Golden Tempo, having won two Triple Crown races, but Renegade also boasts over $2.5 million, including the runner-up finish at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
Here are some thoughts on all 10 horses in the Travers Stakes field:
1. Emerging Market (15-1; Santana/Brown): The first of two Chad Brown entries is the son of Candy Ride and Wild Empress for Klaravich Stables, so there are some strong connections and good bloodlines here on the rail, but also the second-longest price on the board. The Louisiana Derby winner was a disappointment in the Run for the Roses after really struggling with the distance. He also ran fifth in the Belmont and didn’t show well on the Spa dirt last time out. Could be something, could be nothing, but Brown’s most trusted rider is aboard Sea Strike and not Emerging Market, as Ricardo Santana Jr. gets the mount.
2. Leading Change (12-1; Franco/Cox): Manny Franco has an early decision to make here. Run out to the front and set the pace or stay slightly off of it. The son of Gun Runner and Starship Warpspeed won the Indiana Derby as the favorite with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard. Despite that win at Horseshoe Indianapolis, we don’t really have much to go on. Leading Change won his maiden at Churchill Downs in early June and ran well in his stakes debut. That was a Grade 3 race. This is not. He was excellent last time out, but this is a race with some stellar closers.
3. Napoleon Solo (8-1; Velazquez/Summers): Winning a Triple Crown race is always an accomplishment, but we all recall what happened with the Preakness Stakes this year, as a lot of top 3-year-olds opted to skip that race and point towards the Belmont. Napoleon Solo paid nearly 8-1 with Paco Lopez in the mount and the son of Liam’s Map will aim for another big title here. He was second to upstart Baby Vino in the Haskell at Monmouth Park last month over 1 ⅛ miles. He’ll be tasked to go an extra quarter here and given that he couldn’t hold off the closing Baby Vino despite leading the majority of the race is a concern. That said, it was a sloppy track that day and perfect racing conditions are expected this Saturday.
4. The Puma (8-1; Castellano/Delgado): The Puma was scratched from the Kentucky Derby after winning the G3 Tampa Bay Derby and finishing second in the Florida Derby. Coming off the shelf after about two-and-a-half months, he ran fourth in the muck at the Haskell. Seven-time Travers winner Javier Castellano is back aboard after running those two Sunshine State races, but missing the last one at Monmouth. This was a buzz horse heading into the Kentucky Derby, but the scratch and some missed time may have put him on the backburner for some. At this kind of price, the son of Essential Quality and Eve of War is very intriguing. His father won the Jim Dandy Stakes and Travers Stakes back-to-back in 2021 right here at Saratoga.
5. Renegade (3-1; Gaffalione/Pletcher): This three-time winner has been a factor in every race he’s ever run. The son of Into Mischief and Spice Is Nice is coming off of a win right here in the Jim Dandy. He was third here in the Belmont and second at the Kentucky Derby. It’s been a really strong 3-year-old campaign for Renegade, who won the Sam F. Davis Stakes and Arkansas Derby during the Road to the Kentucky Derby slate. Will the rider change from Irad Ortiz Jr. to Tyler Gaffalione keep some people from backing this Bay? It’s possible, as Gaffalione will need to know just when to put the throttle down with one of the race’s more accomplished closers.
6. Ocelli (20-1; Zayas/Beckman): Since finishing third in one of the most thrilling Kentucky Derby races in recent memory, Ocelli hasn’t really enthralled anybody. In his follow-up, he ran fourth in the Preakness Stakes before failing to beat Chip Honcho in the G3 Ohio Derby. Last time out, Ocelli was dead last in the Haskell. It was his first run in the mud and he wasn’t a fan, so we’ll see if a cleaner trip helps him hit the board as a long shot. Edgard Zayas picks up the mount here with Gaffalione one spot left aboard Renegade.
7. Sea Strike (5-1; Prat/Brown): Chad Brown has his man in the irons here, as Flavien Prat rides the son of Midshipman and Meetmeonline. It is entirely possible that Prat unlocked something with the win at nearly 6-1 in the Curlin Stakes on the Saratoga dirt, but the extra quarter mile paired with a much stronger field do make it seem as though this price is a little bit light. Sire Midshipman was a quality sprinter and won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the all-weather surface back in 2008, but this really feels like a large ask.
8. Baby Vino (10-1; Lopez/Schultz): It seems only fitting that Baby Vino for trainer Lindsay Schultz would be right next to Cherie DeVaux’s Golden Tempo. Schultz became the first female trainer to win the Haskell last time out. The son of Vino Rosso and Discreetly Mine was 28-1 in that race at Monmouth Park and faces a much shorter price here as a result. Paco Lopez is back aboard. He won with Baby Vino in the Pegasus, but rode Napoleon Solo to second in the Haskell. It took Baby Vino five tries to break his maiden and he’s won two stakes races since. His last Saratoga workout was stellar, breezing four furlongs over 47.31. Going 1 ¼ for the first time, is there enough gas in the tank with some other closers that have that experience?
9. Golden Tempo (5/2; J. Ortiz/DeVaux): As you would expect, Jose Ortiz is in the teal silks of Golden Tempo here from the No. 9 post. The son of Curlin and Carrumba was a shocking winner with one of the best closing stretches we have ever seen in the Kentucky Derby and proved it wasn’t a fluke by also triumphing in the Belmont. Both of those races were at this distance, so we know he can do it. This race sets up similarly to those. Some pacesetters that will set a good tempo, other closers to fend off, Ortiz in the mount, and 10 furlongs. However, DeVaux made the right call skipping the Preakness to come back five weeks later. This time, Golden Tempo hasn’t raced since June 6.
10. Silent Tactic (10-1; Saez/Casse): It is rare to have a horse steered by Luis Saez getting such little buzz, but the son of Tacitus and Magical Sign just hasn’t been good enough more often than not. He’s never finished worse than third and hadn’t finished worse than second up until the Jim Dandy Stakes last time out. He was second in the G1 Arkansas Derby to Renegade, with whom he’ll have to contend with here. As close as he’s been, he’s won a maiden and that one G3 stakes race. Saez had the ride in the Jim Dandy, widely viewed as the main prep race for the Travers, and experimented with pushing the closer towards the front of the pack out of the gate. Expect a different, ahem, tactic here.
Travers Stakes Predictions
I’m going to take a price play here and go with The Puma over Golden Tempo and Renegade. I’m very curious to see how the extended layoff plays for Golden Tempo and think it could be a bit of a hindrance. Renegade’s talent is enough to fill out the trifecta, but I’ve never been a big Gaffalione backer in big races like this. I think Baby Vino will run good, but not great here, to fill out the super.
Travers Stakes Picks
4 The Puma
9 Golden Tempo
5 Renegade
8 Baby Vino
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