GI Travers Stakes

Jockeys Manny Franco and Johnny Velazquez are reportedly facing whip-use violations related to their respective rides aboard the first- and second-place finishers in the Aug. 29 GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. David Grening of Daily Racing Form reported the news on Sunday, citing New York Racing Association steward Victor Escobar as a source. The violations had not been posted to the HISA online portal as of 5 p.m. Monday. Grening reported that Franco was cited for being one whip strike over the six-strike limit in his winning ride...

Shooting to win his third straight Grade I race and cement his status as the top 3-year-old male in training, 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Golden Tempo (Curlin) will face nine rivals in Saturday's GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga. At Sunday's draw, the winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes was assigned the nine post and was made the 5-2 morning line favorite. "My horse has no speed, so I don't worry about the post position," Golden Tempo's rider Jose Ortiz said. "We have a good...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The fog lifted Saturday morning, and then the star came out. Golden Tempo (Curlin), the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes winner, emerged on the main track at Saratoga just before 8:45 a.m. and dazzled in his second-to-last work before the Aug. 29 GI, $1.25 million Travers Stakes. With jockey Jose Ortiz in the saddle, Golden Tempo, working on the inside, glided over the Spa surface, breezing four furlongs in a bullet 47.46 (1/64). He worked with stablemate Paige Turner (Army Mule), a 3-year-old filly,...

Multiple Grade I winner Golden Tempo (Curlin) will skip the GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga and will train up to the GI Travers Stakes after coming down with a minor illness, trainer Cherie DeVaux announced during a FanDuel interview Saturday. Speaking to Caton Bredar at Churchill Downs, DeVaux mentioned that the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes hero was 'doing fine' but that the timeline just would not work out for him to make the Jim Dandy. "He got a little sick, so we're probably going to end up skipping...

Susan Casner, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, accomplished owner and breeder, and treasured member of the Thoroughbred community, passed away May 27 following a battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was surrounded by the love of the family and friends who defined her life. Born in Grand Island, Nebraska, Susan's journey in racing began at Aksarben Race Track in Omaha, Nebraska, where she worked as a mutuel clerk. It was there that she met the love of her life, Bill Casner, who made a habit of placing wagers at the window...

Jay Briscione is one of the lucky co-owners enjoying the ride of a lifetime with the fan-favorite New Jersey-bred Book'em Danno. He joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to share the story behind the gelding, who added a third straight graded win in this weekend's GI Forego Stakes, and discuss what's in store for his future.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At 6:30 Sunday morning, Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the hero of the 156h GI, $1.25 million Travers Stakes, was out and about around the Hall of Fame barn of trainer Bill Mott at the Oklahoma Training Track The 3-year-old colt, fresh off his resounding 10-length win in the Travers, grazed in the courtyard at the barn, looking like he could run another 1 ¼ miles later in the day. The margin of victory is tied for the fourth largest in Travers history. Sovereignty's blowout win was the...

Saturday's 14-race Travers Day card at Saratoga generated a wagering handle of $54,309,929 while paid attendance was 48,255, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced. On-track handle accounted for $10,369,950 of the overall total. The centerpiece of the event was the 156th running of the GI Travers Stakes, which was dominated by Sovereignty (Into Mischief), but also featured four other Grade I events--the Personal Ensign won by reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna); the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, claimed by Patch Adams (Into Mischief); the Ballerina Stakes,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. - A year ago, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) buzzed through her season, winning six of seven starts--five of them Grade Is--on her way to Horse of the Year honors. Kenny McPeek, Thorpedo Anna's trainer, says his stable star is just as good, if not better, than she was a year ago. The 4-year-old filly, still as popular as ever, will get the chance to prove it on Saturday when she runs in the GI, $500,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. "Every bit," McPeek said...

Graded winner Magnitude (Not This Time) prepped for Saturday's GI Travers Stakes with a half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma dirt training track Sunday morning. Clocked in :50.22 (31/49) while working through a blanket of fog, the Steve Asmussen charge has been training up to the feature race this weekend after producing a 9 1/4-length masterclass last out July 5 in the Listed Iowa Derby. The son of Not This Time missed the Triple Crown series with an ankle chip, but has been moving forwardly since his return to the races...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Jockey Junior Alvarado, the race day partner of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the leading 3-year-old in the country, knows how everyone feels now. That's because he saw up close just how powerful Sovereignty is. Sovereignty had his final work before next weekend's $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes Saturday morning at the Oklahoma Training Track. As usual, he was being ridden by Neil Poznansky, the assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Alvarado, helping the barn out, climbed aboard Fort Nelson (Bernardini), who was Sovereignty's workmate for...

The late-striding Journalism (Curlin) is developing a knack for snatching Grade I victories from the jaws of defeat, but he has yet to be able to solve the riddle known as Sovereignty (Into Mischief). On Saturday at Monmouth Park, this athletic colt did his part to edge us closer to a possible Round 3 rematch of the top two finishers of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes. But on Sunday, with Journalism shipping back to California, the colt's connections made no commitment either way about renewing their rivalry...