Travers Stakes Betting Odds

As the Travers Stakes gets closer and trainers and owners declare their horses as being pointed to the race, online sportsbooks such as Bovada will begin to offer Travers Stakes live odds. Make sure you have made accounts at one or more racebooks, and then check them regularly for horse racing wagering information and odds.

Travers Stakes Entries

The Travers Stakes entries and odds are officially drawn the Wednesday before the race, which in 2020 means Wednesday, August 25. After his gutsy victory in the Jim Dandy (G2), the top local prep race, Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Essential Quality is expected to be the favorite in the Travers Stakes. Trained by Brad Cox for Godolphin, he is the 2020 Champion Two Year Old Male and has remained elite at three.

Other top horses who are being considered for the Travers include Keepmeinmind, who finished a close second to Essential Quality in the Jim Dandy, King Fury, who is expected to take his final prep on turf in the Saratoga Derby (G1), Haskell (G1) winner Mandaloun, and Curlin Stakes winner Dynamic One, whose best performance in graded company was a close second in the Wood (G2).

Travers Stakes History

The Travers Stakes is older than any of the three Triple Crown races. It has not been run continually, missing editions in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1911, and 1912. The $1.25 million race currently covers 1 1/4 miles but has previously been run over 1 3/4 miles, 1 1/2 miles, and 1 1/8 miles. It is one of the most prestigious races in North America.

The winner receives a blanket of red and white carnations, the Man o’ War Cup trophy, and the winning silks are painted on a canoe in the Saratoga infield.

The very first Travers Stakes was won by Kentucky in 1864. Seven fillies have won the Travers, including Ruthless, with the most recent filly winner being Lady Rotha in 1915.

A horse named Hindoo won the race in 1881 as part of an 18 race win streak. The mighty Man o’ War won the Travers in 1920 over Upset, the horse who handed him the only loss of his career, in record time.

Whirlaway became the first and only Triple Crown winner to win the Travers in 1941. American Pharoah tried to match that feat in 2015 but finished second behind Keen Ice in an upset.

Perhaps the most thrilling edition of the Travers was in 1962. That year top three-year-olds Ridan and Jaipur broke together and battled for the entire 1 1/4 miles. Jaipur ultimately won by a nose in track record time.

Damascus has the margin record for the Travers at 22 lengths. That happened in 1967.

In 1978, arch-rivals Affirmed and Alydar met for the final time in their 10-race rivalry. Affirmed had defeated Alydar in all three Triple Crown races, and crossed the finish line first in the Travers, but was disqualified for interference.

Three times in history, all three horses that won Triple Crown races have finished behind a new face in the Travers. In 1918 Sun Briar defeated Belmont Stakes winner Johren, Preakness winner War Cloud, and Kentucky Derby winner Exterminator. In 1982, Canadian-bred Runaway Groom won at odds of 13-1, defeating Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol, Preakness winner Aloma’s Ruler, and Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo. Most recently this happened in 2017, with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, Preakness Stakes winner Cloud Computing, and Belmont Stakes hero Tapwrit all finishing behind the fittingly-named California invader West Coast.

In 2001, Point Given became the first horse to ever win four consecutive $1 million races when he won the Travers after already winning the Preakness, Belmont, and Haskell. He went on to be named Horse of the Year.

The first dead heat for the win in Travers history came in 2012, with favored Alpha and longshot Golden Ticket being inseparable at the wire. Saratoga had to add a second canoe in the infield pond and a second winning jockey’s statue in the paddock.

General Assembly, one of the best sons of Secretariat, set a Travers record of 2:00.0 in 1979, which stood until Arrogate won by over 13 lengths in 1:59.36 to set a new record.

The most wins by a trainer is five for Bert Mulholland, with his last win coming in 1963 with Crewman. Trainer Shug McGaughey has the most of any active trainer, with four. His most recent came with Code of Honor in 2019.

Kentucky Derby winners that have also won the Travers include Street Sense (2007), Thunder Gulch (1995), and Sea Hero (1993). 2006 Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini won the Travers, and Belmont Stakes winners to score include Tiz the Law (2020), Summer Bird (2009), Birdstone (2004), Point Given (2001), and Lemon Drop Kid (1999).

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