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SARATOGA OPENING JULY 22, 2011 The Summer Place to Be by James Scully Saratoga is the boutique meet on the New York circuit, a 40-day session of top-class racing in a wonderful setting, and the action gets underway Friday with a 10-race opening day program. It's a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the big city, about three hours to the south, where the state's other major tracks, Belmont Park and Aqueduct, are located. The Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), part of NBC's coverage of "Saratoga Summer," will be televised 5-6 p.m. (EDT) Saturday. This marks the 143rd season at North America's oldest existing Thoroughbred racing venue. Nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks, Saratoga is steeped in tradition and offers a taste of days gone by, with a historic grandstand and tree-lined paddock grounds. Little seems to have changed in the last 100 years except for the televisions and self-service betting machines. The area's natural beauty is unmistakable, but horse racing will be the main draw over the next 6 1/2 weeks. Saratoga, which is also known as "The Spa," puts on a product that is second to none, and the track's ability to draw top horses from all regions, including California, far outweighs its West Coast counterpart, Del Mar. Horses and people will flock to Saratoga for a premium stakes schedule packed with 35 graded races, including 17 Grade 1 events. It's affectionately called "the summer place to be." Average daily attendance was nearly 22,000 during the 2010 meet. Saratoga's marquee event, the $1 million Travers (G1) on August 27, will draw a crowd more than double that size. Saratoga's 1 1/8-mile dirt track is among the safest in the nation, and two separate courses are used for grass races – the about one-mile Mellon Turf Course and the about 7 1/2-furlong Inner Turf. A small schedule of steeplechase races will be held over the inner course during the meet. Saratoga runs six days a week, with Tuesdays off, through September 5. WHAT TO LOOK FOR AT SARATOGA Races Saratoga earned the reputation as the “Graveyard of Favorites” after playing host to some of the greatest upsets in American Thoroughbred racing. Man o' War, arguably the greatest racehorse in the first half of the 20th century, sustained the only loss of his 21-race career in the 1919 Sanford S. at Saratoga. Secretariat, who many feel is the best horse in the latter half of the century, was beaten by the unheralded Onion in the 1973 Whitney S. And the Jim Dandy Bar, located on the first floor of the clubhouse, is the namesake of a 100-1 longshot who shocked Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox in the 1930 Travers. Saratoga also offers the $500,000 Jim Dandy S. (G2) on July 30 as a prep race for this year's Travers. The Travers serves as the “Midsummer Derby” for three-year-olds. Held at the classic 1 1/4-mile distance, the race promises to have championship implications in wide-open division, especially with Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Animal Kingdom on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Preakness (G1) winner Shackleford has the Travers on his agenda and it's a likely target for Belmont (G1) upsetter Ruler on Ice. Other possible contestants include Triple Crown veterans Pants on Fire, Mucho Macho Man, Brilliant Speed and Stay Thirsty. Fresh faces like Dominus, an impressive winner of the recent Dwyer S. (G2), and Bob Baffert's promising Coil could add further intrigue to this year's field. There are several important events for three-year-old fillies, including the $250,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) on the opening Saturday of the meet. The $250,000 Test S. (G1) on August 6, the filly counterpart to the $250,000 King's Bishop S. (G1) on the Travers undercard, typically attracts a stellar field for seven furlongs, and the $500,000 Alabama S. (G1) on August 20 is always a high-class affair. Last year, eventual three-year-old filly champion Blind Luck edged Havre de Grace by a neck in a thrilling edition of the 1 1/4-mile Alabama. Handicap horses have two major opportunities: the $750,000 Whitney H. (G1) on August 6 and the $750,000 Woodward S. (G1) on September 3. However, both races are open to gender and the three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra cemented her Horse of the Year title with a victory over older males in the 2009 Woodward. The $250,000 Ruffian H. (G1) on July 31 and the $300,000 Personal Ensign (G1) on August 28 are the big races for older fillies and mares on the main track. Major sprint races of interest include the $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) and $150,000 Honorable Miss H. (G2), both on August 7; the $250,000 Ballerina H. (G1) on August 27; and the $250,000 Forego S. (G1) on September 3. Turf females will square off in the $500,000 Diana H. (G1) on July 30, and the $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational (G1) on August 13 is an open event at 1 1/2 miles. Saratoga also offers a strong three-race stakes series for both two-year-old divisions that culminates with the $250,000 Spinaway S. (G1) for fillies on September 4 and the $250,000 Hopeful S. (G1) for open two-year-olds the following day. Trainers Todd Pletcher is an overwhelming favorite to win his eighth training title at Saratoga. The top horseman has luxury in numbers, with more than 100 horses under his care, including many of the top stakes horses on the grounds. And Pletcher is always loaded in two-year-old races, pointing his best young runners to Saratoga each year. Pletcher ran away from the competition in 2010, saddling a record 36 winners at the Spa, 16 more than runner-up Linda Rice. But Rice edged Pletcher in 2009, becoming the first woman to earn a training title at Saratoga when winning by a 20-19 margin. Rice has a much smaller stable, but her horses are always ready and must be respected, especially in sprints. And she won with her last starter at the recently completed Belmont spring/summer meet, tying Pletcher atop the final leaderboard. It marked the second straight meet that Rice has tied for leading trainer, following her success at Aqueduct in the spring. Bill Mott, a nine-time leading trainer at Saratoga who won his last title in 2007, will have a deep barn and is another possible challenger for top honors. And local native Chad Brown, a high-percentage win trainer, got off to a fast start in 2010 and wound up third in the final Saratoga standings. He's a dark-horse candidate to win his first training title in New York. Jockeys The jockey colony is very deep and it won't be a surprise to see the race come down to the final day of the meet. The top three finishers from 2010 -- John Velazquez (57 wins), Javier Castellano (54) and Ramon Dominguez (46) -- are the main contenders. Velazquez, who has captured more than 600 races in his career at Saratoga, notched his fourth jockey title last year and won a record 65 races during the 2004 meet. The well-respected journeyman benefits from being Pletcher's go-to rider. Castellano is enjoying a fantastic year, winning at a 20 percent rate overall, and excels aboard turf runners. And he'll arrive at Saratoga in good form, winning a lot of races in the final weeks of the Belmont spring/summer meet. Dominguez, the 2009 leading rider at Saratoga, reeled off nine consecutive meet titles at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga before finishing a close second to Velazquez last year, and the reigning Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey has won 13 of the 15 most recent meets at the New York tracks. Dominguez edged Castellano by a 71-69 margin at the Belmont spring/summer meet. Horses --Blind Luck vs. Havre de Grace is among the best rivalries of modern times and their most recent match-up – the July 16 Delaware H. (G2) -- lived up to the billing, with Blind Luck prevailing by a nose after a stirring stretch battle; it was the sixth overall match-up between the outstanding fillies, but they've split their two meetings this year and both are in serious contention for Horse of the Year honors. If Saratoga increases the purse for the Personal Ensign (which appears likely), they'll meet once again in what figures to be another barnburner. --Uncle Mo may overshadow the Travers festivities if he returns in the seven-furlong King's Bishop on the same afternoon as expected. He generated quite a buzz when winning his career debut by 14 1/4 lengths last year at Saratoga and many felt he had a legitimate chance to win the Triple Crown when concluding his unbeaten two-year-old campaign with an easy victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). But Uncle Mo got sick prior to the Kentucky Derby and just recently returned to training for Pletcher. Everybody is looking forward to seeing his return. --Tizway and Sidney's Candy will meet up in the Whitney, which serves as a litmus test for the exciting prospects. Grade 1 winner Sidney's Candy excelled on all surfaces in California, winning graded stakes on synthetics, dirt and turf, but he's been transferred to Pletcher and is now being pointed to the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Tizway is another Classic hopeful who was simply awesome when capturing the Metropolitan H. (G1) last out, registering a 113 BRIS Speed rating, but he needs to prove himself around two turns. We'll find out whether both legitimately belong in the Classic discussion. --Trappe Shot is being pointed toward both Grade 1 sprints this meet, the A.G. Vanderbilt H. and Forego S., and can establish himself as a star in the division. He won his first four starts last year, scoring by a combined 27 lengths in the three sprint races, but his connections kept stretching him out in distance (it made sense with his pedigree) and the chestnut colt headed to the sidelines after a ninth in the Travers. Trappe Shot returned this year with a narrow score over listed rivals at Belmont Park and moved forward off that effort in the June 11 True North (G2) at six furlongs, winning by a widening 8 1/2-length margin. He could be special.
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