Travers Day boasts six Grade 1s; Durkin Replay Center set to open at Saratoga

Travers Day boasts six Grade 1s; Durkin Replay Center set
to open at Saratoga

Travers Day is billed as a “mini Breeders’ Cup,” while Whitney Day features five stakes (Spencer Tulis/Horsephotos.com) Two of the biggest days in North American racing will highlight the historic 147th meet at Saratoga Race Course, with the $1.25 million Travers (G1) the centerpiece of a supercharged Travers Day and the $1.25 million Whitney (G1) anchoring five stakes on Whitney Festival Day, Saturday, August 8. The 40-day meet, which includes 69 stakes worth a record $18.7 million in purses, will run from Friday, July 24, through Labor Day, Monday, September 7. After opening weekend, racing will be conducted six days a week, Wednesdays through Mondays. Joining the 146th running of the Midsummer Derby for three-year-olds on Travers Day, Saturday, August 29 will be five other Grade 1 stakes, including the 1 1/2-mile Sword Dancer Invitational on the turf, whose purse has been enhanced to $1 million. Also added to the card and receiving purse hikes are the $750,000, 1 1/8-mile Personal Ensign for fillies and mares and the $700,000 Forego at seven furlongs. Rounding out the stellar card are the $500,000 Ballerina for fillies and mares and the $500,000 King’s Bishop, both at seven furlongs, and the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa for turf fillies and mares. “We have made improvements to Travers Day to keep in line with the creation of our ‘must-see’ events,” said Martin Panza, Senior Vice President of Racing Operations for the New York Racing Association. “We are developing Travers Day into a national event — a mini Breeders’ Cup — by increasing the purses for the Personal Ensign and the Forego. By including the Sword Dancer and raising the purse to $1 million we hope to create international involvement in that race.”

The traditional local prep for the Travers, the $600,000 Jim Dandy (G2), will
be held on Saturday, August 1.

The prestigious 1 1/8-mile Whitney will pair with the $500,000 Test (G1) for
three-year-old fillies atop the festival card, which also offers the $200,000
Waya (G3) for turf fillies and mares going 1 1/2 miles. Also on August 8 are two
additional turf stakes: the $100,000 Lure at 1 1/16 miles and the $100,000 De La
Rose at a mile for fillies and mares.

Additions to the Spa stakes schedule include the $250,000 Bowling Green (G2)
at 1 3/8 miles on the turf on Saturday, August 1, which will serve as a prep for
the Sword Dancer, and two new juvenile turf stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs: the
$100,000 Bolton Landing for fillies on Wednesday, August 19, and the $100,000
Schenectady on Friday, August 21.

“Both of these two-year-old turf stakes were created with a look ahead to the
Breeders’ Cup,” said Panza.

A prelude to the Travers will be New York Breeders’ Showcase Day, which will
be moved to Friday, August 28, instead of on Sunday. The popular state-bred card
will include six stakes, highlighted by the $250,000 Albany for 3-year-olds
going 1 1/8 miles.

Opening Day, Friday, July 24 will kick off with a pair of graded stakes: the
$150,000 Schuylerville (G3) for two-year-old fillies and the $200,000 Lake
George (G3) for three-year-old turf fillies. Continuing the traditional juvenile
dirt stakes are the $150,000 Sanford (G3) on Saturday, July 25; the $200,000
Saratoga Special (G2) on Sunday, August 16 and the $350,000 Hopeful (G1) on
Monday, September 7, along with their sister races: the $200,000 Adirondack (G2)
on Saturday, August 15 and the $350,000 Spinaway (G1) on Saturday, September 5. 

Grade 1 action commences with the $500,000 Diana (G1) for turf fillies and
mares on Saturday, July 25, and the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks for
three-year-old fillies on Sunday, July 26. Continuing the world-class Grade 1
offerings are the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. for sprinters on Saturday,
August 1; the aforementioned Whitney and Test on August 8; the $600,000 Alabama
on Saturday, August 22, and the Travers, Sword Dancer, Personal Ensign, Forego,
Ballerina and King’s Bishop on August 29.

Closing weekend Grade 1 features include the $600,000 Woodward for
three-year-olds and up and the Spinaway on September 5, along with the Hopeful
on September 7.

Fans will be able to relive their favorite calls by Tom Durkin, shown following his “splashtastic” finale (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) It was also announced Monday that the New York Racing Association would unveil a new attraction for the 2015 Saratoga meet — the Tom Durkin Replay Center, honoring one of the most renowned announcers in the history of the racing industry. Located within the newly renovated and refurbished lower Carousel, the Durkin Replay Center will allow guests the opportunity to view and hear some of the classic calls by the former New York Racing Association announcer, who retired in 2014 at the conclusion of the Saratoga meet following a 43-year career “Tom is one of the greatest race callers in history and we are fortunate to have had him with us in New York for so many years. It is truly fitting to honor Tom’s legacy here at Saratoga, a place that he loves and where he is truly beloved,” said New York Racing Association CEO and President Chris Kay. “We encourage racing fans to visit the Tom Durkin Replay Center during the upcoming meet to relive and revisit some of Tom’s greatest calls over the past quarter-century.” Born in Chicago, Durkin began calling races at county fairs in Wisconsin in the summer of 1971. In 1975, he moved on to ply his trade at a string of small  tracks including Cahokia Downs, Balmoral Race Course, Quad City Downs and Miles Park before landing the job at famed Hialeah Race Course in 1981.

Three years later, he was hired as the announcer for the Breeders’ Cup, and
gained further fame calling the Triple Crown for a decade beginning in 2001.
Durkin began his tenure with the New York Racing Association in 1990. Some of
Durkin’s most memorable calls have come on the New York Racing Association
circuit of Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

The Tom Durkin Replay Center will be open to the public daily throughout the
2015 meet beginning on opening day, July 24 through Labor Day, September 7.

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