Saratoga Race Course: The 154th Travers Stakes, by the numbers

Here are 10 numbers to know coming out of the 154th running of the Travers.

$9,538,188

The on-track wagering handle announced for Saturday’s card by the New York Racing Association. That’s down from last year’s amount of $10,373,124.

48,292

The attendance for Saturday’s 13-race Travers card. It didn’t hit the maximum allowed of 50,000, and was down from last year’s number of 49,672, but it was still the most for any day of this year’s meet.

154

Editions of the race that have been contested. One of the oldest stakes races for 3-year-olds in the U.S., the Travers has been contested since 1864, except for 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1911 and 1912.

122.23

Seconds it took Arcangelo to traverse the 1 1/4-mile Travers route. The winning time of 2:02.23 came over a muddy track, and was nearly three seconds slower than the track record time of 1:59.36 set by Arcangelo’s sire Arrogate in his 2016 Travers win.

32

Horses that have won the Belmont Stakes and Travers in the same year. In a race that featured all three winners of this year’s Triple Crown series — Mage won the Kentucky Derby and National Treasure won the Preakness — Arcangelo became the third Belmont winner in the last four years to follow that up with a Travers victory, following Tiz the Law in 2020 and Essential Quality in 2021.

11

Weeks off for Arcangelo since winning the Belmont Stakes on June 10 — not that his trainer considered that much of an issue.

“It just never was a layoff in my mind, and in our minds,” Antonucci said. “I understand the traditionalists of this sport are always going to view gaps in that manner. This horse has had his entire career that way, because [owner] Jon [Ebbert] wants this horse to run along slowly, correctly, and given the time that he needs to grow up.” 

7

Travers wins for Castellano, extending his record haul among jockeys. It was the first Travers victory for the Hall of Famer since winning aboard Catholic Boy in 2018. Castellano’s other Travers wins came in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015.

4

Number of Travers winners, since 2000, whose sires also won the Travers; a group that now includes Arcangelo, who was sired by 2016 Travers winner Arrogate. The others in that group are 2009 winner Summer Bird (sired by 2004 winner Birdstone), 2003 winner Ten Most Wanted (sired by 1997 winner Deputy Commander) and 2001 winner Point Given (sired by 1995 winner Thunder Gulch).

2

Women trainers who have won the Travers. Mary Hirsch, daughter of the legendary Max Hirsch, trained Thanksgiving to victory in the 1938 Travers. Arcangelo was just the seventh horse saddled by a female trainer to run in the Midsummer Derby. Earlier this year, Antonucci became the first woman to train a winner of a Triple Crown race when Arcangelo won the Belmont.

1

Arcangelo’s margin of victory in the Travers, though Castellano felt it easily could have been more. Arcangelo led by three lengths coming into the stretch, and was able to cruise to the finish without much coaxing from Castellano to stay in front of runner-up Disarm.

“I felt like I had so much horse I could blow by and open up by 10,” Castellano said, “but I took my time.”