Travers Race Card

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Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course: August 28, 2021. The 2021 Travers Day is scheduled for August 28 and it will feature the legendary Travers Stakes (which dates back to 1864). Nicknamed Saratoga's Midsummer Derby, the Travers Stakes is a Grade 1 race for three-year-olds. Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course: August 28, 2021. The 2021 Travers Day is scheduled for August 28 and it will feature the legendary Travers Stakes (which dates back to 1864). Nicknamed Saratoga's Midsummer Derby, the Travers Stakes is a Grade 1 race for three-year-olds. The full card of fourteen races from Saratoga. Including the Travers, Test, Ballston Spa and King's Bishop.

Editor's Note (2/19/21): The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has announced that the 2021 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will take place from July 15 through September 6. The information below reflects 2019, but we will update it with 2021 details as soon as they are released by NYRA and New York State.

For the 2019 racing meet at Saratoga, fans can purchase a reserved table flex plan to guarantee themselves a reserved table in the Fourstardave Sports Bar or Miller Lite Picnic Paddock on seven days of their choice, including Travers Day, Saturday, August 24, 2019. Reserved table flex plans are available for purchase by calling the NYRA Box Office at 844-NYRA-TIX and are subject to availability.

Additionally, there will once again be a drawing this year for members of the general public who are interested in purchasing a reserved table for Travers Day.

The Drawing Process:

Fans who wish to reserve a table in one of two designated hospitality areas on Travers Day may enter the drawing from 10 a.m. on Monday, March 25 until Friday, April 12, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. via www.nyra.com/traverstables.

There is a limit of one submission per person.

Travers Race Card 2019

Winners will be notified via email on April 15, 2019 and given a special one-time use offer code. They will then have 48 hours to purchase their table on Ticketmaster.com using the code. Winners who fail to complete their purchase within 48 hours will forfeit their entry and NYRA will draw replacement winners from the pool of entries. Those who enter the drawing, but are not selected as winners will not be contacted.

Reserved tables are available in the following two areas:

Fourstardave Sports Bar

The Fourstardave Sports Bar in the lower Carousel includes more than 80 tables in various configurations for two, four, and six people that can be secured by paid reservation.

2019 Travers Day Reservation Fees (includes cost of admission):

• $90 for two-person tables
• $168 for four-person tables
• $240 for six-person tables

Personal coolers and outside food and beverage are not permitted in the Fourstardave Sports Bar.

Miller Lite Picnic Paddock (Reserved Picnic Area)

The Miller Lite Picnic Paddock (Reserved Picnic Area) is located adjacent to the paddock and offers a premier view of horses being saddled before a race. It features over 100 picnic tables, each of which can seat up to six guests.

2019 Travers Day Reservation Fee (includes cost of admission):

• $198 per table

Travers Race Card Set

Personal coolers are allowed in the Reserved Picnic Area and may contain plastic bottles or cans. Coolers are subject to search by NYRA security. Additional chairs, tents, and umbrellas are prohibited.

Editor's Note (2/19/21): The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has announced that the 2021 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will take place from July 15 through September 6, but hasn't released additional details on fan attendance and tickets. We will update the information below once we learn more.

Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course: August 28, 2021

The 2021 Travers Day is scheduled for August 28 and it will feature the legendary Travers Stakes (which dates back to 1864). Nicknamed Saratoga's Midsummer Derby, the Travers Stakes is a Grade 1 race for three-year-olds.

This is the most popular day of the Saratoga summer racing meet, and in a typical year, spectators would be allowed to attend. However, NYRA and New York State have yet to announce whether or not fans will be allowed at the track in 2021. We will provide updates when more information becomes available.

General Travers Info & History

When the Saratoga Racing Association named the Travers Stakes for William R. Travers (one of the founders of America's oldest race course), they sought only to honor a man who'd made his mark on the sport of horse racing. Mr. Travers' horse, Kentucky, won that first race in 1864.

Almost immediately, the Travers became a prestigious event, as word spread that the race was designed for only extraordinary three-year-old horses. The race has been run at four different distances during the course of its history to-date:

• 1 miles (2.81 km): 1864 to 1889
• 1 miles (2.41 km): 1890 to 1892
• 1 miles (2.01 km): 1893 to 1894, 1897
• 1.12 miles (1.81 km): 1895, 1901 to 1903
• 1¼ miles (2.01 km): 1904 to present

The present distance of 1 1/4 miles is a perfect distance for contemporary three-year-olds. The race is open to colts and geldings, carrying 126 lb (57.2 kg) and fillies, carrying 121 lbs. (54.9 kg).

The Travers creates memories every year, for thousands of people. There are too many wonderful experiences to recount here, but some of those memories that have been shared by large numbers of race fans include:

• In 1941, Whirlaway became the only horse ever to win the superfecta: he'd won the Triple Crown, then went on to take the Travers, as well.
• In 1962, Jaipur won by a nose-bob in track record time over Ridan, who was considered to be more talented. The long battle (the entire 1 1/4 miles) saw the two horses duke it out the entire distance of the race.
• In 1982, Runaway Groom (Champion Canadian three-year-old), who was trained by John DiMario, arrived at the Saratoga backstretch after a very long and exhausting season. He'd competed in the Canadian Triple Crown: he won the Prince of Wales Stakes, the Breeders' Stakes, and finished second in the Queen's Plate. Runaway Groom's Travers victory made him the only horse in racing history to beat the winners of that year's American Triple Crown in the same race. (Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol; Preakness Stakes winner Aloma's Ruler and Belmont Stakes winner, Conquistador Cielo.)
• Point Given, a gorgeous, big, 17hh monster, won the Travers on August 25, 2001. That day, Point Given drew a record Travers Stakes Day crowd, 60,486 fans. The race brought in a total betting handle of $34,529,273. This was also a Saratoga record to that date.

Traditions

Travers Race Card Images

Trophy

The Travers Trophy is known as the Man O' War Cup, and was designed by Tiffany & Co. The trophy was named for Samuel Riddle's great Champion: Mr. Riddle donated the trophy as the permanent award for winning the race. Typically, a gold-plated replica is presented to the winner every year by a member of the Riddle family.

Travers Blanket

Travers Race Card Games

The winner of the Travers Stakes typically receives an extravagant floral blanket, a beautiful blanket of flowers to drape over the horse, handmade locally with over a thousand carnations.

The Travers Canoe

The Travers Canoe has been a lovely tribute to the winners of the Travers every year since 1961. The canoe is painted in the colors of the silks of the reigning Travers winner. A canoe has been a fixture in the infield pond since 1926, but it wasn't until 1961 that the canoe became affiliated with the Travers.

Travers Festival

The City of Saratoga Springs typically celebrates the entire week leading up to Travers Day with various events, including live music, as part of a Travers Festival.