| Travers Stakes |
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The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred Horse Race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York . The Travers is the oldest Thoroughbred horse race in the United States . First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers , the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers. Aside from 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1911, and 1912, it has been held every year since. The field for the Travers is limited to three-year-olds, Colts and Gelding s carrying 126 pounds (57 kg) and Fillies carrying 123 pounds (56 kg)...and since 1999 the first prize has been $1,000,000. The race is the highlight of the summer race meeting at Saratoga, just as the Belmont Stakes is the highlight of the spring meeting at Belmont Park . In 1962, arguably the greatest Travers in history took place. Jaipur won by a nose-bob in track record time over the, and many horsemen would say, more talented Ridan after a long, head-to-head battle over the entire mile and a quarter. Still written and talked about today, the race is listed in the 2006 book Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments written by the staff of Blood-Horse Publications . The race result determined which colt would be named the 1962 U.S. Champion 3-Year-Old Horse . On the day that Point Given won the Travers (August 25th, 2001), it was a record Travers Stakes day attendance of 60,486. The race, dubbed the "Midsummmer Derby," achieved a total betting handle of $34,529,273. This was also a Saratoga record. In 1982, Runaway Groom , the Champion Canadian Three Year Old , trained by John DiMario , arrived at the Saratoga backstretch after a grueling season competing in the Canadian Triple Crown , winning the Prince Of Wales Stakes , the Breeders' Stakes , and finishing second in the Queen's Plate . At the Travers that year, Runaway Groom became the only horse in racing history to beat the Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol , the Preakness Stakes winner Aloma's Ruler , and the Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo in the same race. The race and track record belongs to Secretariat 's son, General Assembly , who won the 1979 Travers while setting the still-standing record time of 2:00 flat. Andrew Beyer has said that General Assembly's amazing speed figure in that race was one of the fastest in history. The Travers has been run at four different distances:
1921 TRAVERS STAKES The 1921 Travers Stakes is known, unfortunately, for a Betting scandal. The original field was supposed to be fairly light with only the filly, Prudery , owned by Harry Payne Whitney , as the only competition. Then Arnold Rothstein enterred his colt, Sporting Blood , supposedly to pick up second place. In 1921, Bookmaking was the primary form of Racetrack wagering, unlike Parimutuel wagering, and the odds on the filly were 1-4 while the colt were at 5-2. Somehow, a few days before the race, Sporting Blood 's owner, Rothstein, had learned that Prudery was off her feed. He knew he might have a real chance to win. The day of the race dawns and trainer Sam Hildreth enters leading three-year old, Grey Lag , who immediately becomes the favorite, with Prudery the second choice, and the odds going up on Sporting Blood to 3-1. Rothstein bets $150,000 on his horse. Just before Post Time , Grey Lag is scratched with no explanation. The race is run and Sporting Blood overtakes the ailing Prudery to win his owner nearly half million dollars in wagers and the Purse . Although many believed, it was never proven that Hildreth received any payoff or that there was a Conspiracy between the two. Rothstein was later shot in 1928 in New York City for cheating at cards. TRAVERS TROPHY The trophy, known as the Man o' War Cup, was designed by Tiffany And Co. In 1920, its namesake Man O' War defeated Sir Barton in a match race in Canada . The wife of owner Samuel Riddle donated the trophy as the permanent award for winning the race. A gold-plated replica is presented to the winner each year by a member of the Riddle family.1 TRAVERS CANOE Since 1961, the colors of the Travers winner have been painted onto a canoe which sits on a pond in the infield. The canoe itself has been a fixture at the track since 1926.2 SPONSORSHIP On July 18, 2006, the state lottery announced its sponsorship of the Travers Stakes.3 WINNERS OF THE TRAVERS STAKES REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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