Travers Stakes Edition with DRF Dan Illman & Writer Brien Bouyea Thursday, August 25, 2022

DRF’s Dan Illman will join us for Travers Day coverage. A popular Winningponies guest, Dan is one of the most widely watched handicappers on the internet through his drf.com platform. Almost daily, he matches wits with Mike Beer for interesting angles and observations of the Race of the Day. There is no doubt what the race of the day will be on Saturday as Saratoga presents the 153rd running of the Travers Stakes. Trainer Eric Reed joined us last week and wasn’t surprised that Rich Strike will be a longshot once again. The Kentucky Derby winner at odds of 80-1, Rich Strike drew post 2 and was made the 10-1 sixth choice in the field of eight entered Tuesday for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers at Saratoga, a race where Epicenter, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up, was made the 7-5 favorite on David Aragona’s morning-line. “That’s fair,” Eric said of his odds. “His running style makes him hard to pick no matter what. He’s got all the speed in the world, but for whatever reason he wants to spot these horses.” Epicenter has already proven he can handle Saratoga’s main track, having taken the Grade 2 Jim Dandy here on July 30. Epicenter is still seeking his first victory in a Grade 1 stakes. Cyberknife, the lone dual Grade 1 winner in the 3-year-old division, drew the rail for the Travers. He had that same post when he won the Grade 1 Haskell, setting a stakes and track record for 1 1/8 miles. The Travers undercard includes four Grade 1's topped by the Sword Dancer and DRF’s David Grening posted this thumbnail outline of these top races. First contested in 1864, the Travers is the oldest race for 3-year-old thoroughbreds in the United States. It has been won by numerous immortals of the sport, including Man o’ War, Twenty Grand, Whirlaway, Native Dancer, Gallant Man, Buckpasser, Damascus, and Holy Bull, among others. The race’s 150th renewal will take place on Saturday, Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course. Brien Bouyea is the Hall of Fame and Communications Director at the National Museum of Racing and he will join the show again to put a spotlight on Saturday’s “Mid-Summer Derby,” the race that traditionally draws the best 3-year-olds in training to test their mettle again at 1 ¼ miles. Prior to joining the Museum, Bouyea spent 10 years working as a sports writer and editor at the Troy Record and The Saratogian, where he won numerous national and state writing awards. He is co-author of “The Travers: 150 Years of Saratoga’s Greatest Race,” along with Michael Veitch. “The Travers” was a finalist for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. Bouyea is also the sports editor for Saratoga Living magazine, writing mostly about horse racing and Capital Region sports. He has also done work for New York Horse magazine and the Albany Times Union. He enjoys photography, is a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, and basically lives at Saratoga Race Course from mid-July through Labor Day when he isn’t in the Museum.