American Pharoah Draws Post 2 for Travers

Triple Crown winner American Pharoah drew post 2 and was installed as the 1-5 favorite for the 146th Travers Stakes (gr. I) to be run Saturday, Aug. 29 at Saratoga Race Course.

At the post-position draw held the evening of Aug. 25 at Druthers Brewing Co. in downtown Saratoga Springs, N.Y., nine other 3-year-olds were entered to face Zayat Stables’ champion in the 1 1/4-mile “Midsummer Derby,” Saratoga’s marquee event.

The Travers purse will be $1.6 million if American Pharoah is an official starter. If not, the race is worth $1.25 million. All runners carry 126 pounds.

American Pharoah, racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first in the past 37 years, is coming off a phenomenal victory in the Aug. 2 William Hill Haskell Invitational (gr. I) at Monmouth Park. His 2 1/4-length margin of victory was deceptive in that the son of Pioneerof the Nile   was not running full out, but was under wraps from regular rider Victor Espinoza, who will be in the irons again Saturday.

Earlier on Aug. 25, before post positions were drawn, American Pharoah’s trainer, Bob Baffert, said during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association teleconference that the Travers is “not an easy race.” He mentioned the presence of Texas Red, winner of the Aug. 1 Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) and last year’s Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I), and Frosted, who was second to American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes presented by Draftkings (gr. I) and then ran second in the Jim Dandy.

“(Texas Red) is a very nice horse; he won the Breeders’ Cup very impressively,” Baffert said. “I think (his connections) have done a great job getting him back (to the races). “(Texas Red) is going to be tough. It’s not an easy race. You’ve got Frosted in there. There are the new shooters coming up. So, we’re prepared for a tough race.”

Neither owner Ahmed Zayat nor Baffert were in attendance at the draw, but both spoke by phone from California to the media gathered at the event.

“Once you have it (the post position) you have to take it,” Baffert said. “Right now, my concern is getting there, with shipping and having everything go smoothly. The horse is doing well, that’s the most important thing.

“…Everything has to go smooth for him. We don’t take anything for granted. We’re coming in there ready. We’re just treating it like it’s another big-time race, which it is… all of his races have been really just over the top. That’s what surprised me is that he keeps bringing it like he does. I’ve had really good horses that when they put in a great performance it’s hard for them to keep bringing those great performances, and he does. We want to get another great performance out of him.”

Baffert has won the Travers once before, in 2001 with Point Given, the last Haskell winner to win the Travers. Zayat’s homebred American Pharoah will be his first Travers starter.

“I would have preferred to be on the outside,” Zayat said. “I have been hearing the rail has been bad at Saratoga. I don’t know if that is true or not. It is what it is. I feel we have a horse who is fit, happy, and healthy. And if American Pharoah shows up, he shows up. So, I’m very excited.”

Eric Donovan, the morning-line oddsmaker for the New York Racing Association, installed Godolphin Racing’s Frosted as the second choice at 6-1. The Kiaran McLaughlin-trained son of Tapit   drew post 6 and will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

“(The post) is perfect for us,” McLaughlin said. “We wanted to be in the middle of the pack. Our horse is doing great and we just have to let Joel work out the trip. He’s going to run a big race and we can’t really worry about the pace.”

Texas Red, assigned post 4, is the third choice at odds of 8-1, and will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux, the brother of the colt’s trainer, Keith Desormeaux. Owned in partnership by Erich Brehm, Keith Desormeaux, Wayne Detmar, Lee Michaels, and Dr. Gene Voss, Texas Red, a son of Afleet Alex  , lost out on the 2-year-old championship to American Pharoah last year. In their only meeting to date, American Pharoah defeated Texas Red in the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park last September.

Ten Jim Dandy winners have returned to capture the Travers. The most recent was Alpha  , who dead-heated with Golden Ticket in the 2012 edition of the Midsummer Derby.

Donegal Racing’s Keen Ice, second in the Haskell, will be looking for his first win since taking a maiden race last September at Churchill Downs. The Dale Romans-trained son of Curlin   is 0- for-8 in stakes competition, but closed well last time out. He departs from post 7 at odds of 12-1.

“Five, six, or seven would be probably what we would have hand-picked,” Romans said. “It’s not as important to us as it is to some other horses. We’ll probably come out of there, find a spot close to the back of the pack if it’s a fast pace and come running. If they are going slow, he will be closer. If they are going fast like they were in the Haskell, he will be back, and will come running.”

The field is completed by grade II winner Upstart (15-1), the third-place finisher in the Haskell; Tale of Verve (30-1), the Xpressbet.com Preakness (gr. I) runner-up; Smart Transition (20-1), the winner of Saratoga’s July 31 Curlin Stakes; Frammento (30-1), who is 1 for 10 in his career; King of New York (50-1), third-place finisher in the Curlin; and Mid Ocean (50-1), a winner of a Delaware Park maiden race July 14.

Just three Triple Crown winners have competed in the Travers, with Whirlaway, in 1941, the only one to win the race. Gallant Fox was second in 1930 and Affirmed, the last Triple Crown winner until American Pharoah, won the 1978 Travers, but was disqualified and placed second behind his nemesis, Alydar.

American Pharoah is scheduled to arrive in New York on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 26, following a Tuesday evening flight from California, with a stop in Kentucky. His plane will land at Albany International Airport, which is about 30 minutes south of Saratoga Race Course. He will be accompanied by Baffert’s assistant, Jimmy Barnes.

A special training session for Travers horses is scheduled Aug. 28, between 8:45 and 9:00 a.m. ET, which will  provide fans with the opportunity to watch American Pharoah gallop. No admission will be charged for those entering the track for the training session.

NYRA officials previously announced a decision to capTravers Day attendance at 50,000. General admission and reserved seats have been sold out, and fans who do not hold a ticket will not be granted access on race day.

“I want to thank NYRA for limiting the amount of the people who will be booing (Keen Ice when he wins),” Romans joked.

Gates open at 7 a.m. for ticketed patrons on Travers Day with a special first post time of 11:45 a.m. Travers post is 5:46 p.m. The race will be broadcast on NBC as part of a two-hour live telecast beginning at 4 p.m.

The weather forecast for Travers Day calls for partly cloudy skies, highs in the mid-80s, with a 10 percent chance of precipitation.

This story will be updated with full entries when they become available.