Naturally, Tiz the Law and Uncle Chuck will command the bulk of the attention – and wagering money – in the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga. However, the recent failures by short-priced horses in the Travers – favorites have won just two of the last 12 runnings – could sway bettors to look beyond the top two choices in Saturday's 151st running of the race.
Six new names are among the 23 separately listed interests in the seventh and final pool in the 2020 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Friday at noon Eastern for the customary three-day run.
If not for the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed the Kentucky Derby until Sept. 5, Art Collector and Uncle Chuck would have missed the Derby. Instead, both are very much in play.
Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for Aug. 5, 2020
Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Uncle Chuck
The connections of Major Fed considered running the Ghostzapper colt in the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby on Sunday before deciding instead to train him straight into the Kentucky Derby.
A full field is expected Sunday for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, one of the final chances for a 3-year-old to earn his way into the 146th Kentucky Derby.
Linda Rice has enjoyed a productive summer at Saratoga shipping horses in from Belmont Park a few days before they race and not breezing them over the main track here. She hopes it's a trend that continues Saturday when she runs Max Player in the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers Stakes.
As with the Haskell two weeks ago, here’s another final Derby prep in which the figure seems in contrast to how the race looked visually.
On paper and on the track, Bill Mott views South Bend as a horse who is better on dirt than he is on turf. So, when presented the options of running the 3-year-old in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Travers or the $500,000 Saratoga Derby on turf on Aug. 15, to him it’s a no-brainer.
