Among the reasons Todd Pletcher will be inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame this summer is his success at Saratoga, where he has been leading trainer 14 times. Among the reasons for his success at Saratoga is his prowess in developing 2-year-olds for early success. In nine of the last 11 years, Pletcher has won at least 11 races for 2-year-olds at Saratoga, and it’s hard to hold last year’s 4-for-31 performance against him given the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on getting horses ready. Already this year, Pletcher has sent out impressive 2-year-old winners Wit (sired by Practical Joke) and Double Thunder (Super Saver), who are pointing to the Sanford on July 17 and Saratoga Special Aug. 14, respectively. Buoyed by the exploits of owner Mike Repole at auction last year, Pletcher appears well stocked to have another successful summer in the juvenile department. At the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale alone, Repole purchased, with partners or by himself, 23 horses worth $9.295 million. Repole, who has homebreds and was active at other auctions as well, said he has approximately 50 2-year-olds and has partnered with the likes of Vinnie and Teresa Viola as well as West Point, Eclipse Thoroughbreds and others. “I’ve always loved action,” Repole said. “I’m getting a lot of action with these partnerships and more horses. This is going to be the big focus. I want to be in the big races, I want to win the big races.” Among the maidens Pletcher and Repole are looking forward to debuting at Saratoga are Up to the Mark (Not This Time), who was scratched out of a race at Belmont due to illness; an unnamed Curlin colt out of the Grade 1-winning mare Midnight Lucky who sold for $1.2 million to Repole, St. Elias, John Oxley, and Grandview Stable; an unnamed Curlin colt out of the mare Value Stream, herself a half-sister to a pair of graded stakes winners; and an unnamed Repole homebred Uncle Mo colt out of the mare Social Call. Maidens that Pletcher trains for other clients worth tabbing include Master Game (Mastery); Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile); Let Her Inspire U, a New York-bred filly by Practical Joke who brought $500,000 at auction, is owned by China Horse Club, and is entered in Friday’s sixth race; as well as New York-bred fillies Classy Edition (Classic Empire) and Doc Doc Rock (Into Mischief). Chad Brown is usually stacked with juvenile talent. Among the ones he is likely to debut this summer are Watasha (Into Mischief), a half-brother to 23-time winner Our Caravan; Triple Elvis (Into Mischief), a sibling to 2-year-old stakes winner Made You Look; Accretive (Practical Joke); and Portfolio Company (Kitten’s Joy). Brown’s fillies to look for include the French-bred Customer List (Wootton Bassett); Expand the Map (Dark Angel); Sahlabiya (Medaglia d’Oro), who sold for $1.6 million at Keeneland September; Tout Ensemble (Practical Joke); and Key Point (Into Mischief), a New York-bred who is from the family of stakes winners American Anthem and Banshee Breeze. Steve Asmussen has already won 16 races with 2-year-olds in 2021 and figures to be prominent at Saratoga with several male progeny of his champion Gun Runner, including Gunite, who could run in the Sanford, as well as Chileno, Woodline, and Red Run. Raymond (Into Mischief) is out of Teen Pauline, a debut winner at Saratoga in 2012. Asmussen has an unnamed colt by Midnight Lute who could run early in the meet. Among Asmussen’s fillies to watch are Speedometer (Tapit), entered in Thursday’s second; Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), entered in Thursday’s fifth; the New York-bred Velvet Sister (Bernardini) and the Texas-bred Eagle Express (Eagle), both entered in Thursday’s Grade 3 Schuylerville. As a trainer for both Juddmonte and Godolphin, Bill Mott gets youngsters with high-powered pedigrees. One horse not owned by either of those two outfits that will generate interest when he runs is Galt, a full brother to the champion Songbird who as of July 6 had only two easy three-furlong breezes under his belt. He is one of five 2-year-olds Mott has for owner Larry Best’s OXO Equine. For Juddmonte, Mott has several progeny of Arrogate, including the fillies Bahama Banks, Gainsay, and Swift Thinker, and the colt Calloway Peak. For Godolphin, he has Town Branch (Street Sense), a full brother to second-out winner Speaker’s Corner; Urban Forest (Hard Spun); and an unnamed Medaglia d’Oro colt who is out of debut winner Angela Renee and is from the family of multiple juvenile stakes winner To Honor and Serve. Mott also has Lafertiti (Pioneerof the Nile), a half-sister to three-time juvenile stakes winner Bast. :: Bet the races with confidence on DRF Bets. You're one click away from the only top-rated betting platform fully integrated with exclusive data, analysis, and expert picks. Christophe Clement has won eight 2-year-old races over the previous two Saratoga meets, one more than the previous five combined. Among the babies he is expected to debut this summer are Big Invasion (Declaration of War), who was scratched out of a race on Saturday that was rained off the turf, Silvery Rill (War Front), Senbei (Candy Ride), Waterville (Kitten’s Joy), Derrynane (Quality Road), Diamond Hands (Frosted), Fortineno (Frankel), Bali Belle (Bal a Bali), and Smooth Sailing (Candy Ride). Jorge Abreu has his largest 2-year-old crop since going out on his own and is looking forward to running Twist Just Right (Distorted Humor), who is out of the stakes-winning dam Fitz Just Right; Empire Lily (Pioneerof the Nile), a filly out of the two-time stakes winner Toasting; and the New York-bred filly Dancing Bella (War Dancer). Let Ur Light Shine (Noble Mission) is a New York-bred from the family of four-time graded stakes winner J’ray. Wesley Ward has already sent out 21 2-year-old winners this year. He has the filly Happy Soul (Runhappy) for the Schuylerville and Headline Report (Gormley) for the Sanford Stakes. He also has the maiden filly Her World (Carvaggio), who he believes is a top-flight turf horse. Trainer Shug McGaughey, who has branched out the last few years beyond simply training for the Phipps family, has several well-bred 2-year-olds, including Montauk Point (Violence), a half-brother to Covfefe; Informal (Honor Code), out of the Epsom Oaks winner Casual Look; Sidekick (Honor Code); Irish Sea (Honor Code); and the $1.025 million auction purchase Adam’s Angel (Into Mischief). His fillies include Gunboat (War Front) and Surprisingly (Mastery). Trainer Danny Gargan is looking forward to running Missy Greer (Nyquist), a half-sister to Gronkowski; an unnamed Practical Joke New York-bred filly out of the dam Queen of the Night; James Aloysius (More Than Ready); and Oglethorpe (Arrogate), a colt who is from the family of graded stakes winners Stellar Jayne and Starrer. Jeremiah Englehart, who had a terrific 2019 with his 2-year-olds, could rebound off a disappointing 2020 season with colts such as Too Many Nick’s (Gun Runner) and Brady’s Legacy (Street Boss), who is out of the debut-winning dam Orient Moon. Englehart also has the fillies Solasta (Goldencents), a three-quarter sister to Grade 1 winner Mia Mischief who is entered in Thursday’s fifth, Tempermental (Practical Joke), Laoban’s Legacy (Laoban), and Scarlet Stripe (Gun Runner). Videri (Honor Code) and Greg’s Honor (Nyquist) are colts Jimmy Jerkens trains for Centennial Farms who could show up toward the latter part of the meet. Ed Barker believes he has a strong group of 2-year-olds and is especially looking forward to debuting the New York-bred Shipsational (Midshipman) and the Kentucky-bred Triumphant Road (Quality Road) at the meet.