SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In a span of nine days last summer, the horses who would go on to be voted champion 2-year-old male and champion 2-year-old female debuted at Saratoga. Good Magic lost his debut. Caledonia Road won hers. Perhaps racing’s next juvenile champions will emerge from here again this summer when the Saratoga meet opens Friday for its 40-day run. Led by horses from the barns of Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown, and Steve Asmussen, some of the most expensive and well-bred babies in the world could run at the Spa this summer. Any conversation regarding 2-year-olds starts with Pletcher, who has averaged 15 juvenile winners over the last seven Saratoga meets. He enters this meet having won 15 juvenile races already in 2018. “I’m encouraged by the way the 2-year-olds as a whole have been running,” Pletcher said. “But it always gets a little tougher up here.” Nonna Madeline (by Candy Ride), an impressive debut winner at Monmouth, will look to give Pletcher a record seventh Schuylerville Stakes victory on Friday. He also sends out Blahnik (Bernardini) a $575,000 purchase as a 2-year-old in training, in the first maiden race of the meet. Ayers Rock (More Than Ready) is a full sister to Verrazano and a half to La Madrina, both debut winners. Pletcher planned to run Lexitonian (Speightstown) and Sombeyay (Into Mischief) in Saturday’s Grade 3 Sanford. Coast (Malibu Moon) will run in a Saturday maiden race. He is out of a Grade 2-winning dam who won her debut by 5 1/4 lengths. “He acts like he’s got some speed,” Pletcher said of Coast. Later in the meet, Pletcher is expected to debut the colts Chief Executive (Flatter), Determinationpower (Uncle Mo), New York Style (Malibu Moon), Opry (Declaration of War), and Ranger Up (First Samurai). Spinoff (Hard Spun), a well-bred debut winner at Gulfstream, is targeting the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 12. La Fuerza, a two-time winner, and Meade (Street Sense), a debut winner at Belmont on July 7, are candidates for that race as well. :: Saratoga All-Access: Choose from three plans, packages include PPs, strategies & more Each year, Brown continues to amass a stronger group of 2-year-olds, though he typically waits until Saratoga, at the earliest, to get them to the races. Aurelius Maximus (Pioneerof the Nile) is a half-brother to six winners and has been working with – and slightly better than – Standard Deviation (Curlin) the last two weeks at Belmont Park. Other colts to look for from Brown include Searing Chase (Uncle Mo), a $700,000 yearling purchase; Highest Honors (Tapit), a half-brother to four winners, including Grade 1 winner Diamondrella; and Ahead of Plan (Big Drama), a $475,000 purchase as a 2-year-old in training despite a modest pedigree. The filly Balon Rose (War Front), was a $1.6 million purchase at the Keeneland September sale. Dogtag (War Front) comes from the family of Street Cry. Newspaperofrecord (Lope de Vega) was one of the yearlings Brown purchased for Seth Klarman at last fall’s Tattersalls auction in Europe. Seek and Destroy (Verrazano) is a half-sister to four winners, including three-time stakes winner Tammy the Torpedo. Steve Asmussen won 10 2-year-old races at the Churchill Downs meet and is 17 for 60 this year with his juvenile crop. On Friday, he runs the maiden Lady Apple (Curlin) in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and Lyrical Lady (More Than Ready) in a maiden race. Lyrical Lady was a $625,000 purchase as a 2-year-old in training. “She’s pretty and fast,” Asmussen said. “That’s usually expensive at a 2-year-old in-training sale.” Boldor (Munnings) went for $700,000, and Justice of War (Strong Mandate) went for $550,000 at the same sale. The Asmussen-trained Bano Solo (Goldencents) and Whiskey Echo (Tiznow) were expected to enter the Sanford. Nitrous (Tapit), beaten a neck in his debut, was entered for a maiden race here on Saturday. Trainer Linda Rice has only one 2-year-old win from her last 14 juvenile starters here over the last two years. She appears to have some runners this summer with win-early pedigrees, including Invest (Super Saver), produced by the first-out winner Intentional Fever, who also produced the debut winner Caught a Heater. Charlito (Fed Biz) brought $725,000 at the Fasig-Tipton March sale. Rice has horses for Charles Fipke, including Speight’s Comete (Speightstown), a half-brother to Munnings. Skedoodle (Scat Daddy) is a New York-bred related to four winners. Color Chart (Big Brown) and First Forever (Take Charge Indy) are other New York-breds to tab from the Rice barn. Brian Lynch’s 2-year-olds include Carotari (Artie Schiller), a colt who was transferred to him after he won his debut for Luis Mendez in Southern California. Joyful Heart (Kitten’s Joy), a maiden winner at Belmont, is pointing to the Grade 3 With Anticipation on Aug. 29. Joy of Learning (Kitten’s Joy) is a half to Coffee Clique, and Award Winner (Ghostzapper) is a half to Oscar Performance. Perfect View (Arch), Hidden Facts (The Factor), and Stilts (Bodemeister) are others to watch from Lynch. Trainer Rick Violette’s 2-year-olds include Binary (Into Mischief) and Tariff Tantrum (Warrior’s Reward), who is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Kodiak Kowboy. In a work at Belmont last Saturday, Binary was the better of the pair. Few trainers get better-bred babies than Kiaran McLaughlin. Among those in his care this year are Antithesis (Tapit), a half-sister to Scat Daddy, and Tatweej (Tapit), who brought $2.5 million at last September’s Keeneland yearling sale. Enliven (Ghostzapper) is a half-sister to Enticed, who won his debut on closing day here last year. Endorsed (Medaglia d’Oro) is out of the Grade 1 winner Dance Card. Haikal (Daaher) is a half-brother to Takaful, while Spice Road (Street Sense) is a full brother to Avery Island. George Weaver has had multiple 2-year-old winners at nine of the last 11 Saratoga meets. Among his arsenal of babies this year are Escape (Tapizar), Russian Meldody (Maclean’s Music), Claddagh’s Run (Declaration of War), and Noble Mission. Rudy Rodriguez has won 17 juvenile races at Saratoga over the last six meets. This year, he hopes to find the winner’s circle with Mister Muy Bien (Central Banker), Mom’s Kisses (Wilcox Inn), Woodbury (Power Brooker), Liza Jambalaya (Ghostzapper), and Island Kitten (Kitten’s Joy). Bill Mott typically has juveniles who come to hand later in the meet. American (Tiznow), Honey Won’t (Soldat), Madding Crowd (Giant’s Causeway), Starting Point (Paynter), and Southern Bridge (Lemon Drop Kid) are juveniles to tab from his barn. Jeremiah Englehart continues to get better horses from the likes of owners Al Gold and Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells. Puttheglassdown (Violence), Forty Under (Uncle Mo), and East and Union (Into Mischief) are ones he expects to debut at this meet. Danny Gargan believes he has his best 2-year-old crop to date, led by Silver Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), the New York-bred Deja Raconte (Freud), Olympic Express (Afleet Express), and Shaq (Shackleford). Jimmy Toner said he will be active with 2-year-olds including Tip At Tapit (Tapit), a half-sister to eight winners, including the Grade 1 winner Time and Motion. Global Exchange (Exchange Rate) and Champagne Bliss (Into Mischief) are others from the Toner barn.