It sets up as a something-to-prove test. Because this year’s Whitney, the headliner on a 12-race, three-Grade 1 card at Saratoga, puts its six contenders into a competitive blender to see who is the main challenger to the one older mainstay who isn’t here.

Flightline. The top-ranked older horse in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll.

And, barring injury or other mishap, the winner will get that opportunity in November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. As a “Win and You’re In” race, the Whitney sends its winner to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup flagship.

The Whitney is one you want on the resume

That winner also joins a winner’s roll that includes Knicks Go (2021), Improbable (2020), Gun Runner (2017), Honor Code (2015), Blame (2010), Lawyer Ron (2007), Invasor (2006), Left Bank (2002), Lemon Drop Kid (2000), Victory Gallop (1999), Criminal Type (1990) and Slew o’ Gold (1984). Every one of those horses earned Champion Older Male Horse honors.

And that doesn’t count earlier winners of the 95-year-old race. There, you find Discovery (1934-36), War Admiral (1938), Tom Fool (1953), Kelso (1961, 1963, 1965), Dr. Fager (1968), Alydar (1978) and Easy Goer (1989).

Yes, the Whitney is a kingmaker’s race. It’s Saratoga’s second most prominent race after the Travers. But it’s also a statement race. Win the Whitney and you become first-among-equals in the Older Male Division. You become the horse to beat going into the Breeders’ Cup.

“It’s the premier older horse race at the premier meet in the country. To me, it’s a huge, huge event,” trainer Todd Pletcher told the New York Racing Association.

Pletcher sending the cavalry

Ergo, Pletcher treats it as such, flooding the zone with three of the six Whitney contestants.

Pletcher’s conversation — and any observer’s conversation about this year’s Whitney — starts with Life Is Good, the 6/5 morning line favorite. There are a combined 26 triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in the Whitney field and Life Is Good owns the top figure — a 112.

That came in his last-out, five-length blitzing of Speaker’s Corner in the John A. Nerud at Belmont Park. That form-resuming victory came after Life Is Good finished fourth in March’s Dubai World Cup — the six-time graded stakes winner’s only off-the-board finish in nine starts.

“He’s got so much natural speed and such a high-cruising speed,” Pletcher said. “His ability to carry it over a distance of ground is what makes him so unique and so successful.”

Here’s your Olympiad-level challenger

Pletcher backs up Life Is Good’s favorite status by putting three-time Saratoga riding champ Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle.

It’s not one of his stablemates: Happy Saver or Americanrevolution, who figure as Life Is Good’s main competition. It’s Bill Mott’s Olympiad (2/1). Not a factor in any conversation about the best older horses entering this year, Olympiad forced his way into the discussion by opening his 4-year-old season 5-for-5.

That streak began with a 7 1/4-length dismantling of a Gulfstream Park allowance field. It extended into Grade 3 Mineshaft and Grade 2 New Orleans Classic wins at Fair Grounds. Then, the streak migrated to Kentucky, where Olympiad won two Churchill Downs races: the Alysheba — where he beat Happy Saver — and Stephen Foster.

Olympiad likes this distance thing

All this from a colt who hadn’t run two turns before this year.

“He loves the two turns and it seems like the longer he goes, the better,” said Robert Clay of Grandview Equine Farms, Olympiad’s co-owner with LNJ Foxwoods and Cheyenne Stables. “He sort of has it all, so now we’re running against the gorilla in the room and find out how good he is. I think he’ll run a good race. He’s training really well.”

A victory here gives Olympiad his first Grade 1 win, something Clay and Mott are quite cognizant about. Life Is Good, Hot Rod Charlie, Americanrevolution and Happy Saver all own Grade 1 wins. Olympiad needs one to join them as a legitimate older horse.

“It would be very important. He’s been rewarding in a lot of different ways and just by seeing him run some very good races,” Mott said.

Hot Rod Charlie 1-for-his-last-5

Which brings us to Hot Rod Charlie (9/2). When last we saw him, Hot Rod Charlie was losing the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park to Mind Control. That came after a runner-up to Country Grammer in the Dubai World Cup.

While Hot Rod Charlie hasn’t missed the exacta in three starts this year (1-2-0), he could use a domestic victory. The last time Hot Rod Charlie won in the States came six starts and 11 months ago: in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

When trainer Doug O’Neill put the pieces together, it made sense for him to keep Hot Rod Charlie on the East Coast.

The Whitney pushes Hot Rod Charlie’s gas pedal

“We all huddled up and it looked like the race fit him well on the calendar,” O’Neill said. “With the Breeders’ Cup being at Keeneland, we love the opportunity to be able to train at Keeneland and popping up to New York didnt’ seem like something that was going to be out of line.

“It’s a Grade 1 at Saratoga and it’s such a prestigious race. There’s a lot of reasons to be proud just to have a horse in it. I can only imagine if he won it how grateful we would be. It would just confirm his gutsy, hard-fought efforts all over the world to come together for a Whitney victory. It would really confirm his greatness.”

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And thus, we have the biggest storyline for Saturday’s Saratoga Derby, the second leg of the New York Racing Association’s Turf Triple. It’s also one of three Grade 1s on Saratoga’s Saturday Whitney Day card.

The 11-horse field of 3-year-olds goes 1 3/16 miles on Saratoga’s Mellon Turf Course. They do so with a lot of familiar faces in the starting gate. Seven of the 12 horses from last month’s Grade 1 Belmont Derby — the opening Turf Triple leg — are in the Saratoga Derby field.

That includes the top four finishers: Classic Causeway, Nations Pride, Stone Age and Grand Sonata. It includes fifth-place Royal Patronage and sixth-place Sy Dog. And it includes last-of-12 finisher Stolen Base.

No 26/1 Classic Causeway at Saratoga Derby

That we’re mentioning Classic Causeway’s name first, ahead of European turf standouts Nations Pride and Stone Age, ties back to his 26-1 Belmont Derby shocker. That gate-to-wire score came in his first turf trip. It also came two weeks after Classic Causeway finished third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby.

“I’m real proud of how he handled himself in the Belmont Derby and I think he’ll rate a little better in his next start,” trainer Kenny McPeek told the New York Racing Association. “He seems to be turning off a little bit and he’s a very strong-willed horse. I’m just really glad to get a Grade 1 out of him.”

Classic Causeway comes in off a 1:01.88 five-furlong breeze on Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track that was third of 31 at that distance July 31. McPeek said he’s working well, strong-willed and all, but he is aware of what awaits his not-so-secret turf stakes winner. That starts with his 8/1 morning line odds.

Belmont Derby came with wild finish

Another reason for that is the Belmont Derby’s cavalry-charge finish. The top six finishers were separated by only 1 1/2 lengths. Seventh-place Limited Liability finished less than four lengths back.

It’s also because Todd Pletcher sends out three hunters for Classic Causeway. There’s Grand Sonata, who won two winter stakes races at Gulfstream Park. But there’s also two strong contenders in Emmanuel and Annapolis.

Emmanuel, a late Belmont Derby scratch, set the precedent table for Classic Causeway. He too, transitioned from a solid dirt horse to a graded stakes turf winner when he won the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge June 4 at Belmont Park.

Emmanuel won’t take Classic Causeway’s bait

“He handled the mile and an eighth well in the Pennine Ridge,” Pletcher said, explaining how Emmanuel’s front-running style diverges from Classic Causeway’s need-the-lead style. “He had the fractions go his way which, with Classic Causeway in here, he’s a pace factor that wasn’t in the Pennine Ridge. But he’s very tractable and doesn’t need the lead. I don’t foresee it being a problem.”

Annapolis too, bypassed the Belmont Derby. Instead, Pletcher sent him out to a 2 3/4-length victory in the July 4 Manila Stakes at Belmont Park. That came with a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure and a good response to his shocking runner-up finish to 83/1 Wow Whata Summer in the Grade 2 Penn Mile at Penn National. That’s his only loss in four career races.

“”We were really on the fence between the Manila and the Belmont Derby. But with only one start under his belt, we felt it made sense to come back and get another race into him before stretching him out,” Pletcher said.

Nations Pride, Stone Age back for Saratoga Derby revenge

That brings us to the European contenders: Nations Pride and Stone Age. Both return for more than the smaller pieces they grabbed in the Belmont Derby.

Nations Pride actually gave Classic Causeway a scare, closing from ninth on the backstretch to finish three-quarters of a length behind.

He stayed in New York afterward, training with Charlie Appleby’s traveling assistant Chris Connett. The Irish-bred colt put in four Oklahoma workouts, the most recent being a six-furlong 1:15.21 July 31.

“I just think he needs a trouble-free run this time,” Connett said. “He looked like he was going to make a nice run into the home turn at Belmont and he got checked, but he still rallied and made a big effort. If he can have a clear run through, he should take some beating.”

Stone Age found bronze last time

Stone Age went six-wide down the stretch to grab the bottom portion of the Belmont Derby trifecta by less than a length. He went back to Europe afterward and returned Sunday.

As for Sy Dog, he returns to the Saratoga Derby after that sixth-place finish, one that came by 1 1/2 lengths.

“I can’t give him any excuses,” trainer Graham Motion said, brushing aside the fact Sy Dog went four-wide into the stretch and couldn’t gain any ground. “I thought he ran a really good race. Manny (Franco) loved him and I thought he gave him a great ride. … He got stuck down on the inside, but I can’t give that as an excuse. He wasn’t beaten very much. If he can run back to that race, he should be competitive.”

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That’s due to Matareya, the leader in this class. She brings her 4-for-4 record this year into the first of three Grade 1s on Saratoga’s Whitney Day Saturday card.

Besides the Whitney, Saratoga’s Saturday card also includes the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby, the second leg in the Turf Triple. It also offers the Grade 2 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares.

Those all figure to be more competitive than the Test, a seven-furlong sprint that falls right into Matareya’s wheelhouse. She’s won her 2022 starts by a combined 22 1/4 lengths. That includes winning her first Grade 1 at the Acorn Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Matareya wired the field as the 3/10 favorite.

Cutting Matareya back sprung her forward

That’s been the latest step in a progression that began when trainer Brad Cox watched the daughter of Pioneerof the Nile in her four 2-year-old races. As a juvenile, Matareya was 1-for-4. She won her debut last August at Ellis Park, before Cox jumped her to the Grade 1 Alcibiades, where Matareya finished fifth.

Two more seconds followed. That prompted Cox to rethink what kind of runner Matareya was.

“We really liked her last year. We thought she was one of our better fillies,” Cox told the New York Racing Association. “I thought originally, she would maybe stretch (out) just based off pedigree and how she trained, But we kind of see in her races that she wasn’t finishing up quite like we were hoping around two turns.”

“We did ask her to run around two turns in two very good races with the Alciabiades and the allowance race at Oaklawn (Park), which had Secret Oath in it. So it was quality fields, but once we cut her back to one turn, she seemed to be a different horse.”

Meticulous climb up the class pyramid

That became apparent the first time Cox turned her loose this year. That produced an easy 5 1/4-length win in a second-level February allowance at Fair Grounds. In her next start, Matareya took apart the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland by 8 1/2 lengths. There, she stalked the pace, before Flavien Prat opened the jets in the stretch. The 94 Beyer Speed Figure became a career-high.

Matareya kept moving up the class pyramid. She won the Grade 2 Eight Belles on the Kentucky Oaks undercard by 2 1/4 lengths. That set the table for her 6 1/4-length romp in the Acorn.

“It was huge. (Owner) Godolphin will add her to their broodmare band and that’s very powerful,” Cox said. “It’s big for us and them to have these fillies with big pedigrees to perform in the afternoon at the graded stakes level.”

Matareya’s quick acceleration helps throughout

Along with Cox’s guidance, what makes Matareya so lethal is two-fold. First, there’s that quick turn of foot that gives her an instant advantage. Second, there’s her versatility.

“She’s very quick from the gate. She could break and show the way or she could break and sit off,” Cox explained. “She’s very versatile and listens to exactly what the rider wants from her. Flavien has done a good job on her in the last three starts and we’re looking for more this time.”

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The Hall of Fame trainer moves his 3-year-old multiple graded stakes winner to the grass for Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga. That one-mile race for sophomores on Saratoga’s inner turf course also features Wow Whata Summer.

You remember Wow Whata Summer from his 83/1 upset of Pletcher’s previously unbeaten Annapolis two starts ago in the Grade 2 Penn Mile at Penn National. You probably missed his next start, an uninspiring fifth in the July 2 Grade 3 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park.

As for Wit, Pletcher moves him to turf despite a 3-1-1 record in six career starts. He’s hit the board in four of his five graded stakes races (2-1-1), including victories in the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Bay Shore earlier this year at Aqueduct. One of the earliest 2022 Kentucky Derby prospects off two career-opening wins, Wit finished second to Gunite in the Grade 1 Hopeful. He later finished a non-threatening third to Jack Christopher by nearly 10 lengths in the Grade 1 Champagne last year.

Did Wit find his dirt ceiling?

This year, Wit has that Bay Shore score, coming when he went three-wide and nosed out Highly Respected. He also has his lone out-of-the-money finish: a last-out fourth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Not that anyone was beating Jack Christopher that day; he won by 10 lengths. But Wit finished closer to last-place Morello (one length) than to second-place Pappacap (four lengths).

That got Pletcher’s wheels turning. He enjoyed watching Emmanuel make a successful switch from dirt to grass. That 3-year-old finished third in the Grade 1 Blue Grass, which didn’t stop Pletcher from putting him on turf. In turn, Emmanuel rewarded his connections by winning the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge on June 4.

So Pletcher sent Wit off and running on the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga. His first workout on July 22 produced a bullet 47.95-second half-mile breeze that was best of 63 at that distance. Wit worked alongside graded stakes-placed Scottish Star. A subsequent four-furlong breeze eight days later came in at 50.29.

There’s green in that bloodline

“He seemed to really take to the turf. It seemed pretty clear that he took to it,�?Pletcher told the New York Racing Association. “It was a good, strong work and an energetic gallop out. It just seemed that he enjoyed himself out there.�?/p>

Finally, Pletcher went to the bloodlines. He pointed out Wit, a Practical Joke colt who went for $575K in the 2020 Keenland September Yearling Sale, came out of Numero d’Oro. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro carries plenty of green grass in her red bloodlines. Wit’s great-grandsire on his dam’s side, El Prado, won two Group 1 races in Ireland.

“The Medaglia d’Oro bottom side kind of made you think about (turf),�?Pletcher said. “It was mainly just about giving him a try on it. There was enough pedigree that suggested it could work.�?/p>

If it does, horseplayers have another intriguing turf contender to consider on the deepening New York grass circuit. One who could challenge Chad Brown’s endless barn of grass standouts.

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Put aside for the moment that Epicenter passed the $2 million mark in career earnings with the $330,000 payday. Shelve for an instant that Epicenter won his first race in four months �?after finishing second as the post-time favorite in the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

The takeaway from Epicenter’s fifth win in nine races is he’s once again, the 3-year-old to beat when it comes to year-end honors. Yes, there’s a flavor-of-the-month quality to this division; see “Haskell Stakes winner Cyberknife�?/a> for an example.

But the fluid nature of this division is further based largely on two factors: the depth this sophomore class shows and the fact that outside of the 20-horse free-for-all known as the Kentucky Derby, none of the top 3-year-olds have run against each other in any significant numbers. The trainers of the various top-shelf 3-year-olds have cherry-picked their spots even more so than usual, especially in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

The Travers is a demarcation line

That ends now. More accurately, it ends Aug. 27, with the Grade 1 Travers Stakes. That’s the race trainers such as Chad Brown (Zandon, Early Voting), Steve Asmussen (Epicenter), Brad Cox (Cyberknife) and Todd Pletcher (Charge It) circled in red ink. The winner of that race goes into the Breeders’ Cup Classic as first-among-equals in the 3-year-old class.

The plot line here circles back to Epicenter. He’s 5-for-9, with more than $2.2 million in the bank and one missed board in those nine starts. Three of his five victories came in graded stakes and a fourth in a black-type race. He finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness by a combined two lengths.

A Travers victory would make him the 14^th horse in history to pull off the Jim Dandy/Travers double. And yet, the colt considered the best all-around 3-year-old still lacks a Grade 1 victory. Asmussen is acutely aware of this gap in his star colt’s resume. And what the Travers means.

“It’s extremely rewarding off two tough races to bring him back in the winner’s circle where we think he belongs,�?Asmussen said after the race. �?In) a four-horse field, it’s always a lot of mobility. �?What I loved about it is the fact that (there is) another eighth in the Travers. It was his first race ever over Saratoga and we know what’s on the menu next. We want to be as ready as we possibly can for it.�?/p>

Epicenter took advantage of a small Jim Dandy field

Make no mistake. Epicenter won’t have the luxury of a four-horse field in the Travers. He got off to a slow start in the Jim Dandy and had to close in the final furlong. This isn’t Epicenter’s preferred running style and the short Jim Dandy field allowed him and Joel Rosario to adjust accordingly.

The Jim Dandy race dynamic flipped conventional wisdom on its head. Pace-presser Epicenter found himself in last on the backstretch. Closer Zandon found himself near the lead. Front-runner Early Voting found himself on the lead as usual �?but was outkicked in the stretch by not only Epicenter, but runner-up Zandon and third-place Tawny Port.

Early Voting held off Epicenter by 1 ¾ lengths en route to the Preakness title.

Brown left to ponder a strange race dynamic

“We sort of inherited the lead and that’s fine,�?Brown said after the race. “On paper, most tracks you’d say 12 and change (seconds for the first eighth) is not too bad, but this track has been pretty tiring. Clearly, Early Voting just didn’t handle this track. We’ll see how he comes back.

“As far as Zandon goes, he was a little closer than he probably wants to run. I don’t think (jockey) Flavien (Prat) had any other option. I thought he rode the horse fine. Hopefully, in a bigger field, I can get the horse back.�?/p>

Prat echoed those sentiments. He said he thought Epicenter and Early Voting would set a strong pace for Zandon to close into. Instead, Zandon broke well and put himself next to Early Voting.

Epicenter moves to head of the class — for now

“It’s probably not where he wants to be, but it was the natural thing,�?Prat said after the race.

There’s a month for Brown to “get his horse back,â€�?and for him to figure out what happened to Early Voting — who finished last of four. There’s a month for Cox to mull over sending Ohio Derby winner Tawny Port into the deep end of the 3-year-old pool â€�?the Travers.

And there’s a month remaining for Asmussen to keep his status as the trainer of the best 3-year-old in the country. Even as you hang an asterisk on it with the caption “for now.�?/p>

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He ended up making history.

Jackie’s Warrior won the Vanderbilt by two lengths Saturday, a victory that made him the first horse in Saratoga history to win Grade 1 races three consecutive years. He won the 2020 Hopeful as a 2-year-old and the H. Allen Jerkens as a sophomore last year.

This has trainer Steve Asmussen, who said earlier this week he ran out of superlatives to describe Jackie’s Warrior, searching for more. Along the way, he put Jackie’s Warrior’s feat into proper perspective.

“Saratoga �?the great racehorses that have won here and he’s the only one to do that. I just can’t say how much I have wanted that for him and am proud of it and Jackie’s Warrior has done it,�?Asmussen told the New York Racing Association’s Keith McCalmont. “He’s the whole package. He just has a tremendous amount of ability and confidence in himself. A game horse.�?/p>

Jackie’s Warrior’s record haul continued

Along with his fifth career Grade 1 victory, Jackie’s Warrior won his fifth Saratoga stakes race. According to Equibase, that ties him with standout Fourstardave atop that ladder. Along with the three Grade 1s, Jackie’s Warrior won the 2020 Grade 2 Saratoga Special and the 2021 Grade 2 Amsterdam.

“I wanted this more than you’re supposed to want things,�?Asmussen said about his record fourth Vanderbilt title. “Immortality, a record like that. We owe everything we have to these horses and when one comes along as special as him, you go through the crowd and see all the fans he has. He’s the only horse to have ever done that and I’m so proud of him and the whole team. You can’t imagine how much this horse means to the barn.�?/p>

Asmussen’s admitted he was nervous going into the six-furlong Vanderbilt, even saddling the 1/5 favorite and putting the Spa’s hottest rider �?Joel Rosario �?aboard. Rosario won his sixth stakes race at the Spa and second Grade 1, bookending his opening-weekend win aboard In Italian in the Diana Stakes.

‘Poised like a statue in the irons’

But even carrying a field-high 127 pounds, Jackie’s Warrior had things well in hand. He let Doc Amster set a quick, 22.39-second opening quarter-mile. Then, Rosario sent the Maclean’s Music colt coming into the turn and that was that. By the stretch call, Jackie’s Warrior led by 4 ½ lengths.

The Equibase race notes read that Jackie’s Warrior “accelerated clear without being asked into upper stretch, extended the advantage with the rider poised like a statue in the irons into the final furlong, remained well clear without the rider moving his hands an inch into the final sixteenth and prevailed very handily.�?/p>

It was that easy.

Jackie’s Warrior didn’t exactly bring value

At 1/5, Jackie’s Warrior paid $2.50 and $2.10. Kneedeepinsnow was the game, but overmatched, runner-up. At 22.80/1, he paid $7.70 to place. Willy Boy was third, five lengths back. There was no show wagering.

You’ve got two more chances to see Jackie’s Warrior run. Asmussen said he’ll return to Saratoga for the seven-furlong Grade 1 Forego on the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes undercard. After that is the Breeders’ Cup Sprint Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

“Those will be his last two races and then  he is off to Spendthrift (Farm) for his stud career,�?Asmussen said.

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He’s officially out of superlatives. And even after looking at Jackie’s Warrior’s resume, Asmussen realizes simple is best.

“He’s 4-for-4 at Saratoga, all graded stakes. It’s a wonderful opportunity and we’re very much looking forward to it,” Asmussen said. “He’s an excellent horse and in interviews about him, you want to say something different, but he has just been consistently brilliant.â€�?/p>

That’s an accurate description for last year’s Champion Male Sprinter, who comes into the six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up 6-for-his-last-7. Since finishing second in the 2021 Woody Stephens to Drain the Clock, Jackie’s Warrior won two Grade 1s, three Grade 2s and a Grade 3. His only hiccup was an uncharacteristic sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.

One of those Grade 2s, the Amsterdam at Saratoga, not only kept Jackie’s Warrior’s Spa record perfect, but avenged that loss to Drain the Clock. Jackie’s Warrior beat him by 7 ¼ lengths in the rematch.

Vanderbilt the logical next step in the process

Jackie’s Warrior’s average Equibase Speed Figure in those seven races �?even counting the Breeders’ Cup Sprint �?is 108.6. He’s won his three 2022 races by a combined 9 ¾ lengths.

That explains why you’re seeing Jackie’s Warrior at Saratoga. And why you’re seeing him carry a 1/5 morning line. Asmussen built the 4-year-old’s season toward rectifying that oversight. The Vanderbilt is the latest step in the process, one starting with the Grade 3 Count Fleet Handicap at Oaklawn in April. It moved to victory in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs and the Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park in June.

“He was put back in training this year with the Breeders’ Cup in mind. Last year, he started out in a two-turn race and defined himself in one-turn races,�?Asmussen said. “This year, we’ve had less racing to this point and a fresher horse. We’re sure of what we want to do with him. We have three dominant victories and three races left on his calendar. We want to be purposeful and exact.�?/p>

Not even Vanderbilt would have cashed last year’s event

That continues with the Vanderbilt, where five challengers attempt pulling off what 34/1 shot Lexitonian did in last year’s Vanderbilt. The first and likely most recognizable name is Ny Traffic.

Yes, that Ny Traffic (6/1). The one-time router who nearly beat Horse of the Year Authentic in the 2020 Haskell and who finished eighth in the 2020 Kentucky Derby and ninth in that year’s Preakness.

After Ny Traffic finished second in last year’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. reinvented him into a sprinter. He won three minor sprint stakes: two at Belmont Park and one at Penn National. Two of those came in six-furlong affairs this year.

Yes, Ny Traffic has seen plenty of traffic

But never mind a Grade 1 score.  Ny Traffic has yet to win a graded stakes. Any graded stakes. He finished fifth in his last graded outing: March’s Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes. He makes his 20^th lifetime start in the Vanderbilt.

“Since we cut him back, he’s improved to run some fast numbers,�?Joseph Jr. said. “Before, he was on the Derby trail and he kind of always didn’t finish up his longer races going a mile, a mile and an eighth. So, since we cut him back, that seems to be what he wants to do.�?/p>

The other name of note is Long Range Toddy. A millionaire 6-year-old, Long Range Toddy makes his 29^th career start looking for his first victory in 40 months. That neck score came at the 2019 Grade 2 Rebel Stakes �?during Long Range Toddy’s 3-year-old season. He has three graded placings since, most recently in April at the Grade 3 Commonwealth on a sloppy Keeneland track.

Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap/Saratoga

Morning Line (Jockey/Trainer)

1. Kneedeepinsnow, 12/1 (Ricardo Santana Jr./Matt Shirer)
2. Willy Boi, 8/1 (Chantal Sutherland/Jorge Delgado)
3. Ny Traffic, 6/1 (Irad Ortiz Jr./Saffie Joseph Jr.)
4. Jackie’s Warrior, 1/5 (Joel Rosario/Steve Asmussen)
5. Long Range Toddy, 15/1 (Luis Saez/Dallas Stewart)
6. Doc Amster, 20/1 (Javier Castellano/Jorge Delgado)

The last time the Dallas Stewart charge went up against Jackie’s Warrior came at the Churchill Downs. There, he finished sixth, a non-threatening 12 ½ lengths behind.

The Vanderbilt is the eighth of 11 races on Saratoga’s Saturday card.

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There is no truth-in-advertising here. Not with this year’s 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy, which figures to answer more questions than who’s hot going into next month’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes. The winner of this race gets more than momentum. He leaps to the forefront of a constantly shifting 3-year-old class.

The truth-in-advertising about this being a Grade 2 doesn’t apply when you have one Triple Crown race winner: Preakness Stakes champion Early Voting. Not when you have the Kentucky Derby’s third-place horse: Zandon. And not when you have the runner-up and post-time favorite in both those races: Epicenter.

Again, another race that makes up for a lack of quantity — there are only five horses here — with A-list quality. Early Voting, Epicenter and Zandon combined for more than $3.2 million in earnings and a 9-5-2 record in 17 races. That means these three finished in the money a combined 16 times in 17 races.

Epicenter closing in on $2 million

Epicenter, the leading money winner in the field with more than $1.94 million, spoiled the perfecto when he finished sixth in his September debut at Churchill Downs. He hasn’t finished outside the exacta since (4-3-0).

This isn’t surprising, considering Epicenter’s last three races produced triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures. He clocked a 102 in his Preakness runner-up, a 100 in his Derby runner-up and a 102 for his Louisiana Derby victory. The son of Not This Time hasn’t run since Early Voting beat him in the Preakness 2 ½ months ago.

For the Jim Dandy, expect Epicenter â€�?the 3/2 favorite — to stalk the pace, then pounce at the turn. Expect a race similar to his Derby outing. There, he was in eighth early, although the incendiary early pace likely hampered his victory chances. By the far turn, he was in the lead and was holding Zandon off until Rich Strike went by both 50 yards from the wire.

How does a $2 million horse not have a Grade 1 win?

Amazingly, none of Epicenter’s four victories came in a Grade 1. Jockey Joel Rosario, who already owns five graded stakes victories at Saratoga this summer, tries to rectify that oversight.

“Those short fields are almost like four-dimensional match races,â€�?said Winchell Thoroughbreds Racing Manager David Fiske, Epicenter’s owner. “It gets to be a rider’s race. Especially after watching Joel ride last weekend, I don’t think he’ll be too far off the pace.

“I find it interesting that he’s the only (top) 3-year-old without a Grade 1 on his resume. Everyone at the top of the list has one and he’s been close a couple of times. The margin in the Derby and the Preakness was probably a little more than two-fifths of a second, so that’s disappointing. But we’re pretty confident that at some point in the future, there’s a Grade 1 with his name on it.�?/p>

Early Voting can wire this Jim Dandy

Early Voting (8/5) checked that box with his Preakness win. He too, hasn’t run since holding off Epicenter and Creative Minister (who finished third) at Pimlico. That, however, doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy. Trainer Chad Brown has him on a consistent work tab, one producing three bullet works in six workouts since June 19.

En route to that 3-for-4 record, Early Voting’s only loss came when he lost by a neck to eventual Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal in the Wood Memorial. That exacta produced two-thirds of this year’s Triple Crown winners.

Where Early Voting should thrive here is with his tactical speed. He will be out in front, likely with Epicenter not far back, letting him do all the heavy lifting. The trick will be not to let Early Voting roll out unhurried and catch that rhythm that carried him to that Preakness title.

Brown wanted Zandon here from Derby Day forward

This is where Zandon (2/1) comes in. He punched his Grade 1 ticket by winning the Blue Grass at Keeneland in April. Since that Derby show finish, Zandon hasn’t entered a starting gate for keeps. Brown, who trains him as well, gave him the rest of the spring and early summer off to prep for the Travers.

That’s where the Jim Dandy comes in. And where Zandon comes in here is as a closer who will be there to pick up any pieces should a speed duel break out between his Triple Crown rivals.

Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes/Saratoga

Morning Line (Jockey/Trainer)

1. Western River, 20/1 (Ricardo Santana Jr./Rodolphe Brisset)
2. Epicenter, 3/2 (Joel Rosario/Steve Asmussen)
3. Tawny Port, 8/1 (Irad Ortiz Jr./Brad Cox)
4. Early Voting, 8/5 (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown)
5. Zandon, 2/1 (Flavien Prat/Chad Brown)

This is what he did in the Blue Grass, complete with scintillating Flavien Prat piloting in the irons. It’s what he did to hit the Derby board. And it’s what he did finishing second to Mo Donegal in a contentious Grade 2 Remsen Stakes. With Mo Donegal sidelined, Zandon is the best closer in the 3-year-old division.

“I really believe that they both have established themselves for quite some time now to be two of the top-five 3-year-old dirt colts in the country pretty consistently throughout most of the year,�?Brown said about Early Voting and Zandon. “The order might change around those top five and the fifth horse that’s in that group might change a little bit, but they’re consistently in that group. We’re at the midway marker, so there’s a lot more racing to take place and these horses are going to have to continue to maintain strong campaigns to stay in that group.�?/p>

Outside of those three, scratching for attention, is another closer: Tawny Port (8/1). After finishing 16^th in the Derby, White Abarrio downshifted into the Grade 3 Ohio Derby. A good call by Brad Cox, who watched the Pioneerof The Nile colt win the Ohio Derby. That explains why Cox wheeled him back into the A-list races.

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Last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old hasn’t run since going gate-to-wire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Del Mar. That victory put the finishing touches on a 3-for-3 career launch and earned Corniche that Eclipse Award as Champion 2-Year-Old.

This was an easy selection for Eclipse voters who weren’t stuck on the fact Corniche was a Bob Baffert charge at the time. Several voters went on the record saying they wouldn’t vote for any Baffert horses in the wake of the Medina Spirit/Kentucky Derby betamethasone case.

Two of Corniche’s three victories came in Grade 1s: the aforementioned Juvenile and the American Pharoah a month earlier at Santa Anita Park.

Here was a one-time Derby futures favorite

This, of course, put Corniche on the radar of Derby future wager watchers. Corniche topped the first Derby future odds of 2022. He was listed at +1350 at Circa and +600 at Caesars/William Hill. But he went on the shelf after his connections didn’t like his January workouts. He went to WinStar Farm in Kentucky, where he spent the winter and spring finding his form. Owners KC Weiner and Peter Fluor didn’t want to push their $1.5 million colt into a Triple Crown run he wasn’t ready to tackle.

Corniche went back to work in April, putting in two works at WinStar. Meantime — citing Baffert’s 90-day suspension — Weiner and Fluor transferred Corniche to Pletcher’s barn. He joined the New York-based trainer at Belmont Park, where he hit the track again in mid-June. Corniche’s July 9 workout was a 1:02.29 bullet that was the best of nine that day.

He’s worked out twice at Saratoga, the last time being a half-mile in 48.02 on July 24.

Corniche facing strange track, strange distance

The Amsterdam is going to be unfamiliar to Corniche in more ways than one. He’s obviously never run at Saratoga and the 6 1/2 furlongs isn’t a typical distance for a router. But Pletcher didn’t get the “Hall of Fame” prefix next to his name without seeing the entire chessboard. He knows where the deep end of the pool begins for a horse who hasn’t run in nearly nine months.

Plus, given Corniche’s record, most allowances are out. They’re typically restricted to winners of two or fewer races or non-stakes winners.

“There are no soft spots to land with a horse like him that’s already won three races, so we’re hoping we have him ready enough for a good showing in here,” Pletcher told the New York Racing Association. “We didn’t want to run him in a race like the Jim Dandy or the Curlin off a lengthy layoff going nine furlongs.”

There’s history here

This brings us back to the father/son tale. Pletcher won the Amsterdam four times. His first victory came with Quality Road in 2009. Not only is Quality Road Corniche’s sire, but the Amsterdam was his first start for Pletcher. The colt moved to Pletcher’s barn from Jimmy Jerkens’.

Quality Road also owns the Saratoga 6 1/2-furlong track record of 1:13.74, which he set with his 2 1/4-length Amsterdam victory.

“We’re hoping that with the good fortune we had with his sire, Quality Road, and him making his debut for us in the Amsterdam — which produced a track-record performance — that hopefully some of that good fortune will follow through here,” Pletcher said.

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The nine-furlong Curlin is restricted to 3-year-olds who haven’t won a graded event at one mile or longer this year. It’s used as a combination testing race/launching platform for the deep end of the sophomore pool: the Grade 1 Travers Stakes. Run well in the Curlin and the Travers becomes a realistic next step.

In the 13-year history of this race, only one horse pulled off the Curlin-Travers double. That was V.E. Day in 2014.

Trainer Kenny McPeek is optimistic Creative Minister can merit discussion here. Provided he runs like he did in the Preakness Stakes. His 100 Beyer Speed Figure from that race not only reflected a third-place finish, but is the best Beyer in the Curlin field.

Can Creative Minister dominate here?

That excited McPeek, a minority owner of the Creative Cause colt. Because Creative Minister wasn’t Triple Crown nominated, McPeek and his connections plunked down $150,000 to supplement Creative Minister into the Preakness. They did that after he romped to victory in an allowance on the Kentucky Derby undercard two weeks earlier.

They were rewarded when Creative Minister ran a strong race in his first graded stakes outing.

“It was an excellent race. He stepped up to a high level real quick there and he’s going to need to run back to that,” McPeek said. I think this will be a good spot. It should be a race that sets him up good for a Travers run.”

Manic Preakness, depressive Belmont

That was the manic half of Creative Minister’s Triple Crown run. The depressive half came three weeks later in the Belmont Stakes. McPeek was less excited after his flat, fifth-place finish at Big Sandy. That fifth, coming by 12 lengths, was Creative Minister’s first off-the-board finish.

“He didn’t handle the racetrack at Belmont. He struggled with the surface over there for some reason and unfortunately, that didn’t work out,” McPeek said.

Creative Minister gets stablemate Wolfe County for company in the nine-horse race. He arrives off a score at Churchill Downs in a 1 3/16-mile maiden special weight last month.

Creative Minister has a running mate here

The two worked out together Saturday on Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track with Creative Minister firing a 1:00.66 five-furlong bullet.

“They worked well. It was a good maintenance breeze and (they) got a good blow out of it,” McPeek said.

Joining them in the Curlin are Chad Brown’s Artorius, who’s making his stakes debut. Todd Pletcher answers with allowance winner Be Better and stakes winner Make It Big. Bill Mott sends Gilded Age.

Golden Glider, who finished eighth and last in the Belmont Stakes, is one of three two-time winners rounding out the field.

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