On Saturday evening at Saratoga Race Course, the highlight of the season’s meet will go off at 6:35 pm ET, with the 157th running of the Travers Stakes. And while the race is usually comprised of a small field with a couple of heavy favorites expected to duel for the win, this year’s version is quite different.
It is a 10-horse field, highlighted by Golden Tempo, the upset winner of the Kentucky Derby. Golden Tempo went on to win the Belmont Stakes, which was run at Saratoga while the eponymous track is being renovated. Napoleon Solo, the winner of the Preakness Stakes, is also in the field.
Golden Tempo was the opening favorite at 5-to-2, but in an indication of just how competitive this race is expected to be, Napoleon Solo isn’t the No. 2 horse on the board–in fact, he’s 8-to-1. Renegade sits as the second favorite, at 3-to-1, coming off a win at the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on August 1. It was Renegade who Golden Tempo edged at the wire in the Kentucky Derby, and Renegade went on to finish third in the Belmont, too.
Travers Stakes Betting: A Brad Cox 12-to-1 Shot?
Still, the numbers on those three well-accomplished entries, as well as the depth of this field, seem to have bettors smelling an upset at when it comes to Travers Stakes betting. There are certainly some top candidates for that.
At NYRA Bets, handicapper Matthew DeSantis is going with a high-value pick. He writes: “All year, I have been waiting for a ‘new shooter’ to emerge in the three-year-old crop who I believed could challenge the upper echelon of this year’s group, and I believe I found him in #2 Leading Change (12-1) for trainer Brad Cox. … I have always liked lightly raced horses with ascending speed figures who have yet to run their best race while they are stepping up in class because that’s when you can get them at a price, and Leading Change checks the boxes in terms of connections, pedigree, and running style to make me believe he has a huge shot to upset the Travers (G1) on Saturday.”
The Puma Could Pounce at 8-to-1
For another handicapper, J. Keeler Johnson of Bloodhorse.com, the doubts around the favorites are the same when it comes to Travers Stakes betting. He lands on The Puma, who won the Tampa Derby in March and has only raced twice since (he was fourth in the Haskell Stakes).
He writes: “I have questions about Golden Tempo and Renegade, I find their morning-line odds to be shorter than ideal. I’d rather back a midrange longshot in this competitive field, which is why I’ve landed on #4 The Puma (8-1) as my top choice. … Cementing The Puma as my top choice is his pedigree. He’s a son of two-time champion Essential Quality out of the Declaration of War mare Eve of War. This is a pedigree packed with stamina, so I’m optimistic The Puma will enjoy stretching out over 1 1/4 miles in the Travers.”
Travers Stakes Betting: JK Tabs Sea Strike at 5-to-1
And there is Saratoga fixture Jonathan Kinchen, who has his eye on a fast-improving horse, Sea Strike (5-to-1). This colt does not have the background of his competitors, with only one stakes race under his belt–a win in the Curlin at Saratoga on August 2. But Kinchen has his ear to the ground in upstate New York.
As he said on the “In the Money” podcast: “On paper, Sea Strike, to me, probably ran the best last race, has the most upside, can run triple-digit numbers. Just feels like a horse that, there is a ceiling that is higher than what we already know. While I feel like we know who Golden Tempo, Renegade, Napoleon Solo … we kind of know who those horses are. I have heard three people say that Sea Strike’s last work, and one of them say his last two works, is the best work they’ve ever seen from a horse, ever. Three people.
“Based on what I see on paper and what this horse might be, I am not going to miss the party.”
2026 Travers Stakes Betting: Handicappers Tab Big-Money Upset Picks