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NYRA to host Travers 2-day Pick 6 wager

by Mary Eddy

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host the Travers 2-Day Pick 6, a special two-day all-stakes wager featuring all Grade 1 races, kicking off with the $500,000 Personal Ensign on Friday’s card and concluding with five races on Saturday’s lucrative Travers Day card at Saratoga Race Course.

The Travers 2-Day Pick 6, featuring a $0.20 minimum and low 15 percent takeout, includes a mandatory payout.

The Travers 2-Day Pick 6 sequence will kick off in Race 9 on Friday at 5:44 p.m. Eastern with the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, a nine-furlong test for older fillies and mares that will see the reigning Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Nest rematch with multiple Grade 1-winning mare Clairiere amidst a talented field that includes last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks victress Secret Oath.

The sequence concludes with five races on Saturday’s Travers Day program, beginning in Race 7 at 3:07 p.m. with the Grade 1, $500,000 Forego as reigning Champion Male Sprinter Elite Power leads a field of top older sprinters, two races before Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert sends out two top contenders in Arabian Lion and Fort Bragg in the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in Race 9 [4:19 p.m.]

The sequence continues in Race 10 [4:55 p.m.] with the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint that will see 2021 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Echo Zulu square off against fellow Eclipse Award Champion Goodnight Olive and multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter Matareya. 

The penultimate leg [Race 11, 5:31 p.m.] will see a competitive renewal of the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer for older horses traveling 1 1/2 miles over the inner turf as Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up Stone Age faces European invader and 2021 Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational-winner Bolshoi Ballet.

The wager concludes with the 154th running of the 10-furlong Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers [Race 12, 6:11 p.m.] as Mage, National Treasure and Arcangelo, the respective winners of each leg of this year’s Triple Crown, take on reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte in an enthralling renewal of the historic test for sophomores.

In addition, Travers Day will offer a middle Pick 5 with a mandatory payout starting in Race 8 [3:43 p.m.] and ending in Race 12 with the Grade 1 Travers, as well as the traditional $1 Pick 6 that starts in Race 8.

Travers 2-Day Pick 6 – August 25-26

Leg A: Saratoga – Friday, Race 9, G1 Personal Ensign (5:44 p.m. EST)

Leg B: Saratoga – Saturday, Race 7, G1 Forego (3:07 p.m.)

Leg C: Saratoga – Saturday, Race 9, G1 H. Allen Jerkens (4:19 p.m.)

Leg D: Saratoga – Saturday, Race 10, G1 Ballerina (4:55 p.m.)

Leg E: Saratoga – Saturday, Race 11, G1 Sword Dancer (5:31 p.m.)

Leg F: Saratoga – Saturday, Race 12, G1 Travers (6:11 p.m.)

An expanded edition of Saratoga Live will begin at 11:30 a.m. on FS2 with continuing coverage on FS1 at 1:30 p.m. FOX SARATOGA SATURDAY will then present live coverage and analysis of the Travers Day stakes action beginning at 3 p.m.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.