Francesca LeDonne Photo

Tiz the Law a 'star pupil' on and off the track

by NYRA Press Office

• Tiz the Law a 'star pupil' on and off the track
• Imprimis seeks a winning a return in Troy (G3)
• Wicked Whisper targets second Grade 1 win in $300K Longines Test
• Max Player looks to get back on winning track in Runhappy Travers (G1)
• Brown taking another shot at Runhappy Travers (G1) with Country Grammer
• Rookie Report: Mutasaabeq will try to parlay his flashy morning speed to the afternoon
• A trio of Pick 5s and Pick 4s lined up for Saturday's Runhappy Travers (G1) card

Belmont Stakes hero Tiz the Law, born at Sequel Stallions in Hudson, New York and raised in Versailles, Kentucky by breeder Twin Creeks Farm, is the even-money morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers at Saratoga Race Course.

The two outfits enjoy a strong relationship, with Sequel Stallions serving as home to the Twin Creeks Racing Stables' campaigned stallions Mission Impazible and Destin.

Becky Thomas, owner of Sequel Stallions, said Tiz the Law, a son of Constitution, displayed intelligence and athletic promise from his very first steps.

"We just showed him what we wanted him to do and he listened," said Thomas. "We try very hard as a farm to be able to breed and raise a good horse and Tiz the Law is the pinnacle of what we hope for."

Randy Gullatt, who manages Twin Creeks Farm for director Steve Davison, has been associated with Tiz the Law since the colt and his Grade 2-winning dam Tizfiz shipped to Kentucky just 90 days after being foaled.

Tiz the Law excelled at the 230-acre farm before shipping back up to New York for the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred Yearling Sale, and Gullatt said that not much has changed in terms of the horse's demeanor. 

"He was very similar to what he is now," Gullatt said. "Just very easy to manage, very happy, very intelligent and very pleasant to be around."

Thomas said Tiz the Law exuded class ahead of the sale, where he was purchased for $110,000 by Jack Knowlton of Sackatoga Stables.

"I have found that horses who are smart may go to a place with new surroundings, look around and just process their new environment, but those kinds of horses are the ones that make good racehorses," said Thomas. "You can go from one place to the next, ship them and move them because they're smart. They want to please you, they stay in their tub, they do the right thing, and they show well at the sale. Tiz the Law was a class act and a star pupil all the way through.

"I wish we could have all babies and yearlings like Tiz the Law," Thomas added. "They're the kind that the veterinarian doesn't know because nothing is wrong with them. Your help goes to the sale and lead them out because they aren't problematic. He's one of those horses that are always wanting to please, did everything right, and are well-balanced."

Tiz the Law was a winner at first asking at Saratoga for trainer Barclay Tagg on August 8, 2019, exactly one year removed from Saturday's Runhappy Travers.

The talented bay has since flourished winning three Grade 1 races including last year's Champagne at Belmont Park, the Florida Derby in March at Gulfstream Park and most recently, the Belmont Stakes, where on June 20 he became the first New York-bred in 138 years to win the American classic.

Gullatt and Thomas have both identified Tiz the Law's athleticism as his most outstanding attribute.

"I think 'athletic' would be the word I use more commonly than others," Thomas said. "He's not a big, stretchy horse, he's a medium-sized horse. Tiz the Law, even though he wasn't a big overpowering horse, he had really good length in his back and those horses cover a lot of ground and they have a lot of room to reach up under them when they're moving. In his case, how he runs is how he walked."

"He was a very athletic horse," Gullatt concurred. "He had a very good hind leg on him. I think his mind was just so good. He was very easy to please and loved his job. He wasn't an overly big horse, but it was all his athleticism and his mind that were his biggest strengths."

In a game of ups and downs, Thomas said she takes a strong sense of pride in being associated with the development of a horse of Tiz the Law's caliber. 

"We sure kiss a lot of frogs before we get to that prince," Thomas said. "We work really hard to produce a product that succeeds in the sales ring and on the racetrack. It's important to me to be associated with these types of horses and types of mares. It's everything we work for."

Gullatt won 89 races as a trainer before switching careers, and he praised Tagg for being able to keep Tiz the Law in top form throughout the year.

"What's amazing to me is that it's very difficult to do well for as long as Barclay has had this horse do well and just stay at that peak level," Gullatt said. "So, I think it just goes to show the strength of the horse and how well he's fit Barclay's program. It's a match made in heaven."

Fans of Tiz the Law can look forward to seeing his Twin Creeks Racing-owned 2-year-old half-sister Angel Oak, by Mission Impazible, make her debut this fall for trainer Todd Pletcher.

"She was up at Belmont and was off one day, so we decided to back off and give her a little break," said Gullatt. "She's currently at WinStar but she's training every day and we hope to have her ready in the fall. There's a New York-sired stakes race in December that we have circled that I would love to make."

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Imprimis seeks a winning a return in Troy (G3)

Breeze Easy's Imprimis, a 6-year-old Broken Vow gelding, returns off a nine-month layoff as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Troy, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 4-year-olds and upward at Saratoga.

Trained by Joe Orseno, Imprimis won 5-of-7 starts in 2018 but the turf sprint specialist brought his game to another level last season when earning a career-best 110 Beyer Speed Figure in the five-furlong Silks Run off a six-month layoff at Gulfstream followed by making the grade in the Grade 2 Shakertown traveling 5 1/2-furlongs at Keeneland.

Imprimis shipped to Ascot last June for the Group 1 King's Stand, a five-furlong sprint on the straightaway under Frankie Dettori, and more than held his own when sixth, defeated just 4 3/4-lengths by Blue Point.

"The experience at Ascot was second to none, but I wish I would have run him in the Diamond Jubilee [six furlongs] instead of the King's Stand because I believe in my heart he could have ran third in there," said Orseno. "I thought the five furlongs would have been better for him, but he ran against the best horses in the world and Frankie got off him and said, 'Don't worry, this horse was waiting on a turn and it cost him.'"

The dark bay gelding, bred in Florida by Craig L. Wheeler, made three starts in a brief fall campaign following his European adventure when fourth in the Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs; third in the Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland; and a last-out sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November.

"I really believe when I sent him to Ascot off the Silks Run and the Shakertown, that he was the best grass sprinter in the country," said Orseno. "The trip to England didn't really knock him out but it took him a while to recover. He had troubled trips at Kentucky Downs and Keeneland or he may have won both of those going into the Breeders' Cup."

During the offseason, Imprimis had a breathing issue corrected with a pair of surgeries.

"We knew he needed throat surgery all along, so we waited until after the Breeders' Cup. The first surgery failed a little bit, so we went ahead and did a second one which was a total success," said Orseno. "It took us some extra time but the plan all along was to run four times this year, so if we get three starts into him before the Breeders' Cup that will be plenty. The Troy has been on my radar since last year."

Orseno said Imprimis, who worked a sharp half-mile in 47.62 Saturday on the Gulfstream main track, has arrived at Saratoga in good order to the care of Spa-based conditioner Horatio DePaz.

"He shipped in to Saratoga on Wednesday and he's doing fine," said Orseno, who will be looking for his first graded win at the Spa since Perfect Sting captured the Grade 2 Diana in 2000. "I got a good report this morning that he jogged the wrong way on the main track with the pony. He's there, he's healthy and he's ready."

Orseno said a wet turf wouldn't bother Imprimis who captured the 2018 Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico on very soft going.

"They went five-eighths in 1:03 at Pimlico that day - they were sinking to their knees - and he drew away from them. Soft is OK for this horse," said Orseno.

Imprimis, who will exit post 1, will be reunited with jockey Jose Ortiz who guided the gelding to victory in the 2018 Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park. Orseno said he expects Imprimis to perform well off the layoff. 

"He's a very good fresh horse and he's ready to run," said Orseno. "Did I do enough as a trainer? Most trainers never think they did enough. I'm not crazy about the one-hole but it's the hand we were dealt and fortunately we have a top rider on him that knows him, has won on him and to me it's the right race to bring him back in.

"It's a competitive field and just because he's 8-5, I'm not going to get cocky about it," added Orseno. "It's Saratoga and when you go there you better be able to run. Hopefully, we bring our 'A' game."

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Wicked Whisper targets second Grade 1 win in $300K Longines Test

Owner Alex Lieblong said he is hopeful that his filly Wicked Whisper can make a good showing in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test at Saratoga Race Course, where she will attempt a second Grade 1 victory.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the daughter of second crop sire Liam's Map won last year's Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park after winning on debut at the Spa. Following a fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Wicked Whisper did not return to action until July, where she was a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland.

"She needed the race, but with this bunch, she better have her running shoes on," said Lieblong, who owns Wicked Whisper with his wife JoAnn. "She came out of the Breeders' Cup with a splint on one side and then she ended up with a splint on her other side. So Steve has nursed her along and gave her the time she needed. Hopefully she'll show up. It's a tough bunch she's up against."

Lieblong, a native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, is no stranger to Grade 1 success at the Spa having owned two-time Sword Dancer winner Telling [2009-10]; The Big Beast, who won the 2014 King's Bishop [now the H. Allen Jerkens]; and 2015 Alabama victor Embellish the Lace.

Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. piloted Wicked Whisper to her debut victory and will be reunited with the chestnut filly from post 4 in the six-horse field.

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Max Player looks to get back on winning track in Runhappy Travers (G1)

George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player, whose two-race win streak concluded when third in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes in June, has the chance to return to his winning ways in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers.

The 151st running of the 1 ¼-mile Mid-Summer Derby will mark just the fifth career start for Max Player, a 3 ¼-length winner of the Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile Withers in his 3-year-old debut on February 1 at Aqueduct.

Trained by Linda Rice, Max Player didn't run back until the Belmont, shortened to 1 1/8 miles in leading off the revamped Triple Crown lineup. The Travers offers 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers for the next leg, the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on September 5.

"I knew from February to June, based on the way he was training, that he was going to take a big step forward. Obviously he needed to," Rice said at Wednesday's post-position draw. "This time around, I don't know that we're going to see the same progression we did from February to June, but if he takes baby steps that would be good [to] get us to September."

Max Player will be the second career Travers starter for Rice, the only woman to win a training title at Saratoga. The 2009 meet champion was fourth in the 2014 Travers with Kid Cruz.

Rice opted to keep most of her string downstate this summer at Belmont, where Max Player has done the bulk of his training. He arrived in Saratoga Wednesday afternoon and went to the track Thursday and Friday.

"He's trained fine. I've been training at Belmont, not at Saratoga, which is a little unusual," Rice said. "Coming into the Belmont he was off a 5 ½-month break, so I trained him pretty aggressively. Coming into this race, I backed off him a little bit, [with] a little bit more maintenance breezes. We weren't quite as aggressive with him, but I think he's ready."

Joel Rosario, aboard for the first time in the Belmont, rides back from post 4 in a field of eight led by even-money program favorite Tiz the Law, the 3 ¾-length winner of the Belmont considered the top 3-year-old in training.

"I'm OK with post 4. I'd rather try to save a little ground in the first turn, on both turns, and not get caught too far outside," Rice said. "Joel, this will be the second time that he's ridden the horse. It was a learning curve last time. He watched his previous races, he saw that the horse doesn't run into kickback very well, so I think based on the learning curve he was a little too far back [in the Belmont], had a little too much to do. I'd like to think that Joel will work a little more aggressively to keep him closer."

The late-running Max Player will be stretching out to 10 furlongs for the first time. He has never been worse than third in any of his four starts, winning a one-mile maiden special weight last December at Parx in his juvenile finale, and Rice is hoping to see an honest pace for her closer.

"Racing's funny," Rice said. "Sometimes when they run shorter distances they go faster early and you have a better chance to close with a horse like him that has a strong closing kick, so on occasion it works against you."

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Brown taking another shot at Runhappy Travers (G1) with Country Grammer

An opportunity to run at a desired distance, in the race he's wanted to win more than any other but has yet to add to his already lengthy list of accomplishments, was too tempting to pass up for trainer Chad Brown.

The Mechanicville, N.Y. native will send out Paul Pompa, Jr.'s Country Grammer in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers for 3-year-olds, the highlight of both the Saratoga season and a loaded 12-race program featuring five graded-stakes worth $1.95 million in purses.

Country Grammer will be the 11th Travers starter for Brown, his best finish coming with Gift Box, who ran fourth in 2016. Growing up a half-hour south of Saratoga, where his family has gathered at the same backyard picnic table on Travers Day for decades, Brown is hoping to break through in a year when coronavirus protocols will prevent fans from attending.

"I was thinking about that; if I finally win and nobody's here, does it count?" Brown said. "It's so depressing to not have the fans here, but at least they have the meet going. NYRA's done a super job, at least from the horsemen's side, to make it feel comfortable as they can. The racing product's been super, as you can see from the wagering, and the surface is extremely safe. The Travers will be a little different, but we'll take it if we can get it."

Country Grammer enters the 1 ¼-mile Travers off a neck victory over fellow Mid-Summer Derby aspirant Caracaro in the Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan on July 16, opening day at Saratoga. He has never gone less than a mile in any of his five races, and Brown said he has been relishing the chance to go further.

"Two turns is his thing, and we've been wanting to get a mile and a quarter all along," Brown said. "Hopefully this horse will get the distance. I'm confident he can. He's going to have to take a step forward in this race and hope a couple of the top contenders can't go that far."

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Country Grammer from post 2 in a field of eight led by even-money program favorite Tiz the Law, the Grade 1 Florida Derby and Belmont Stakes winner this year, and Grade 3-winning California shipper Uncle Chuck.

"I prefer more time in between races with my horses, but I thought it was a great opportunity to take another shot at the Travers. It's a little bit of a shorter field than normal and the Kentucky Derby, some people waiting for that," Brown said. "It's a unique year to maybe give it a shot with a horse that keeps improving. Even though we're running on short rest, I think the reward is probably a little bigger than the risk."

Prior to the Peter Pan, Country Grammer ran third in a 1 1/16-mile allowance on June 4 at Belmont Park, his first start since finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in February at Gulfstream Park in his sophomore debut. He debuted on the Belmont turf last fall before breaking his maiden second time out going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct.

"We just drew a line through the race at Belmont. He's really never even trained well there. That's why I debuted him on the turf, actually, the first start of his life. It's something I wasn't really looking to do when I got him in," Brown said. "He looked like a dirt horse but he just didn't train well enough so I took a shot and he didn't run good on the turf. When I got him over to Aqueduct, anywhere away from Belmont, his races have been good on the dirt."

Brown has been pleased with how Country Grammer has taken to Saratoga's main track, newly refurbished for 2020, in both his training and racing.

"It's definitely more similar to Aqueduct than it is Belmont. It reminds me of Keeneland, too, a little bit. This new surface has been great," Brown said. "It's my 13th year of training racehorses on my own, and this is one the best racetracks I've ever trained on or raced on."

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Rookie Report: Mutasaabeq will try to parlay his flashy morning speed to the afternoon

Before stakes action kicks off on Saturday's Runhappy Travers Day card at Saratoga, two maiden special weights will see potential juvenile stars search for their first career victory.

In Race 5, a 5 ½-furlong event over the main track, Shadwell Stable will debut Mutasaabeq,a well-bred Into Mischief colt that has been training forwardly for trainer Todd Pletcher, posting two bullet works from the gate over the Saratoga main track, the most recent of which was a half-mile breeze in 46.40 seconds on August 1.

"He's a gorgeous horse and Todd is very, very excited about him," said Shadwell Stables' general manager Rick Nichols. "We hope that he runs a big race. I'm sure Todd will let the jockey find his own way."

Bred in Kentucky by Black Ridge Stables, Mutasaabeq was purchased by Shadwell as a weanling at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale for $425,000. Out of the Scat Daddy mare Downside Scenario, he is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Cool Cowboy.

"He was just a really nice individual. He was correct, good-looking and by the right kind of sire," Nichols said.

Jockey Luis Saez will pilot Mutasaabeq from post 7.

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle Bottle Rocket Man for owners Peter Brant and Robert LaPenta.

The bay son of Into Mischief is out of the Distorted Humor mare Gaudete, who is a half-sister to prominent sire Munnings. Purchased for $350,000 from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale, Bottle Rocket Man is a direct descendant of prominent broodmare La Troienne.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano will be aboard from post 6.

In Race 6 on Saturday, 2-year-olds will take to the Mellon turf course going 1 1/16 miles.

Trainer Al Stall, Jr. will saddle Mystical Man on behalf of Columbine Stable. Purchased for $155,000, the bay son of leading third-crop sire Mucho Macho Man is out of the North Light broodmare Chasida, who is a half-sister to four-time Grade 1-winning multimillionaire Private Zone.

"Keith Dickey bought him for us at the March sale. He's an unusual 2-year-old in that the second he got away from the sale, he started getting bigger and stronger and filling out," Stall, Jr. said. "He had a growth spurt after the sale. He looks like a different horse 60 days after the sale, in a good way. We got him started, took our time with him, and he hasn't missed a day or anything. He's a January foal. He's long and leggy. He's nice, but we just didn't think he'd be a three-quarter horse like these monster Into Mischiefs. With [2004 Epsom Derby winner] North Light being the damsire, we think he'll want a little more ground."

Bred by Equus Farm, Mystical Man comes from a family with plenty of turf talent which includes multiple Grade 1 winner Chief Bearhart, who was a two-time Canadian Horse of the Year, as well as Grade 1 winner Explosive Red. Both are out of prolific Canadian broodmare Amelia Bearhart. Additionally, Mystical Man is a direct descendant of Gold Digger, who produced prolific stallion Mr. Prospector.

"He's going to get some growth with him being by Mucho Macho Man, who was a humongous horse. But he got taller and filled in," Stall, Jr. said. "He's got plenty of miles on him and it's time to go on that run."

Jockey Joel Rosario has the mount from post 6.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen will debut a well-bred son of international champion producing stallion Galileo when he saddles Hidden Enemy for L and N Racing. Bred in Ireland by Alexander/Groves Thoroughbreds, Hidden Enemy is out of the Grade 1-winning Empire Maker broodmare Acoma and is a direct descendant of Courtly Dee, who was named 1983 broodmare of the year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

Hidden Enemy was purchased for $155,000 from last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Gainesway.

"We took a flyer on him at the Keeneland Sale," said Michael Levinson of L and N Racing. "No one was on him at the sale. He just had a huge pedigree, vetted perfect and for some reason people weren't on him. We thought it was a great buy. Steve's dad had him down at his training center in Laredo and thought he'd be a two-turn horse just based off his pedigree. There's distance on both sides so it didn't make much sense to debut him going short."

Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. will pilot Hidden Enemy as he leaves from post 4.

Peter Brant, Robert LaPenta and Wonder Stables' Secret Potion will be making his debut for trainer Chad Brown as he emerges from the rail.

The bay son of Into Mischief, bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms, was bought for $475,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Tiznow mare Caxambas Pass, who is a half-sister to turf Grade 1 winner Point of Entry and Pine Island, a multiple Grade 1 winner on dirt.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Secret Potion from post 4.

In Sunday's second race at Saratoga, L N J Foxwoods and Phillips Racing Partnership's Seasons will attempt to follow in her prestigious family's footsteps when making her career debut in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over the Mellon turf at Saratoga.

Trained by Jimmy Toner, Seasons is a chestnut daughter of Tapit out of two-time Grade 1 winner Winter Memories, who won three of her four starts at the Spa, which included a career debut as well as a victory in the Grade 1 Diana in 2012. Seasons' grand dam was Memories of Silver, a two-time Grade 1 winner who won all four of her starts at Saratoga, all of which were in stakes.

Both Winter Memories and Memories of Silver were also conditioned by Toner.

"I hope that she follows the same pattern," Toner said. "She's different than what her mother was. Winter Memories was a big, lumbering filly with a big turn of foot. This one is very athletic and quicker. If she could be what her mother was, that would be nice. It's really neat to be associated with these kinds of horses. The lineage is still carrying on."

Jockey Jose Ortiz will be aboard Seasons from post 5.

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle Misspell, a chestnut American Pharoah filly for owner Peter Brant.

Bred in Kentucky by Sahara Group Holdings and Eurowest Bloodstock, Misspell is out of the Dixie Union broodmare Fact File, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Honorable Duty. Her fourth generation dam was 2002 broodmare of the year Toussaud, who produced four Grade 1 winners including 2003 Belmont Stakes winner and champion producing sire Empire Maker.

Misspell will break from post 7 under Joel Rosario.

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A trio of Pick 5s and Pick 4s lined up for Saturday's Runhappy Travers (G1) card

Saturday's lucrative Runhappy Travers Day program at Saratoga will offer three Pick 5s, three Pick 4s and an enticing jackpot in the Empire 6.

The 12-race card begins at 12 p.m. Eastern with the first of three Pick-5s featuring a field of nine maidens 3-years-old and up routing 1 1/16-miles on the inner turf led by Doswell, the 9-5 morning-line favorite trained by Barclay Tagg, who will saddle Runhappy Travers favorite Tiz the Law later on in the card. An Allen Stable homebred son of Giant's Causeway, Doswell missed graduating by a nose at the Spa last August in a race won by the multiple graded-stakes placed Good Governance. Stronach Stables' Bay Street Money and Klaravich Stables' Compliant are also likely to take money in a wide-open race.

The opening Pick 5 sequence will continue through a nine-furlong claiming route in Race 2 [12:38 p.m.]; an overflow field of 13 New York-bred turf sprinters in Race 3 [1:15 p.m.]; a one-mile claiming route on the inner turf in Race 4 [1:49 p.m.]; and concludes in Race 5 [2:26 p.m.] with an open maiden special weight sprint for 2-year-olds featuring the debut of Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq, a $425,000 purchase at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Mutasaabeq has posted a pair of impressive works from the gate, including an August 1 effort in 46.53 seconds on the Saratoga main track.

The middle Pick 5, an all graded-stakes sequence which offers a mandatory payout, begins in Race 7 [3:42 p.m.] with the Grade 1 Ballerina presented by NYRA Bets as Blue Devil Racing Stable's Come Dancing looks to defend her title in the seven-furlong event which offers a berth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Come Dancing will face steep opposition in the form of 2019 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks-winner Serengeti Empress and multiple Grade 1-winner Bellafina.

The middle Pick 5 continues in Race 8 [4:22 p.m.] with the Grade 3 Troy for 4-year-olds and upward sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs on the Mellon turf course as popular 9-year-old Pure Sensation looks to return to winning form. In Race 9 [5:02 p.m.], Mrs. Sippy returns to the scene of her 2019 Grade 2 Glens Falls win as the 6-5 morning-line choice in the Grade 3 Waya at 1 1/2-miles on the inner turf. The penultimate leg [Race 10, 5:39 p.m.], the Grade 1 Longines Test, will feature West Coast starlets Gamine and Venetian Harbor battling seven furlongs on the Saratoga main. The challenging sequence concludes in Race 11 [6:15 p.m.] with the featured Grade 1 Runhappy Travers as Belmont Stakes hero Tiz the Law headlines a field of eight that includes upstart Uncle Chuck, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, and the improving Max Player for trainer Linda Rice.

The Late Pick 5 sequence, which has a carryover provision, kicks off in Race 8 [4:22 p.m.] and will run through the end of the card to Race 12 [6:52 p.m.] where a field of nine fillies and mares 3-years-old and up will look to graduate sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs on the main track.

The Runhappy Travers Day card will also feature three Pick 4s which will begin in races 2 [12:38 p.m.], 4 [1:49 p.m.] and 9 [5:02 p.m.]

The Empire 6, which boasts a jackpot of $1,129,427 heading into Friday's live racing action at the Spa, kicks off Saturday in Race 6 [3:02 p.m.] The Empire 6 requires the bettor to select the first-place finisher of the final six races of the card. On non-mandatory payout days, if one unique ticket exists, then 100 percent of the net pool, plus the jackpot carryover if applicable, will be paid to the winner. If there is no unique wager selecting the first-place finisher in all six races, then 75 percent of the day's net pool will be distributed to those who selected the first-place finisher in the greatest number of races. The remainder will be added into the jackpot and carried to the next day's Empire 6.

A mandatory payout of the Empire 6 is slated for Sunday's card at Saratoga which features the $85,000 Alydar.

For more information, please visit http://www.nyrabets.com.