American Pharoah gets 1st look at Saratoga Race Course

How superstitious are you? Figure out who wins this race and you’ve unlocked the chance for a reasonable pay day in the exactas and trifectas. Do you fear black cats? Then wait as people start climbing over the fences at Saratoga Race Course, because sports fans are known for taking directions from ushers so well.

During Eric Donovan’s tenure as morning-line oddsmaker at NYRA, he has made only three horses as short a price as 1-5: Lost in the Fog in the 2005 King’s Bishop, Rachel Alexandra in the 2009 Mother Goose, and American Pharoah in Saturday’s Travers.

American Pharoah, Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown victor, is set to return to the track this Saturday, August 29, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the $1.6 million Travers Stakes for 3-year-olds at 4 p.m. ET on NBC. What happened to Man o’ War in 1919 has no bearing on this year’s race.

“It’s not a knock on anyone else that there are 30’s- and 50-1’s; it’s just how much of the pool (American Pharoah is) going to command”.

A few hours later, about 11:15 a.m., American Pharoah was led into the paddock to get used to the saddling area.

“I don’t even think about it, really”, said Barnes.

“He went over the track very well, ” said Barnes, trainer Bob Bafferts right-hand man who travels with American Pharoah. We just want[ed] to let him have a look at it. It’s just kind of a formality, a routine that we go through. “I mean, the mileage, it’s unheard of for a racehorse”.

American Pharoah has already proven he is a durable and gritty racehorse, and he’ll have to do it again.

Yes, Count Fleet is mentioned with the all-time greats, but that was a different time and Count Fleet still won 16 of 21 races and left an indelible impression by romping by 25 lengths in the Belmont Stakes. That could make the biggest difference.

A fan left a dozen roses in a vase on a table in the courtyard by American Pharoah’s barn. He’ll need a similar effort, and I would be stunned if he’s geared down at the end this time. It was his first race since the Kentucky Derby, and he ran fairly fast. So the horse keeps running. It also was muddy that year, and Jim Dandy had won the Grand Union at Saratoga on a muddy track as a 2-year-old. He likes the track. The colt is 0 for 3 against American Pharoah – seventh in the Derby, third in the Belmont and second in the Haskell.

Not only was American Pharoah’s toughest race at a mile and a quarter, but a mile and a quarter at Saratoga is more taxing on a horse than at Churchill Downs.