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Saw you there?
(L to R): Running into Eliza DeRocker at Siro’s, entering the race course behind Desiree Farley before I knew it was Desiree, a sharp gentleman in the clubhouse, bugler Carson Gambaro playing ‘Happy Birthday’ to a now-23-year-old employee right before the big race.
From the editor
Hey, Dispatchers.
A special welcome to the 72 new subscribers who came in over the weekend. So if I had been on the fence about doing a special Travers post … well, the people have spoken.
Things are very busy here at Dispatch headquarters — we also have our first mahjong classes today. Quite a few of you wrote to me in dismay that classes sold out so fast. So I created a waitlist — if you haven’t already written to me, simply add your name and email there, and I’ll send you a direct note as soon as we’re live with our next classes.
(Yes, this means you get first dibs!)
How many Dolly Parton Easter eggs did you spot in my pre-Travers post? Answers tomorrow!
I have very little time before greeting our first mahjong players at Whitman Brewing today, so the rest of this Travers Special might be as chaotic as yesterday was at the track. Here goes…
— Abby
In this issue:
🏇 Plot twist
👒 Big red
🏈 Beginner’s luck?
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Leading Change winning the Travers. (Photo by Sharon Wood)
We’re not sure if we recall a more perfect day for the Travers Stakes. Sunny with a high of 77! Enjoy!
🏇 BOOM: UPSET!
We’ve mentioned Manny Franco’s incredible season at The Spa this summer, and well, well, well …. Look who pulled off a mighty Travers upset: Leading Change, with Manny aboard. Congrats to all!
FUN FACTS
Paid attendance yesterday: 47,659, a slight edge to this year’s “saved the best for last” Belmont (46,128). It also generated the second-highest handle ever.
Golden Tempo came in third for the big race, but trainer Cherie DeVoux did get to visit the Winner’s Circle yesterday — for Englishman, who won Race 8. She was back in lucky sneakers, but not “the” lucky sneakers. Those are on display at Churchill Downs, along with the smart red jacket she wore when GT won the Kentucky Derby
Local fan favorite Book’em Danno had to scratch from the Forego due to a minor injury. It was a bummer.
Chad Brown has still not won a Travers. Yesterday, he had two tries: Sea Strike and Emerging Market.
👒 BIG RED
More on Desiree’s head-turning hat (it was somehow everywhere all at once yesterday).
FOR FIRST DIBS
The line outside the gate at 7 a.m. was insane — Mr. Dispatch made this video while out hunting for breakfast sandwiches. (Cover pic: Sharon Wood.) And YES, I did start an Instagram finally!!
👉Follow The Dispatch here!
🏈 ‘TOUCHDOWN,’ RUSSELL WILSON
Travers Day got off to a splashy start, with Ciara and Russell Wilson’s very first horse, Club Reign, winning Race 1 by six lengths. Before the race, jockey Edgard Zayas told Russell, “Let’s ride,” a nod to his days playing for the Broncos.
“What a blessing to do this here in Saratoga,” Wilson told Saratoga Live. “We like winning big games, big moments in New York. We won the Super Bowl here [New Jersey??]; we win this. It feels like the same feeling.”
Wife Ciara added that she was “kind of speechless” but wanted more “winner-views.”
On the move
Zipping along in a golf cart to Siro’s and Pennell’s, it was easy (and fun) to catch snippets of post-track convo from all of the porch parties popping up around town. Some faves:
“He screwed us over so bad.”
“Wait … she SAID something?”
“Follow the rules, jerk!”
“If I’m here next year, SAY something.”
“I have 46 cents left in my account.”
NAME GAME — AND NEWS!
Caroline St. Beat has been a favorite of mine (I mean come on; I live on Caroline Street and use the street sign as my logo!) since I watched him break his maiden last year. Yesterday, he had a huge win. Owner Steve Bouchey later posted to social media that — surprise! — trainer Miguel Clement has some new plans for this guy.
“Apparently, Caroline St Beat isn’t ready for a rest,” Bouchey wrote on Facebook. “Our trainer, Miguel Clement , was so impressed with the way he ran and how well he came out of the race that we’re doing something you almost never see- shipping him to Kentucky Downs to run in the Nashville Derby next Saturday, just seven days later.”
👀 SPOTTED?
Two people told me Luke Bryan was spotted at the Turf Terrace yesterday before his concert at SPAC, but alas, I was unable to confirm. I can, however, with 99.9% certainty confirm that he had less beers than this guy.
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