The worst kept secret in thoroughbred racing was announced late last week, when the connections of Triple Crown winner; American Pharoah said that his next start would be in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on August 2nd. This should come as no surprise to anyone that follows the sport. With the success that trainer Bob Baffert has had in this race and the Zayat owners who reside in New Jersey, it was the more logical step for him to make his first start off his Triple Crown victory. With this announcement, the window of opportunity seeing him at Saratoga Race Course this meet has shrunken quite a bit. There was even a online petition through Capital OTB to sign trying to have him appear here this summer. But, now it looks like the chances of that happening are getting dim. Although his start at Monmouth will be against straight three year old competition, it's highly unlikely he'll wheel back in the Travers at the end of the month, again just facing three year olds. But, there is an alternative that he "could" race at the Spa and face older horses for the first time and that scenario could play out here!
Each year, Saratoga has two races that highlight older horses going the route distance of an mile and an eighth. The first is the grade I - Whitney Handicap, one of the premier races at Saratoga. It's usually a stepping stone for the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park at the end of September. The other race once was that same stepping stone when it was run at Belmont Park in years past. The Woodward Stakes was transplanted on the Saratoga schedule a few years ago and ran on the closing weekend Saturday. With the race switched to Saratoga, it became a less important race for runners pointing to the final classic prep for the Breeder's Cup in New York.
Since being relocated to the Spa in 2006, the only high profile Breeder's Cup Classic runner to win the race was Curlin in 2008. With bigger named runners choosing to wait for later on at the Belmont Fall meet, it opened the door for two outstanding fillies to compete and win this race (Rachel Alexandra 2009 & Harve de Grace 2010). Since then, top level players waited to go a mile and a quarter down the road. This spot would be an excellent way for American Pharoah to face older horses for the first time, against somewhat lighter competition.
By running in New York and staying on the east coast, American Pharoah would be facing slightly tougher well seasoned handicap horses. On the west coast, in either the Pacific Classic at Del Mar or in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita, he would be facing the same group of older handicap horses who are a notch below the handicap runners on the east coast. The west coast graded stakes handicap division would fit well in the Woodward Stakes type events, rather than the grade I stake downstate at Belmont. It would be the best of both worlds, American Pharoah would be showcased at the greatest race track in the world and he would face older easier foes for the first time. All this is just conjecture on my part, although it makes perfect sense. It would depend on how he came out of the Haskell and if his connections wanted one last race at a California track. This could be the case, since this year's Breeder's Cup is being run at Keeneland Race Course in Kentucky. But, it's food for thought as everyone tries to map out American Pharoah's final races in his great career. Unfortunately, it's the only logical way he'll have a chance to race at the Spa.
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