National Treasure headlines a 12-horse field in the Whitney on Saturday at Saratoga

By NY Hot List staff | Friday, August 2, 2024

The Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at Saratoga on Saturday drew a field of 12 older male dirt horses featuring National Treasure who is the top-ranked Thoroughbred in America.

The Whitney, which will be run at 1 1/8 miles, is loaded with graded stakes winners and includes four horses that are millionaires with combined earnings of more than $10 million.

Since his more than six length victory in the Met Mile (G1), National Treasure returned to California and has been training at Del Mar to prepare for the Whitney.

“It’s a very prestigious race – just like the Met Mile is, that’s why we’re in the business of competing in big races like that,” said the colt’s Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. “It means a lot for the owners and everyone involved. Any time you can win those big races on the East Coast it’s a big deal.”

$1 million Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, Saturday, Race 11, 5:42 pm ET.

(9) Bright Future (A) earned his Hot List “A” rating as an impressive winner of his first start of the year in the Salvator Mile (G3) at Monmouth Park. Last year he won the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga making him one of two Grade 1 winners in the Whitney field. Overall, he is the winner of 3 out of his last 4 starts. (3) National Treasure is currently the top-ranked Thoroughbred in the country based on his more than six-length victory in the Met Mile (G1) at Saratoga in June and his win in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) in January. (10) Skippylongstocking leads the Whitney field with eight career wins as he seeks his first Grade 1 victory with a pair of graded stakes scores earlier in the year. (11) Arthur’s Ride is the least experienced horse in the field with six starts but his last performance in a Saratoga allowance was visually impressive and fast earning a speed figure that tops this field. He will be making his first start in a stakes race.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.