Saratoga Weekend Preview: History, Caress Stakes, and Bowling Green Picks
Saratoga Race Course moves into its second week of the 2026 summer meet, and the Spa is serving up two Grade 2 stakes on Saturday alongside a track that carries more history than anywhere else we bet all year. Below we break down what makes Saratoga the sport's most storied venue, then get into the meat of the weekend card, the Caress Stakes and the Bowling Green Stakes, plus what to watch on Sunday.
Inside the Spa: A History Worth Knowing
Saratoga Race Course held its first thoroughbred meet in August 1863, a month after the Battle of Gettysburg. It is considered the third oldest racetrack in the United States, and by many accounts it is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the country. That history is not a marketing line, it shapes how we bet the place every summer.
The Travers Stakes, run each year on the last Saturday of August, is the oldest major thoroughbred race in America and carries the nickname the Midsummer Derby. The 2026 running is the 157th edition, worth 1.25 million dollars, and it typically draws several of the horses who contested the Triple Crown earlier in the season.
Saratoga has earned a second nickname too, the Graveyard of Champions, and the results back it up. Man o'War lost the only race of his career here in 1919. Gallant Fox, the 1930 Triple Crown winner, went down as a heavy favorite to a 100 to 1 shot named Jim Dandy, a defeat still marked by the stakes race that carries his name every July. Secretariat lost the Whitney to a little known runner called Onion in 1973, just weeks after sweeping the Triple Crown. American Pharoah's only defeat after his own Triple Crown sweep came in the 2015 Travers, when he finished second to Keen Ice in front of a record crowd. We keep that history in mind every time a short priced favorite lines up here.
The track itself is built for the way we handicap it. The main dirt oval measures 1 1/8 miles with 4 percent banking through the turns and a run of 1,144 feet from the top of the stretch to the wire. The Mellon Turf Course sits outside the main track at a full mile, while the Inner Turf Course runs 7 furlongs with a 1,164 foot stretch run. Both grass courses come into play on the Saturday card we cover below.
The 2026 Meet So Far
The 2026 summer meet opened Friday, July 3, and runs 46 days through Labor Day, Monday, September 7. This is the third and final year Saratoga hosts the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival while the new Belmont Park nears completion, and Opening Weekend leaned into that with the Belmont Derby, Belmont Oaks, Sanford, and Suburban Stakes all run July 3 and 4. Across the full meet NYRA has carded 73 stakes races worth more than 23.5 million dollars, with 20 of those at the Grade 1 level.
Weekend Card at a Glance
Friday, July 10: Victory Ride Stakes (G3), 225,000 dollars, 6 1/2 furlongs on the dirt for three year old fillies. First post 1:10pm.
Saturday, July 11: Caress Stakes (G2) and Bowling Green Stakes presented by Emerald Ecovations (G2), both worth 250,000 dollars. First post 12:35pm, 11 races on the card.
Sunday, July 12: No stakes races scheduled. Saratoga Sundays brings family activities and the Low Roller Contest, with first post at 1:10pm.
Caress Stakes (G2) Preview and Picks
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Weight | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zeitlos | Jose L. Ortiz | Steven M. Asmussen | 120 | 4/1 |
| 2 | Movin' On Up | Tyler Gaffalione | Saffie A. Joseph Jr | 120 | 9/2 |
| 3 | Italian Soiree | Dylan Davis | H. Graham Motion | 120 | 7/2 |
| 4 | Sunna | Joel Rosario | J. Kent Sweezey | 122 | 2/1 |
| 5 | Obstreperous | Jaime Rodriguez | Michael V. Simone | 120 | 15/1 |
| 6 | In Our Time | Flavien Prat | Saffie A. Joseph Jr | 124 | 5/2 |
The Caress is Race 5 on Saturday's card, going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf for fillies and mares four and up, with a post time of 2:47pm. It drew a compact field of six, and HISA rules mean none of these runners will have had Lasix within 48 hours of post. Here is how the morning line shapes up.
In Our Time carries top weight at 124 pounds for Flavien Prat and trainer Saffie A. Joseph Jr, sent off at 5/2 on the morning line. Sunna is the shortest price in the field at 2/1 for Joel Rosario and J. Kent Sweezey, picking up a 2 pound break off the base weight of 124. Zeitlos goes for Jose L. Ortiz and Steven M. Asmussen at 4/1, with Italian Soiree at 7/2 for Dylan Davis and H. Graham Motion, and Movin' On Up at 9/2 for Tyler Gaffalione and Saffie A. Joseph Jr, who also saddles In Our Time. Obstreperous is the outsider at 15/1 for Jaime Rodriguez and Michael V. Simone.
With a short field and two runners from the same barn, pace and post position matter more than usual over this sprint trip. Sunna's weight break and Rosario in the irons make her the one to beat on the morning line, but In Our Time's extra weight reflects black type earned in tougher spots, and that class edge is worth respecting at a square 5/2. We would take a value look at Zeitlos underneath, given Asmussen's runners tend to arrive fit at the Spa.
Bowling Green Stakes (G2) Preview and Picks
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Weight | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ole Crazy Bone | Flavien Prat | Michael J. Maker | 124 | 5/2 |
| 2 | Soleil Volant | Tyler Gaffalione | H. Graham Motion | 120 | 12/1 |
| 3 | Desvio | John R. Velazquez | Madison F. Meyers | 124 | 12/1 |
| 4 | Fort George (GB) | Kieran Shoemark | Ed Walker | 122 | 9/5 |
| 5 | Carson's Run | Joel Rosario | Miguel Clement | 120 | 10/1 |
| 6 | Minaret Station | Jose L. Ortiz | William Walden | 120 | 2/1 |
| 7 | Carcano | Manuel Franco | Victoria H. Oliver | 120 | 15/1 |
| 8 | Yo Daddy | Ricardo Santana Jr | Linda Rice | 124 | 6/5 |
| 9 | Kinetic | Flavien Prat | Ilkay Kantarmaci | 124 | 7/2 |
| 10 | Dr. Kraft | Silvestre Gonzalez | Ilkay Kantarmaci | 124 | 5/1 |
The Bowling Green closes out the stakes portion of Saturday's card as Race 10, going 1 3/8 miles on the Inner Turf for horses four and up, with a post time of 5:39pm and a purse of 250,000 dollars. It is the deeper of the two features, with 10 entered.
Yo Daddy is the closest thing to a standout on the morning line at 6/5 for Ricardo Santana Jr and Linda Rice, carrying 124 pounds. Fort George, a British import for Kieran Shoemark and Ed Walker, sits next at 9/5. Minaret Station is priced at 2/1 for Jose L. Ortiz and William Walden, while Ole Crazy Bone rounds out the top tier at 5/2 for Flavien Prat and Michael J. Maker. Kinetic goes off at 7/2 for Prat's second mount of the race, trained by Ilkay Kantarmaci, who also saddles Dr. Kraft at 5/1. Carson's Run is 10/1, Soleil Volant and Desvio are both 12/1, and Carcano is the longest price at 15/1.
At a mile and three eighths on the Inner Turf, stamina and a good trip matter as much as raw class. Yo Daddy's short price is earned on public form, but a field this size at a mile and three eighths often throws up a price horse who gets the run of the race. Fort George's European form and Kinetic's rider switch to Prat are the two we would use to build out exotics beneath the favorite.
Sunday and Beyond
Sunday, July 12 carries no stakes races, so it is a straightforward Saratoga Sundays card built around the Low Roller Contest and family activities at the track. Bettors looking ahead should circle the following weekend, which brings the Jonathan Kiser Novice Memorial on July 16, the De La Rose on July 17, then a loaded Saturday on July 18 with the Grade 1 Dunkin' Diana and the Grade 3 Coronation Cup, followed by the Grade 3 Quick Call on July 19.
Betting Tips for the Weekend
Both Saturday features are on the turf, and NYRA reserves the right to move either race to the main track or reduce distance if the Stewards deem it necessary, so check for changes on race day before locking in tickets. Rail settings sit at 18 feet for the Caress course and both grass turf routes used earlier in the card, which tends to favor horses who can save ground rather than those parked wide throughout. With the Bowling Green field spread across 10 runners at a genuine staying trip, we like spreading in the exotics rather than keying a single horse, especially with the favorite odds on favorite short at 6/5.
Ready to follow every race live and get our tips before post time? Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 2026 Saratoga summer meet opened Friday, July 3, and runs 46 days through Labor Day, Monday, September 7. Racing is generally held Wednesday through Sunday, though the first three weeks of the meet are dark on Wednesdays in addition to the usual Monday and Tuesday dark days.
Saturday, July 11 features two Grade 2 stakes worth 250,000 dollars each, the Caress Stakes for fillies and mares over 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf, and the Bowling Green Stakes presented by Emerald Ecovations, going 1 3/8 miles on the Inner Turf for horses four and up.
No stakes races are scheduled for Sunday, July 12. The card runs as a standard Saratoga Sundays program with the Low Roller Contest and family activities, and first post is set for 1:10pm.
The nickname comes from a long list of famous upsets, including Man o'War's only career loss in 1919, Gallant Fox's defeat to 100 to 1 shot Jim Dandy in 1930, Secretariat's loss to Onion in the 1973 Whitney, and American Pharoah's runner up finish to Keen Ice in the 2015 Travers.
Saratoga held its first thoroughbred meet in August 1863. It is considered the third oldest racetrack in the United States and, by many accounts, the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the country.
