SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Three Triple Crown champions have ventured to this historic old racetrack amid mineral springs and pastel-colored Victorian houses over the years to compete in the Travers Stakes. Only one, Whirlaway in 1941, left victorious.
But on Tuesday, the oddsmaker at Saratoga Race Course, Eric Donovan, tabbed the reigning Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, who will break from Post 2, a mortal lock to triumph in Saturday’s Midsummer Derby, assigning him odds of 1-5 on the morning line. The colt is meeting a solid field of nine opponents led by Texas Red (Post 4, 8-1 odds) and Frosted (Post 6, 6-1 odds), the winner and the runner-up of the Jim Dandy here earlier this month.