2016 Saratoga Meet Preview
Scenes from morning workouts at Saratoga Race Course on Travers Stakes Day in Saratoga Springs, New York on August 25, 2012.
The 2016 Saratoga Meet starts on July 22 and ends on September 5. Saratoga is routinely the most important meet on the East Coast year in and year out. The Saratoga Meet remains one of the top destinations for horses looking to make their mark in the Breeders Cup World Championships. Although the goal for many horses is the Pegasus World Cup, taking place in February of 2017, the Breeders Cup should still be a terrific measure off greatness this year.
Saratoga is like no other racetrack in the country. There's a reason that it's called the Graveyard of Favorites. Last year's Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah, lost the Travers to Keen Ice. Secretariat also lost at Saratoga. There are 3 things during this year's Saratoga Meet that I'm looking forward to.
Which Todd Pletcher trainee will be this year's Liam's Map?
Last year, Liam's Map turned into an absolute monster during the Saratoga Meet. He almost held off Honor Code in the Whitney after carving out sensational fractions of 22.79, 46.00, 1:09.72 and 1:34.66. Then, in the Woodward, Liam's Map waltzed to a 4 3/4 length win. Does Pletcher have a Liam's Map type horse for this year's Saratoga Meet?The question would sound ridiculous if Todd hadn't done this before Liam's Map. In 2007, he campaigned Lawyer Ron to wins in the Whitney and Woodward. Flower Alley won the Jim Dandy and the Travers Stakes in 2005 after finishing 9th in the Kentucky Derby.
Now that Mshawish has retired due to a leg injury that he suffered via training, Todd appears to have 2 horses that could become a monster during the Saratoga Meet. Not counting his bevy of fillies and mares, Pletcher has 2 three-year-olds that could be any sort. Outwork, the winner of the Wood Memorial, worked on June 24. He worked 5 furlongs in 1:01.6. It was a nice work. He's almost ready to run in a race. Some believed that Pletcher was going to enter Outwork to the July 9 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park. Since he wasn't entered there, it goes to reason that Pletcher will enter him into a race at Saratoga once that meet starts.
The other 3-year-old to watch is Destin. The son of Giant's Causeway almost held off Creator in the Belmont Stakes. Destin is being pointed to the Travers Stakes. Destin has a great chance of becoming the best three-year-old of this generation. No other horses, save for Exaggerator, Nyquist, and Creator, have proven capable. Destin has all of the tools to be the next great three-year-old in Todd Pletcher's barn.
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