SARATOGA SPRINGS — The popularity of the prestigious 40-day summer meet that opens Friday at Saratoga Race Course rolls on despite the anticipated absence of Triple Crown champion Justify.
The allure of the track and the town is that strong.
The New York Racing Association announced all reserved seats for Travers Week are sold out despite Justify’s virtually certain absence from the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 25. The $1.2 million Whitney, being run for the 91st time, offers another must-see race for serious handicappers Aug. 4 in a meet that features 69 stakes races worth $18.8 million in purses and concludes on Labor Day.
Justify made six starts in less than four months, beginning with his Feb. 18 debut, in joining Seattle Slew (1977) as the only undefeated Triple Crown winners. He was given a well-deserved respite but developed filling in his front left ankle once he resumed training, essentially eliminating the prospect of a Travers start.
Bob Baffert, the colt’s Hall of Fame trainer, said he is in a “holding pattern.” The superstar 3-year-old is limited to walking these days at Del Mar. Baffert continues to hope he can regroup in time to have Justify ready for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.
Donna Barton Brothers, an NBC commentator, is among many veteran observers who suspect Justify strutted his magnificent stuff for the last time when a front-running effort allowed him to shrug off surging Gronkowski by 1 ¾ lengths in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
“It just seems the longer they go without running him, the more they have to lose by running him and the less they have to gain,” Barton Brothers said.
Justify has not had any timed workouts since his coronation at Belmont Park. At this stage, he is worth infinitely more as a stallion prospect than a racehorse. He holds the distinction of being the only Triple Crown victor to gain racing immortality although he was unraced as a 2-year-old, depriving him of valuable experience.
The 149th running of the mile-and-a-quarter Travers could turn into a showcase for Gronkowski, named for the Patriots’ hard-driving, hard-partying tight end.
Gronkowski — the horse, that is — far exceeded expectations in overcoming a poor start to rally sharply in the Belmont. The mile-and-a-half “Test of the Champion” marked Gronkowski’s first North American start and first try on dirt.
Gronkowski also endured what was described as a minor setback after the Belmont. He is training again, however.
“There is a shot he could run in the Travers,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He’s not going to make the prep races, but we have him back on the track and going well.”
Brown, from nearby Mechanicville, N.Y., is expected to engage in another torrid duel with Todd Pletcher for the training title. Brown notched a record 40 victories to prevail in 2016. Pletcher matched that total last year in edging Brown by one win.
The race for top jockey may be even more compelling, if that is possible, given the intriguing sibling rivalry that exists. Jose Ortiz, 24, aims for a threepeat. Irad Ortiz, Jr., 25, is striving to regain the perch atop the standings he enjoyed in 2015.
“He does his job on the track, I do mine,” Jose said. “When we go out of here, we are like a regular pair of brothers. I go to his house to hang out. We pretty much do everything together.”
For many horseplayers, the fun begins anew when the last race ends.
“The thing that makes it so unique and makes you love it so,” Barton Brothers said, “is that the entire town revolves around racing.”
