A Quick Travers conclusion or two

What did the August 26 Travers Stakes at Saratoga tell us? For starters, the lights out performance by Arrogate was jaw-dropping and crowds an already jumbled three-year old division. His record setting romp (1:59.36) was over half a second faster than previous record holder General Challenge’s flat 2 minutes in 1979. With the Preakness (Exaggerator) and Belmont (Creator) winners no where to be found at the end, does that mean this crop is not as good? Well, this opinion is…no. It just means there is tremendous depth, you know, a lot of good horses. And let’s face it, Bob Baffert is as good as anyone ever when it comes to building horses and shipping for wins. Getting back to Arrogate’s run, Baffert knew he was right coming in and after that mile and a quarter, everyone else knew it too. So, the other take out is the 147th Travers was another classic example of the great things about the sport. The excitement the uncertainty brings and the capping with a new track record is the stuff chicken skin is made of. My pre-race pick (Creator) did not pan out, but in the end, like all the other fans of the sport, I was still a winner.