Beyer Speed Figures Tip Dornoch, Fierceness, Sierra Leone in Travers

Photo by Associated Press of Thorpedo Anna (left)

Grade I-winners Fierceness, Sierra Leone, and Belmont Stakes champ Dornoch are set to enter the DraftKings Travers Stakes on Saturday as top-tier favorites. Beyer Speed Figures trends for the 1 1/4-mile classic support bettor confidence.

Thorpedo Anna, the dominant filly of the 3-year-old division, will be an aberration in multiple ways if she can overcome the eight-horse field at Saratoga Race Course.

According to BSF historical data, three of the last four Travers winners posted a speed figure of at least 100 in their previous start. The outlier: Essential Quality in 2021, came in off a 98 in the Jim Dandy.

While Fierencess, Dornoch (both 103), and Sierra Leone (102) check the box, Thorpedo Anna posted a 95 while winning the Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga in July.

Travers Field Top-Heavy, But Tantalizing

DraftKings director of race and sportsbook Johnny Avello clearly has the filly in his upper echelon of choices, though.

“You’ve got four horses,” Avello said, “Fierceness, Thorpedo Anna, Sierra Leone, and Dornoch, the Belmont-winner, who are going to be somewhere in the range of 2-1 to 4-1. And then you’ve got another four who are going to be probably 10-1 to 25-1. They’re not out of this. These are 3-year-old horses who are growing and getting better and a couple of those horses that are in that second tier have only had a couple of races [recently]. So there could be a surprise.

“It’s an intriguing race, and it will be a great betting race.”

With the second tier of runners not that far behind in terms of talent and potential, Avello, said exotic wagering possibilities abound. This will also mark one of the last times these horses will run such a distance. Check out the possibilities at our horse betting apps page.

“The distance is challenging and that’s what makes this race also special,” Avello said. “But the horses are a little bit older now than they were earlier in their campaign. So they’re getting a little bit stronger. Some of the horses had a little bit of time off, so that’s made them a little bit stronger.”

Thorpedo Anna Fervor Turns Saratoga Pink?

Thorpedo Anna could become the first filly to win the Travers Stakes since Lady Rotha in 1915 and figures to be center-stage the entire afternoon. Trainer Kenny McPeek plans to wear a pink suit, said Avello, a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., native who will be nattily attired in a pink shirt. DraftKings will distribute a least 1,000 pink hats at the race course.

It’s not just a sentimental story. Thorpedo Anna has run out of challenges in the 3-year-old filly division after winning the Grade II Fantasy at Oaklawn, the Grade I Kentucky Oaks, the Grade I Acorn, and the Coaching Club American Oaks.

“She’s really good,” Avello said. “She’s won everything against other fillies and the owner and trainer decided to put her in a race like this to see how good she really is, because she has already surpassed anything that she could do in the filly division. They want to run her and see if she could beat this group of males.

“The morning line alone tells you that she has a legitimate chance of doing this.”

2024 Travers Stakes Draw, Odds:

The BSFs are published exclusively by the Daily Racing Form and were provided to Gaming Today.

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