SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is the overwhelming favorite at 1-5 in a 10-horse field for Saturday’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
American Pharoah will start from the No. 2 gate in an attempt to become only the second Triple Crown winner to go on to win the prestigious Travers. Whirlaway won the 1941 Travers after sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Frosted was made the second choice at 6-1 at Tuesday night’s post-position draw, and Texas Red was the third choice at 8-1.
Frosted ran fourth in the Derby, second in the Belmont and second in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Aug. 1. Texas Red won the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Jim Dandy.
American Pharoah, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, has won eight consecutive races after a career-opening loss and has earned more than $5.6 million. The 3-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile will be ridden by Victor Espinoza, competing in the Travers for the first time.
“We’re looking forward to watching him run,” Baffert said. “We’re excited. It’s a good field. It’s pretty solid. It would be more like running in the Kentucky Derby. I feel like it will be the same kind of excitement with the people and the horses and everything.”
The field from the rail out is Upstart (15-1), American Pharoah, Mid Ocean (50-1), Texas Red, Frammento (30), Frosted, Keen Ice (12-1), Tale of Verve (30-1), King of New York (50-1) and Smart Transition (20-1).
“Everything has to go smooth for him,” Baffert said. “We don’t take anything for granted. We’re coming in there ready.”
If American Pharoah starts, the purse increases by $350,000 to $1.6 million, with the winner’s share $850,000.
American Pharoah, owned by Ahmed Zayat, would become the fourth of the 12 Triple Crown winners to run in the Travers. In 1930, Jim Dandy upset Gallant Fox at odds of 100-1, Whirlaway won in 1941 and Affirmed finished first in 1978 but was disqualified to second with rival Alydar declared the winner.
American Pharoah has already defeated six of his Travers rivals, including Keen Ice three times.
TRACK AND FIELD
Henderson 9th in long jump
Jeff Henderson (Sylvan Hills, North Little Rock) did not qualify for the long jump final Tuesday at the world championships in Beijing, finishing ninth. Henderson jumped 26 feet, 1 inch on his second attempt. He fouled on his first and third attempts. Greg Rutherford of Britain won the long jump with a leap of 27 feet, 7 1/4 inches. Australia’s Fabrice Lapierre was second (27-0 1/2), followed by China’s Wang Jianan (26-10). It was a disappointing outcome for Henderson, who won at the Pan American Games last month in Toronto with a jump of 28 feet, 1/4 inches. Also on Tuesday, Usain Bolt of Jamaica had the best time in the 200-meter preliminary with a time of 20.28. American Justin Gatlin qualified with a time of 20.19 seconds.
TENNIS
Tsurenko advances
• Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko beat the Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-0 to move to the third round Tuesday afternoon at the Connecticut Open in New Haven. Tsurenko was a lucky loser entry after top seed Simona Halep withdrew due to injury and won her first match despite a brief rain delay. Tsurenko is ranked 46th in the world. Also on Tuesday, Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova beat France’s Kristina Mladenovic 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 to reach the third round.
• Top-ranked Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic are seeded No. 1 for the U.S. Open. The U.S. Tennis Association announced the seedings Tuesday. The year’s last major tournament starts Monday, when Williams will seek to complete the first Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. Romania’s Simona Halep is seeded second, followed by Maria Sharapova and the 2014 runner-up, Caroline Wozniacki. Two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka is seeded 20th, while Venus Williams is 23rd. Roger Federer is seeded second on the men’s side, with Andy Murray third and last year’s runner-up, Kei Nishikori, fourth. Rafael Nadal is eighth and defending champ Marin Cilic ninth.
MOTOR SPORTS
Organs saved lives
• The late IndyCar driver Justin Wilson saved six lives Tuesday by donating his organs, his brother said. “He just keeps setting the bar higher,” Stefan Wilson posted on his Twitter page. “Keep Julia & the girls in your prayers #myherojw.” Wilson, 37, died Monday night from a head injury suffered when a piece of debris struck him during a race the previous day at Pocono Raceway. A British driver who lived in Colorado, Wilson was hit in the head by a piece of debris from another car. Wilson’s car veered into an interior wall at the track, and he was swiftly taken by helicopter to a hospital in Allentown in critical condition. Wilson drove a Honda from 2008 through 2015 in IndyCar.
• The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a driver killed by NASCAR star Tony Stewart’s car on a western New York dirt track has been moved from state to federal court. The action was submitted Friday by Buffalo, N.Y., lawyer Brian Gwitt, who is representing Stewart in the suit filed by Kevin and Pamela Ward. Their son Kevin Ward Jr. was fatally struck when he walked onto the track at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Aug. 9, 2014. Gwitt justified the move to federal court because the Ward family lives in upstate New York and Stewart lives in Indiana. The Wards’ attorney, Richard Meadow, hasn’t said if he’ll challenge the move. Ward’s parents requested a jury trial seeking unspecified monetary damages.
BASKETBALL
Clippers fined
• The Los Angeles Clippers were fined $250,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for violating the league’s rules that prohibit teams from offering players “unauthorized business or investment opportunities.” The Clippers committed the violation during their pitch to DeAndre Jordan on July 2, offering the freeagent center improper marketing opportunities that the NBA said included a third-party endorsement deal. Though Jordan ultimately resigned with the Clippers for $88 million over four years after initially agreeing to a deal with the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA concluded that L.A.’s presentation for off-the-court opportunities “nevertheless violated the league’s anti-circumvention rules.” Teams break the league’s anti-circumvention rules when they provide or arrange for others to provide any form of compensation to a player unless such compensation is included in a player contract or otherwise permitted under the collective bargaining agreement. Jordan’s meeting included Coach Doc Rivers, who is also president of basketball operations, owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker.
GOLF
Tournament canceled
The Champions Tour has canceled its September tournament in China near the port where an explosion killed more than 100 people and left several more missing. The Pacific Links China Championship was to be held Sept. 18-20 at the 27 Club in Tianjin. The golf club and adjacent area were not affected by the Aug. 12 blast at a storage facility in the port area of Tianjin. Organizers decided it was best to cancel the tournament out of respect to a grieving community. The tour indicates the tournament will be played next year.