TRAVERS MILESTONES

1864: The Travers, the oldest major stakes race for three year olds, is run for the first time; the inaugural winner is Kentucky, owned by William Travers 1865: Maiden, carrying 97 pounds, becomes the first filly to win the Travers. 1867: Belmont Stakes-winning filly Ruthless takes the fourth Midsummer Derby. 1877: Baden Baden is the first three year old to complete the Kentucky Derby-Travers Double. 1896: Saratoga Race Course is purchased by a syndicate headed by William Whitney; the Travers is not run for the first time in 33 years. The 33rd Midsummer Derby was held in 1897, but the race was shelved again from 1898 through 1900. 1901: The Travers, won by Blues, once again becomes the highlight of the Saratoga season. 1904: The race is run for the first time at the modern distance of a mile and a quarter; S.S. Brown’s Broomstick wins in the time of 2:06 4⁄5. 1911: The Agnew-Hart bill forces New York tracks to close for two years. 1915: Although she finishes second, Lady Rotha becomes the seventh and most recent filly to win the Travers after the disqualification of Trial By Jury. 1920: Man o’ War sets a stakes record in the Travers while defeating nemesis Upset (the only horse that ever beat him). The time of 2:01 4⁄5 stood for 42 years. 1930: Jim Dandy shocked the crowd as he hit the wire eight lengths in front of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox at odds of 100-1 1936: Travers winner Granville is named the first Horse of the Year. 1938: Lady’s Day at Saratoga; owner Mrs. Parker Corning and trainer Mary Hirsch are the first of their gender to send out a Travers winner as Thanksgiving takes the Midsummer classic. 1941: Whirlaway becomes the only Triple Crown victor to win the Travers. 1951: Battlefield, the top twoyear-old colt of 1950, was the first of eight juvenile champions to win the Travers. Jockey Eddie Arcaro was aboard for his fourth Travers victory. 1961: The Travers canoe becomes a tradition; it is painted for the first time in the colors of the Midsummer Derby winner, Calumet Farm’s Beau Prince. 1962: Jaipur and Ridan battle head and head for a mile and quarter in one of the most memorable Travers. At the finish, Jaipur gets a nose in front and sets a stakes record of 2:01 3⁄5. 1963: The combination of trainer William Mulholland and owner George Widener win a record fifth Travers with Crewman. 1967: Damascus romps to a 22-length victory — the largest margin ever in the Travers — on his way to being named champion three year old and Horse of the Year. 1974: Holding Pattern is the fourth and the latest gelding to take the Midsummer Derby. 1977: Fourteen three year olds, the largest field in Travers history, go to the post; Run Dusty Run is in front at the finish, but is disqualified and Jatski is awarded the victory. 1978: It looks as if Affirmed will be the second Triple Crown winner to capture the Midsummer Derby, but he is disqualified and placed second for interfering with arch-rival Alydar on the far turn. A record Travers crowd of 50,359 witnesses the race. 1979: Davona Dale is made the favorite but can do no better than fourth as General Assembly goes wire to wire over a sloppy track and sets the current stakes record of 2:00. 1982: The three winners of the Triple Crown races — Derby winner Gato del Sol, Preakness winner Aloma’s Ruler and Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo — meet in the Travers; all three are defeated by they gray Canadian Runaway Groom. 1985: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. wins his first Travers with Chief’s Crown after going 0-for13. 1987: Derby and Preakness winner Alysheba looks to avenge his defeat by Bet Twice in the Belmont Stakes, but he can do no better than sixth. Bet Twice finishes fifth, and Java Gold gallops through the slop to give Rokeby Stable its fourth Travers trophy. The purse is raised to $1 million dollars. 1988: Forty Niner gives trainer Woody Stephens his first and only Travers win; he is the first of three consecutive two-year-old champions to go on to victory in the Travers. 1989: Belmont Stakes winner Easy Goer gives Ogden Phipps his second Midsummer Derby win: Phipps also won the race with Easy Goer’s grandsire, Buckpasser, in 1966. 1990: Rhythm continues the family tradition, winning for Ogden Mills Phipps and trainer Shug McGaughey back-to-back Travers victories. 1991: W. T. Young’s Corporate Report holds off Preakness and Belmont winner Hansel to take the race by a neck. 1992: New York-bred Thunder Rumble rumbles home by four and a half lengths; a then record of $6,529,085 is wagered on track.