Grade 1 $750,000 Whitney Handicap Odds
by Patricia Woo | Aug 2 2010
One of the most anticipated races of the Saratoga summer racing season will be run this Saturday, Aug. 7: the
$750,000 Gr. 1 Whitney Handicap. Some of the year's best racehorses will be going head-to-head, including Quality Road, Blame and Haynesfield.
Topping the list of contenders for the Whitney Handicap is Quality Road, who has been dominating the older horse division this year. The 4-year-old son of Elusive Quality is unbeaten in all three starts in 2010, beginning at Gulfstream Park with the Gr. 3 Hal's Hope Handicap on Jan. 3 and then the Gr. 1 Donn Handicap on Feb. 6. After a four-month layoff, he returned in the Gr. 1 Metropolitan Handicap (the Met Mile) at Belmont Park on May 31 and posted an impressive 114 Beyer Speed Figure along with the victory. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Quality Road has won at the 1 1/8 mile distance of the Whitney Handicap before, and boasting a 10-7-2-1 career record and $1,632,830 in earnings, he will be an impressive force on Saturday.
Likely the race's second choice, multiple graded stakes winner Blame also boasts an unbeaten streak that stretches back to Oct. 2009. As a 4-year-old, Blame has won two races this year after an extensive layoff – his debut race in 2010 was on May 15 in the Gr. 3 Schaefer Handicap at Pimlico Race Course. His most notable victory so far is his most recent: the Gr. 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 12. Trained by Albert Stall, Jr., this son of Arch completed a 4-furlong breeze in 49.02 at Saratoga on Aug. 1 in preparation for the Whitney Handicap; he has a 10-7-1-2 record and $1,068,214 in earnings.
Seeking his first grade 1 victory, Haynesfield is looking to maintain the form that has won him four consecutive races. After a strenuous campaign late in 2009 in which he won the Empire Classic in October at Belmont Park and the Gr. 3 Discovery Handicap in November at Aqueduct, Haynesfield enjoyed a seven-month layoff. He has only recently returned to action, winning an allowance optional claimer on June 13 at Belmont Park. At the same track on July 3, Haynesfield then won the Gr. 2 Suburban Handicap with a commanding performance. The 4-year-old son of Speightstown is trained by Steve Asmussen and has posted a recent workout of 5 furlongs in 1:01.98 at Belmont Park on July 26. He is 8-1-1 from 11 starts and has earned $629,481.
2009 Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird is also slated to contest the race.
The Whitney Handicap is one of the highlights of the Saratoga summer meet.
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