Travers Stakes 2023 predictions, odds, bets: Expert picks for win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta
The biggest day of the summer at Saratoga is headlined by the 2023 Travers Stakes on Saturday. All three Triple Crown winners will run, along with champion two-year-old Forte, who was the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby before being scratched. Forte is the 7-5 favorite in the 2023 Travers Stakes odds, while Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo is 5-2 and Kentucky Derby winner Mage is 4-1 among the 2023 Travers Stakes horses. Preakness Stakes winner National Treasure is one of the other 2023 Travers Stakes contenders at 8-1.
The seven-horse 2023 Travers Stakes field is loaded with quality horses who have proven they can win on the big stage. Which horse has the most value to include in your 2023 Travers Stakes bets? Post time is scheduled for 6:11 p.m. ET at Saratoga Race Course. With so much to consider while making your 2023 Travers Stakes picks, a little expert help can go a long way.
The Travers Stakes is the oldest stakes race for three-year-old horses in the United States. It's named in honor of William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. The Travers has been run at four different distances, with the current length of 1.25 miles being set in 1904. Whirlaway became the only horse to ever win both the American Triple Crown and the Travers Stakes, when he did so in 1941. Point Given won the Travers in front of a record crowd of 60,486 in 2001, while the NYRA capped the 2015 attendance at 50,000 because of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah's entry in the race. This race is commonly referred to as the "graveyard of champions," which was further proven when Keen Ice defeated American Pharoah in that 2015 edition.
Given all the history, there's a method to picking which horses to focus on for exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets in a Travers Stakes like this, and SportsLine expert Bob Weir knows what it is. He can help you make the best 2023 Travers Stakes picks possible.
A member of the Beyer Speed Figure-making team, Weir is a two-time qualifier for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. He has produced multiple five-figure days at the track over the years, including a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar in 2014.
Last year, he was red-hot in the Triple Crown prep races, hitting the superfecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for $1,678 and exactas in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby. He also hit the 19-1 winner of the Man o' War Stakes, the trifecta in the Pegasus World Cup, the superfecta in the Met Mile and multiple Pick 4s.
In April of this year, he hit a Pick 4 at Gulfstream Park for $641, the exacta in the Florida Derby, a Pick 5 at Keeneland and the exacta in the Lexington Stakes. He smashed the trifecta in the Belmont Stakes for $532.96, and later in June, he crushed a Pick 4 at Belmont for $555. Those are just some of his scores this year. In each of the last two years, his top pick has won the Travers Stakes. Now, he's sharing all of his 2023 Travers Stakes bets here.
Top 2023 Travers Stakes expert picks
Here's a refresher on these types of bets from SportsLine's Bob Weir:
Exacta: Pick the first- and second-place finishers in the correct order. A $1 exacta returned $9.40 at last year's Travers Stakes with Epicenter and Cyberknife.
Trifecta: Pick the first-, second- and third-place finishers in the correct order. A $1 trifecta returned $27.50 at last year's Travers Stakes with Epicenter, Cyberknife, and Zandon.
Superfecta: Pick the first-, second-, third- and fourth-place finishers in the correct order. A $1 superfecta returned $146.50 at last year's Travers Stakes with Epicenter, Cyberknife, Zandon, and Rich Strike.
While Weir has no quibbles with the favorite status of Forte (7-5), he is also holding tickets with Mage (4-1) and is using a double-digit longshot in his exotics who could spice up the payouts. You can see his picks here.
How to make 2023 Travers Stakes bets
Weir has specific recommendations for exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers so you can cover all your bases at the Travers Stakes 2023. He's sharing them over at SportsLine.
