Opening Day at Saratoga
At 1h17, on July 13, 2023 • By SARATOGA
Opening Day gets underway with the traditional Grade 3, $175,000 Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs on the main track at Saratoga Race Course. The Schuylerville, slated for Race 9 on Thursday’s 10-race card, kicks off stakes action on Opening Day of the 40-day summer meet at Saratoga, which features 71 stakes worth $20.8 million. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
The traditional opening-day feature drew a wide-open field of 11 fillies, most of which are light on experience. The expected favorite is Belmont debut winner Wine On Tap (#7), who goes out for Todd Pletcher. She earned a 93 TimeformUS Speed Figure for her debut.
The horse to beat is the morning-line second choice Saratoga Secret (#5). This well-bred daughter of Arrogate is bred to go much longer than this, so it was encouraging to see her win that debut sprinting at Ellis.
Sugar Treat (#11) could sit a good trip from midpack. She overcame adversity to win her debut on synthetic, but must prove she can handle the transition to dirt. Status Seeker (#4) wasn’t the quickest away from the gate on debut and was forced to stalk in behind a trio of leaders before professionally splitting rivals at the top of the stretch.
