Fasig-Tipton Festival of Racing – The 88th running of the Whitney
Post time: 5:46 PM
The $1.25 million Whitney, one of North America’s premier races for older horses, will top the card of a blockbuster day of racing that includes five stakes. The prestigious Whitney will pair with the Grade 1 Longines Test for 3-year-old fillies atop the festival card, which also offers the Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Waya for turf fillies and mares. The winner of the prestigious race will be feted with a special custom-designed horse blanket made of Marylou Whitney pink roses.
The Whitney Handicap will also be distinguished by a sterling silver, three-handled chalice trophy that will be designated for the winning owner of the race. The trophy is adorned with the Whitney crest to commemorate one of Saratoga’s most historic races. The prestigious Whitney will pair with the Grade 1 Longines Test for 3-year-old fillies and the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Waya for older fillies and mares on the turf atop the festival card.
Fashion Saturday
All Day Event
This weekly event is designed to highlight the tradition of style and glamour in thoroughbred racing at the Saratoga Pavilion each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Local fashion retailers and spas will be highlighted throughout the Saratoga season. Prizes for the best dressed man and woman will be awarded each Saturday afternoon, including participation in a trophy presentation for the Fashion Saturday race.
Stakes Races
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- Lure Post time: 2:44 PM
$100,000 1 1/16 4&UP (Turf) - Fasig-Tipton De La Rose Post time: 4:33 PM
$100,000 1 Mile F&M 4&UP (Turf)- Named for the 1981 champion turf filly who carried the colors of Henryk de Kwiatkowski, the one-mile turf race for fillies and mares had its first two editions in 2004 and 2005 split into editions. De La Rose, a daughter of English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, won 11 of her 26 career starts and earned $544,647. Trained by Woody Stephens, De La Rose won a number of graded stakes during her championship year including the Diana, the Athenia, the Saranac, the Long Branch, the Hollywood Derby and the E. P. Taylor.
- Longines Test Post time: 5:11 PM
GI $500,000 7 Furlongs F3YO (Dirt)- First run at Saratoga as a 1 ¼-mile event for 3-year-old fillies in 1922, the Test was reduced to the present seven furlongs the following year. Not run from 1923-25 nor in 1961, the Test was run in divisions on multiple occasions, most recently in 1979.
- Whitney Post time: 5:46 PM
GI $1,250,000 1 1/8 3&UP (Dirt)- Named after the family that for generations has had so much to do with racing at Saratoga, the Whitney Handicap was first run in 1928. The Whitney family’s involvement with thoroughbreds began when William Collins Whitney, one of the founders of The Jockey Club, began campaigning racehorses in 1898, bearing the familiar Eton blue-and-brown silks. His legacy was carried on by his son, Harry Payne Whitney, and grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, who died in 1992, with other family members involved under various names including Greentree Stables. Whitney-owned horses have won every major race in the United States including multiple wins at the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Prior to 1954, the Whitney was run at 1 ¼ miles as a weight-for-age event, and from 1957-69 it was restricted to 4-year-olds and up. Beginning in 1955 it was run at its current distance of 1 1/8 miles. It returned to a weight-for-age event for the 2014 edition.
- Fasig-Tipton Waya Post time: 6:23 PM
GII $200,000 1 1/2 F&M 3&UP (Turf)- The turf race for fillies and mares was run four times during the 1990’s – twice at 1 3/8 miles (1993-94) and twice at 1 5/8 miles (1996-96) – and was reinstituted in 2003 at 1 ½ miles on the grass. The race is named for champion mare who distinguished herself both in her native France and in the United States. In 1978, after having won multiple stakes in Europe, she came to America and won six of nine starts including victories over males in the Grade 1 Man o’ War and the Grade 1 Turf Classic. The following year she won four straight stakes in New York and California, including the Top Flight in her first-ever appearance on dirt, and was voted Champion Older Female.
- Lure Post time: 2:44 PM
General Information
40 days, July 24-September 7
Dark Tuesdays
Gates open:
Weekdays – 11:00 a.m.
Weekends- 10:30 a.m.
Travers Day – 7:00 a.m.
Post times:
1 p.m. daily (Dark Tuesdays)
11:45 a.m. on Travers Day, Saturday, August 29
12:30 p.m. on Whitney Day, Saturday, September 5 through Labor Day (Sept. 7)
For information prior to the meet please phone (718) 641-4700 or (516) 488-6000.
For information during the 2015 Saratoga meet (July 24 to Sept. 7), please call (518) 584-6200.
Event Categories: Events
