{"id":228880,"date":"2022-08-28T11:39:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-28T16:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=228880"},"modified":"2022-08-29T13:35:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T18:35:41","slug":"travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga, Epicenter Posts Big Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course is always one of the bigger days in horse racing, and on Saturday, the annual summer event enjoyed one of its best days ever.<\/p>\n

\"Epicenter\"<\/a>
Epicenter, ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, routs the field and earns a 5-1\/4-length win in Saturday’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY. The race was the main event on a 13-race card that generated a $55.6 million handle, a record at Saratoga for a Travers Day. (Image: NYRA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race card produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million. That\u2019s 6.6% higher than the previous record of $52.1 million set in 2019.<\/p>\n

\n

In addition, the paid attendance of 49,672 was the best showing for the Travers Stakes since 2015. That led to an on-track handle of $10.4 million, more than 10% higher than the $9.4 million wagered at Saratoga last year when 44,507 came for the Travers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Wagering on the prestigious race generated $16.3 million of the handle. It was the main event in a card featuring six stakes and five Grade 1 races.<\/p>\n

Epicenter Dominant in Travers<\/h2>\n

After a spring of bitter disappointments, Epicenter has enjoyed a tremendous summer at Saratoga. He won the Travers Saturday in commanding fashion as the even-money favorite in the 1-1\/4-mile race.<\/p>\n

With Joel Rosario aboard, Epicenter stalked pacesetter Cyberknife for most of the first mile. That’s before making a commanding move around the final turn to pull away to a 5-1\/4-length win in 2:00.72.<\/p>\n

Cyberknife, coming off a win in the Haskell Stakes, held off strong closing efforts by Blue Grass Stakes winner Zandon and Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike to claim second.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Epicenter raced well in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes back in May. But each time, the Steve Asmussen-trained colt lost the lead in the final strides.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what makes racing so great,\u201d Asmussen told NYRA after the race. \u201cYou\u2019re bet on by what you\u2019ve done, but what you\u2019ve done previously doesn\u2019t get it done for you. For Epicenter to have competed in the Derby and the Preakness and still have this much horse now, we\u2019re extremely proud of that. That\u2019s what makes racing great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Epicenter paid $4 to win, $2.80 to place, and $2.30 to show. Cyberknife, the bettors\u2019 second choice at 7-2, paid $4.10 and $3.30, while Zandon paid $2.90.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the win, Epicenter is now the likely favorite to win the Eclipse Award for the champion 3-year-old<\/a>. He\u2019ll likely prepare now for the Nov. 5 Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic at Keeneland, and Asmussen said the colt may race one more time before then.<\/p>\n

Rich Strike Finishes Fourth<\/h2>\n

Rich Strike just missed the board Saturday. But after a disappointing showing in the Belmont back in June, the Derby winner may have gained a measure of respect after an 11-week layoff.<\/p>\n

While not the 80-1 shot<\/a> he was in the Derby, Rich Strike was still the sixth choice on the board at 10-1. But on Saturday, he and Sonny Leon were within a head of finishing second, battling two other Grade 1 stakes winners to the wire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe just got a little tired in the last 50 yards,\u201d Leon told NYRA. \u201cHe did a good job coming back after the layoff. He\u2019s doing better every single time. I think, mentally, he\u2019s growing up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course is always one of the bigger days in horse racing, and on Saturday, the annual summer event enjoyed one of its best days ever. The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race card produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million. That\u2019s 6.6% higher than the previous record of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":228883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,16],"tags":[82471,81900,34,82472,82418],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTravers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga; Epicenter Dominant<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race Travers Day card at Saratoga produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga; Epicenter Dominant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race Travers Day card at Saratoga produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-28T16:39:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-29T18:35:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"637\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/\",\"name\":\"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga; Epicenter Dominant\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-28T16:39:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-29T18:35:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race Travers Day card at Saratoga produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":637,\"caption\":\"Epicenter, ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, races to a 5-1\/4-length win in Saturday's Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY. The race was the main event on a 13-race card that generated a $55.6 million handle, a record at Saratoga for a Travers Day card. (Image: NYRA)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sports Betting\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Horse Racing\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/horse-racing\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga, Epicenter Posts Big Win\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\",\"name\":\"Steve Bittenbender\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Steve Bittenbender\"},\"description\":\"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga; Epicenter Dominant","description":"The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race Travers Day card at Saratoga produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga; Epicenter Dominant","og_description":"The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race Travers Day card at Saratoga produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-08-28T16:39:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-29T18:35:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":637,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Bittenbender","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steve Bittenbender","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/","name":"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga; Epicenter Dominant","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-28T16:39:40+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-29T18:35:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2"},"description":"The New York Racing Association announced the 13-race Travers Day card at Saratoga produced a record all-sources handle of $55.6 million.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Epicenter_Travers_1200.jpg","width":1200,"height":637,"caption":"Epicenter, ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, races to a 5-1\/4-length win in Saturday's Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY. The race was the main event on a 13-race card that generated a $55.6 million handle, a record at Saratoga for a Travers Day card. (Image: NYRA)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/travers-stakes-card-sets-betting-record-at-saratoga-epicenter-posts-big-win\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sports Betting","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Horse Racing","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/horse-racing\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Travers Stakes Card Sets Betting Record at Saratoga, Epicenter Posts Big Win"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2","name":"Steve Bittenbender","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","caption":"Steve Bittenbender"},"description":"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}