Wagering up significantly from last year for 2026 Travers Day at Saratoga, as Leading Change upsets Golden Tempo

SARATOGA SPRINGS – More than $60 million was wagered on Saturday’s Travers Day card at Saratoga Race Course, a noted increase from 2025 and the second-highest all-sources wagering handle in the history of the Travers.

The New York Racing Association announced Saturday night that Travers Day, headlined by Leading Change’s win in the Midsummer Derby, generated an all-sources handle of $60,863,320, including an on-track wagering handle of $11,197,855.

Wagering on Travers Day jumped more than $6 million from a year ago, when $54,309,929 was wagered from all sources on a day highlighted by Sovereignty’s Travers victory and a gutsy victory by the popular filly Thorpedo Anna in the Personal Ensign. This year’s on-track handle was also an increase of nearly $1 million from 2025’s figure of $10,369,950.

This year’s Travers Day handle was second only to 2024, when a card highlighted by Fierceness winning the Travers over Thorpedo Anna generated a record $63,023,405.

NYRA also announced a paid attendance for Saturday’s 14-race card of 47,659. That’s a drop of just under 600 from the 48,255 who came through the turnstiles for the 2025 Travers. When the record wagering handle was recorded in 2024, a paid attendance of 47,844 fans was announced.

Paid attendance for Travers Day was also slightly higher than the 46,128 announced for this year’s Belmont Stakes at Saratoga.

The Travers card, which was broadcast nationally on Fox – with portions also airing on FS1 and FS2 – was highlighted by Leading Change overcoming Napoleon Solo down the stretch to win the Midsummer Derby for jockey Manny Franco and trainer Brad Cox. Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner trained by Cherie DeVaux, was third.

Five other graded stakes races, including four Grade 1 events, were also contested. The other Grade 1 winners were Ways and Means in the Ballerina, Englishman in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, Hymn in the Forego and Fully Subscribed in the Personal Ensign. Naomis won the Grade 2 Lake Placid.

The day started with former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson getting his first-ever win as a Thoroughbred owner when Club Reign, a colt Wilson and his wife Ciara – a music star – co-own through Three Brand Racing, powered to a six-length victory in the day’s first race.

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This article originally published at Wagering up significantly from last year for 2026 Travers Day at Saratoga, as Leading Change upsets Golden Tempo.