A thrilling week of North American horse racing was spotlighted by Saratoga Race Course’s DraftKings Travers Stakes card, which showcased five outstanding Grade 1 events. Saturday’s action across the country featured five Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series matchups, alongside the lucrative opening weekend at Kentucky Downs, causing significant shifts on the Equibase standings. Eight new contenders broke into the top 50, showcasing fresh pacesetters in the juvenile categories as well as the older female division.
Conditioned by Brad Cox, Leading Change closed strongly to secure a 10.38-1 surprise victory in the 157th edition of Saratoga’s Travers Stakes. Guided by a masterfully timed ride from Manny Franco, the Gun Runner colt got the better of a determined Napoleon Solo to capture the legendary “Mid-Summer Derby.” Remarkably, Leading Change had made his winning racecourse debut only 83 days earlier on June 7 in a Churchill Downs maiden special weight. He quickly followed that up with a hard-fought triumph in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby on July 11. Maintaining a perfect three-for-three record with $934,196 bankrolled in 2026, he climbed to seventh among sophomore males and 21st overall in the Equibase earnings rankings.
Seneca Park took over the lead in the two-year-old filly category and became the inaugural stakes winner for sire Golden Pal on Sunday, capturing the $750,000 Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs for trainer Dallas Stewart. After securing a four-length debut victory in an Ellis Park turf sprint on August 7, she led from start to finish under Brian Hernandez Jr. just three weeks later. Boasting $502,318 in prize money, Seneca Park now occupies the 68th spot in the overall standings while heading the freshman filly division.
On August 29 at Kentucky Downs, the Epicenter colt Mid American earned his sire’s very first stakes victory. Under Jaime Torres, the chestnut colt seized control turning for home in the Keeneland Sales Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint Stakes and held off challengers for a three-quarter-length win for trainer James DiVito. This followed a debut where he was a well-beaten seventh on dirt, but he quickly rebounded 23 days later to break his maiden by 3 ¼ lengths on the Ellis Park turf on August 9. With an unblemished two-for-two turf record and $495,821 in bankrolls, Mid American now commands the top spot among juvenile males and sits 70th overall.
Kentucky Downs was also the launchpad for a new pacesetter in the older female division on Saturday. The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained In Our Time, a five-year-old daughter of Not This Time, drew away in the stretch to score an easy 3 ½-length victory in the Grade 1 Never Say Die Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint under Micah Husbands. This victory bankrolled over $1 million, pushing her lifetime earnings to $1,993,305. Marking her second graded stakes score of the season, she now sits at the pinnacle of the older female category and occupies ninth place in the overall standings with $1,301,213 earned in 2026.
The most impressive showing of the weekend likely occurred on the Travers undercard during the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes. Englishman, who had previously equaled Saratoga’s seven-furlong track record of 1:20.40 in the June 6 Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, maintained his perfect local record with a dominant 3 ¾-length win for trainer Cherie DeVaux. Ridden by Jose Ortiz, the Maxfield colt stopped the clock in 1:20.71 for the seven furlongs, just missing Runhappy’s 2015 stakes record of 1:20.54 by less than a fifth of a second. The three-year-old has now won three of his four starts in 2026, capturing consecutive Grade 1 events and accumulating $725,200 this year. He places 12th among sophomore males and 32nd overall in the Equibase standings, securing a 118 Equibase Speed Figure for his Jerkens performance.
Recording the week’s top Equibase Speed Figure, Test Score earned a 119 for his gritty win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap Presented by the Japan Racing Association under Juan Hernandez. The Graham Motion-trained four-year-old colt by Lookin At Lucky secured a guaranteed spot in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf with the performance. Having kicked off his four-year-old season by winning the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes, Test Score bounced back from three consecutive losses with his successful California excursion. He is currently ranked 11th among older males and 22nd overall, with $920,500 amassed in 2026.
Following a highly successful Travers card, Klaravich Stables overtook longtime frontrunner Godolphin for the top spot in the owners’ standings. Klaravich enjoyed Grade 1 triumphs from Fully Subscribed in the Personal Ensign Stakes and Ways and Means in the Resorts World Casino Ballerina Stakes. Amassing $6,608,203 in 2026 earnings, Klaravich joins Godolphin as the only ownership group to eclipse the $6 million mark so far this year.
Flavien Prat is closing the gap on Jose Ortiz in the national rider standings, narrowing the deficit to under $1 million. Last week, Prat dominated the colony with 15 wins and $2,087,357 in purses, becoming only the second jockey in North America to cross the $27 million earnings mark in 2026. Meanwhile, Manny Franco climbed into fourth place overall after wrapping up the week with $1,877,465 in earnings. Following his Travers victory with Leading Change, Franco guided four more winners on Saratoga’s Sunday card. With 62 wins this season, he has already tripled his total from the 2025 Saratoga meeting.
The top eight spots in the trainers’ standings remained unchanged. Brad Cox maintained his firm grip on first place, eclipsing $21 million in 2026 earnings after bringing in another $1,346,063 over the course of the week.
Leading trainer of the week by purse money — Saffie Joseph Jr.: 6 victories, $1,886,430
Leading jockey of the week by purse money — Flavien Prat: 15 victories, $2,087,357
Top Equibase Speed Figure in a graded event last week — Test Score: 119
North American leaderboards tracking horses, riders, conditioners, and owners can be accessed via equibase.com, where users can customize standings based on criteria like age, gender, running surface, and race conditions.
