A special two-day Pick 4 featuring exciting stakes action Friday and Saturday from historic Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., during Runhappy Travers weekend paid $156.50 on a $2 base for selecting 4-of-4 winners. The total pool was $169,386.
The wager, which featured a mandatory payout, ran its first two legs on Friday's card and concluded on Saturday during Runhappy Travers Day.
Friday saw New York breds earn the spotlight at the Spa, with six stakes worth a combined $1.15 million for horses bred in the Empire State on the card. The two-day Pick 4 started with the $250,000 Albany for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track in Race 9, with Americanrevolution posting a five-length win as the heavy favorite. Meet-leading rider Luis Saez stayed off the pace before coaxing a strong closing surge from Americanrevolution, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. He completed the course in 1:49.94 and paid $3.40 on a $2 win bet.
Saez earned a personal double by leading Giacosa to victory in the following race, rallying from ninth to best Myhartblongstodady by three-quarters of a length to win the $150,000 Yaddo for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Trained by H. James Bond, Giacosa went off at 9-1 but hit the wire in 1:42.54, paying $20.80.
Saturday closed the Pick 4 with a pair of prestigious Grade 1 contests, starting when favorite Letruska topped Bonny South by a half-length in an exciting finish to the $600,000 Personal Ensign presented by Lia Infiniti. Conditioned by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska went gate-to-wire in the 1 1/8-mile main track contest, registering a final time of 1:49.15 under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Letruska returned $3.50.
The 152nd running of the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers for sophomores contesting the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles closed out the wager when favorite Essential Quality held off Midnight Bourbon by a neck to bolster his case as the top 3-year-old.
Essential Quality, the winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy in his previous start at the Spa, gave trainer Brad Cox his first career Runhappy Travers win, while Saez earned his second and first since 2013 when he rode Will Take Charge. Essential Quality posted a final time of 2:01.96 and paid $2.90.
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