The Travers: Saratoga’s Midsummer Derby – Celebrating the Legacy with Authors Brien Bouyea and Michael Veitch
On November 14, 2024, the Saratoga Springs History Museum traded snow flurries for summer thunder as guests packed into the gallery for The Travers: Saratoga’s Midsummer Derby – Celebrating the Legacy with Authors Brien Bouyea and Michael Veitch. For one brisk autumn evening, everyone in the room was transported trackside to hot August afternoons, roaring crowds, and some of the most unforgettable moments in American racing.
A Summer Race on a Chilly Fall Night
Hall of Fame and Communications Director at the National Museum of Racing, Brien Bouyea, opened the program by setting the stage: the Travers Stakes is not just Saratoga’s signature race—it’s older than any of the Triple Crown races and dates back to 1864. Now in its 155th running, this “Midsummer Derby” has survived wars, economic crises, and even a global pandemic, all while maintaining its prestige as America’s oldest stakes race for 3-year-olds.
Bouyea and fellow racing historian Michael Veitch then introduced their updated edition of The Travers: Saratoga’s Midsummer Derby, 1864–2023, a richly illustrated coffee table book that chronicles all 154 runnings from 1864 through 2023. Originally published five years ago, the new edition adds the most recent winners—Code of Honor, Tiz the Law, Essential Quality, Epicenter, and Arcangelo—along with fresh artwork and newly compiled statistics on Saratoga’s all-time leading trainers and jockeys.
Described by Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s Charles Hayward as “the best racing book since Seabiscuit,” the volume served as the launchpad for an evening of storytelling that was equal parts history lesson, love letter to Saratoga, and behind-the-scenes tour of the Travers’ most dramatic chapters.
Legendary Races, Unlikely Heroes
Across the evening, Bouyea and Veitch each shared two Travers stories—some famous, some almost forgotten, all fascinating.
Veitch began with Lemon Drop Kid, the 1999 Travers winner and one of five champions trained by the late Hall of Famer Scotty Schulhofer. Guests heard how Schulhofer patiently managed the colt through illness, setbacks, and a tricky early 3-year-old campaign before guiding him to victory in the Belmont Stakes and then the Travers. Lemon Drop Kid eventually became a Grade 1 winner at 2, 3, and 4, and earned an Eclipse Award as champion older male—an arc that showcased both the horse’s toughness and Schulhofer’s quiet genius.
From there, Veitch moved to Birdstone, whose story is inseparable from Saratoga itself. Bred and owned by the late Marylou Whitney, Birdstone famously spoiled Smarty Jones’s Triple Crown bid in the 2004 Belmont Stakes, then came to Saratoga to win the Travers in a race run under almost supernatural conditions. As Veitch recounted, a sudden, dramatic storm plunged the track into near darkness just as the race ended—a fittingly theatrical backdrop for a colt whose Belmont victory already belonged to legend. Today, Birdstone enjoys retirement at Old Friends in Kentucky, his Travers and Belmont triumphs firmly etched into racing history.
Bouyea then turned to perhaps the most iconic Travers tale of all: Jim Dandy’s 1930 shocker. In front of a crowd of 50,000 that had come to see Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, Jim Dandy—winless that season, dismissed at 100–1, and often last in his races—splashed through a sea of mud to win by eight lengths. While Gallant Fox rebounded to finish the year as Horse of the Year and a Hall of Famer, Jim Dandy never again approached such heights. Yet his lone great moment at Saratoga was enough to secure his legacy: today, the Jim Dandy Stakes serves as the traditional prep for the Travers, and his name lives on in track lore and even in a bar at the racecourse.
The final story of the night was timed perfectly to the season: Thanksgiving, the 1938 Travers winner with a truly miraculous backstory. Trained by Mary Hirsch, the first woman ever licensed by The Jockey Club, Thanksgiving had survived being struck by lightning at Saratoga as a 2-year-old. Against all odds, he recovered, returned to racing, and thrived under Hirsch’s care. In the 1938 Travers, with a young Eddie Arcaro in the saddle, Thanksgiving led all the way to win by five lengths in the fastest Travers time since Man o’ War in 1920.
Bouyea emphasized how extraordinary Hirsch’s achievements were for the era—training a Travers winner, saddling a Kentucky Derby starter, and building a successful stable at a time when women were barely tolerated in the sport, let alone recognized. It would take 85 more years, until 2023, for another woman—Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo—to win the Travers.
A Race That Outlasts Everything
In the Q&A, Bouyea and Veitch fielded questions that further highlighted the Travers’ place in Saratoga history. Guests learned how the race’s distance changed over time, how purses rose and fell with economic fortunes, and how Saratoga itself nearly lost racing more than once, only to rebound stronger.
Again and again, one theme emerged: the Travers is a survivor. It has endured anti-gambling crackdowns, financial instability, world wars, and sweeping changes in the sport—yet it remains one of racing’s most coveted prizes and a defining ritual of summer in Saratoga Springs.
About the Authors
Throughout the evening, it was clear just how deeply both authors are woven into Saratoga’s racing fabric:
Brien Bouyea serves as Hall of Fame and Communications Director at the National Museum of Racing and is a former executive sports editor of The Saratogian. His work has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors and the New York News Publishers Association. His earlier book, Bare Knuckles and Saratoga Racing: The Remarkable Life of John Morrissey, is already a staple for local history buffs.
Michael Veitch, a native of Saratoga Springs, spent four decades covering thoroughbred racing as lead writer for The Saratogian and The Pink Sheet. He is the author of several essential volumes on Saratoga racing history, a trustee of the National Museum of Racing, chair of its Hall of Fame Historic Review Committee, and a member of the Saratoga Springs History Museum Hall of Fame.
Their shared knowledge—and their obvious affection for both the horses and the people who shaped the Travers—made the evening feel less like a lecture and more like being invited into the backstretch conversations that built Saratoga’s lore.
Supporting History, One Book at a Time
In addition to the talk, guests had the chance to ask questions, meet the authors, and purchase signed copies of The Travers: Saratoga’s Midsummer Derby, 1864–2023. A portion of the evening’s book sales was generously donated to the Saratoga Springs History Museum, helping support our mission to preserve and share the stories that make this city so unique.
For racing fans, history lovers, and anyone who has ever felt the electricity of Travers Day, this program was a reminder of why Saratoga is known as “the August place to be”—and why its stories are worth preserving long after the cheers fade.
Stay tuned to the Museum’s website and social channels for upcoming programs that continue to explore the rich, intertwined histories of Saratoga Springs, its people, and its world-famous track.