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Some of the nation's top horses are set to compete in the prestigious Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday (August 2). The $1 million, Grade 1 race features a strong lineup, including Travers champion Fierceness, 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone, and 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational victor White Abarrio.
Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. He has won six of his 11 career races and recently finished second in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. Pletcher has another contender, Mindframe, who is undefeated in 2025. However, Mindframe will only race if Fierceness is unable to compete, as Pletcher is targeting him for the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes later this month.
Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown, is the 2-1 second choice. After winning the Breeders' Cup Classic last year, Sierra Leone was runner-up in the Stephen Foster Stakes in June. White Abarrio, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., is a 4-1 shot and comes off a fourth-place finish in the Metropolitan Handicap. He won the Grade 3 Ghostzapper Stakes and the Pegasus World Cup earlier this year.
The Whitney Stakes is part of the "Win and You're In" Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, offering the winner an automatic berth in the 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. The race will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports, with post time set for 5:41 p.m.