ITM Telegraph — Sovereignty Reclaims His Throne in the Whitney | Sunday, August 9, 2026

In The Money Telegraph

Sunday, August 9, 2026 · By ITM Staff

He’s Back: Sovereignty Reclaims His Throne

The king is back. A year removed from winning two legs of the Triple Crown and Horse of the Year honors, Sovereignty had gone quiet in 2026 — beaten in his first two starts and winless since last summer’s Travers. Then came the 99th Whitney. Rallying wide under Junior Alvarado for Bill Mott, Sovereignty swept past a stellar field to win the Grade 1, $1 million showcase by 4¾ lengths in 1:47.91, punching an automatic ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The champion filly Nitrogen ran a huge race on the lead and held second, with Antiquarian third; favored Magnitude faded in the stretch and finished off the board. It was a signature performance from a horse who suddenly looks every bit himself again — and a nod to JK, who landed on Sovereignty in our Whitney preview.

The Rest of a Loaded Whitney Day

Sovereignty headlined, but Saratoga’s four-Grade-1 afternoon delivered top to bottom. In the Test, Explora made 9-5 look like a bargain with a daylight romp for Bob Baffert and Flavien Prat, earning “Rising Star” buzz. In the Fourstardave, Deterministic defended his crown and ran his turf winning streak to six. And in the Saratoga Derby, Glacius shipped in and stole it with a front-running turf score.

There was history under the fading light, too: Todd Pletcher notched the 6,000th win of his career when Versailles Road took the day’s finale under Manny Franco — a remarkable milestone for one of the era’s defining trainers. One sour note on a big day: Irad Ortiz Jr. was hurt in a pre-race incident before Race 8 and was unable to take his stakes mounts the rest of the afternoon; here’s hoping for a quick recovery.

Harness Racing’s Biggest Day: A Photo for the Ages

Down at the Meadowlands, the Hambletonian delivered exactly the three-horse war everyone hoped for — and then some. Apex, driven by Dexter Dunn for Marcus Melander, held off favorite Big Ranger by a nose in a stakes-record 1:49.2, a clocking that also set a track record for a three-year-old trotter and came within a fifth of a second of the world record. For Dunn, it completed a rare double: he’s the first driver since Mike Lachance in 2003 to win the Meadowlands Pace and the Hambletonian in the same year. In the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, Nezuko Kamado S got a slick trip from Yannick Gingras and held off a game Carve by a neck. (Our ITM harness crew leaned to Endurance as the price play of the three; the race went to the top two on the board instead — but the framing was right: Apex and Big Ranger, noses apart.)

Today’s Card: Sunday at the Spa and the Shore

The racing doesn’t stop. At Saratoga, the Grade 2 Troy — that annual turf-sprint brawl — headlines Sunday. PTF welcomed back Joe Migliore of Adelfi Racing to go through the whole card; both landed on 26 Black in the Troy. Watch below.

Out west, Dean Keppler has the full Del Mar card, where the Grade 3 Sorrento for juvenile fillies is the stakes attraction; his best bet is Miss Monica in Race 2. Read Dean’s Del Mar card →

ICYMI: Randy Moss on the Triple Crown

If the racing kept you busy this weekend, don’t miss the week’s big talker. PTF sat down with NBC Sports’ Randy Moss to unpack the television-rights fight reshaping the Triple Crown — how it really unfolded, why NYRA moved first, and where it might all land. His verdict, in a line: the Triple Crown isn’t dead, it might just take a year off. Read the full write-up →

More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com and on the ITM YouTube channel, with premium coverage on ITM Plus.