Summer At Saratoga Continues With Whitney Stakes Live This Saturday

A pair of horses bred in New York - Diversify and Mind Your Biscuits - headline a field of eight runners seeking an automatic berth into the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic in the 1 1/8 mile, $1.2 million Whitney this Saturday, Aug. 4, live at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN from Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The one-hour program is a part of the "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In - Presented by America's Best Racing."

Saturday's telecast also will include live coverage of the 7-furlong Longines Test STAKES for fillies and mares.

The Whitney is the fifth of 11 telecasts in the "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In - presented by America's Best Racing" on NBC and NBCSN, featuring 17 "Win and You're In" races plus other major STAKES races from some of America's most iconic racetracks. The series leads to the 35th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs Nov. 2-3 on NBC and NBCSN. The complete Challenge series TV schedule can be accessed here: http://www.breederscup.com/challenge-series/tv-schedule

NBC's coverage of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series on Saturday will be hosted by Nick Luck, who will be joined by analysts Randy Moss and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, reporter Britney Eurton and Daily Racing Form Handicapper Matt Bernier.

Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) will broadcast the Whitney and the Test STAKES from 5-6:00 p.m. ET on SiriusXM 83 with live internet streaming provided on the HRRN website, www.horseracingradio.net.

Diversify, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Rick Violette and ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., comes into Saturday's race off two wins at Belmont Park. He won the one-mile Commentator STAKES on May 28 and returned on July 7 with a dominant 6 ½ length, wire-to-wire score in the Suburban Stakes. Diversify, the 7-5 morning line favorite, also has shown a liking to Saratoga, winning last year's 1 1/8-mile Evan Shipman STAKES at the Spa by 11 ½ lengths.

The 5-year-old Mind Your Biscuits, one of world's top sprinters, will be trying to win a major distance race for the first time. Trained by co-owner Chad Summers and ridden by Joel Rosario, Mind Your Biscuits is a two-time winner of the Golden Shaheen STAKES in Dubai. He finished second in the one-mile Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in his previous start on June 9. Third in last year's TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar, Mind Your Biscuits won the Amsterdam STAKES at Saratoga in 2016.

Also of interest is the Todd Pletcher-trained 4-year-old Tapwrit, who won last year's Belmont Stakes. Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, Bridlewood Farm and Gainesway Stable et al, Tapwrit finished fifth in the Suburban STAKES last time out. Last year, Tapwrit finished fourth in the Travers STAKES at Saratoga.

The Whitney field from the rail out with jockey assignments and morning line odds is as follows:

1.Tapwrit (John Velazquez), 6-1; 2. Backyard Heaven (Javier Castellano), 9-2; 3. Dalmore (Ricardo Santana, Jr.), 30-1; 4. Mind Your Biscuits (Joel Rosario), 2-1; 5. Discreet Lover (Manny Franco) 30-1; 6. Diversify (Irad Ortiz, Jr.) 7-5; 7. Good Samaritan (Jose Ortiz), 12-1 and 8. McCracken (Brian Hernandez, Jr.) 15-1.

About Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships. The Breeders' Cup also administers the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2018 Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 14 races (13 Grade 1 events) with purses and awards totaling more than $30 million, will be held November 2-3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup website, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About NBC Sports Group

When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, NYRA, Breeders' Cup, Premier League, INDYCAR, Rugby World Cup, Six Nations Championship, Tour de France, French Open, and many more.

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