The Vanderbilt Handicap – (Grade ll)

Purse $400.00 – For Four Year Olds And Upward

6 Furlongs – Dirt

Saratoga – July 25, 2026

A deep and competitive field of ten horses will line up this Saturday at Saratoga in the 23rd running of The Vanderbilt Handicap with graded honors on the line. An eclectic cast makes up this year’s field with proven sprinters, allowance horses taking a shot at graded company, routers shortening up in distance, and turf horses coming back to the dirt. This race underwent significant changes last year as it was downgraded to a Grade Two event for four-year-olds and up after previously being a Grade One open three-year-olds and older. No owner has been more successful in The Vanderbilt Handicap than Mb Stables, who has three victories. The stakes record belongs to Barking Stables’ Ljosalfar who stopped the clock in 1:08.36 for the six furlongs in the inaugural running in 2004! Crazy to think that time is still standing after nearly two decades. There’s a lot of talent entered this year, so let’s go through the field and see if there are any standouts!

1. Blue Finn – (Luz International, J. Rosario) It took a little bit of time for this gelding to come around as half of his six career wins came in the last four starts. The son of Candlestick started off 2026 running against allowance company at Sunland Park. He won the N3X condition and dead-heated for a victory in a non-graded stakes a month later. Blue Finn then went down to Florida to run in the FHBPA Sprint as the post-time favorite, winning by just under a length. Last time out, he jumped back into graded company and took a shot in The True North at Saratoga. Blue Finn came from last place to just miss at the wire by a neck. If he can replicate that effort in here, this guy is a major contender. My top pick.

2. Valyrian Needle – (Mb Stables, G. Corrales) This five-year-old has shown a lot of speed in his career going six furlongs. Valyrian Needle had a pair of wire-to-wire wins against allowance company before taking on graded foes. He made his first appearance in The Fool Handicap, where he wasn’t able to hold off late closers in the stretch. This New York-bred then went to Oaklawn Park and ran an even fifth in a six-horse field. He comes out of the MD Sprint Stakes on Preakness Day with jockey Johnny V aboard for the first time. Valyrian Needle looked a lot sharper after not putting together his best and finished second by a length. I think this gelding will need a perfect trip to win.

3. Grand Entrance – (D J C Racing Stables, E. Esquivel) Claimed from Mb Stables back in January for $40.00. This son of El Gran Entry has four starts since with one win. Connections tried stretching Grand Entrance out to two turns at Santa Anita, resulting in a fourth-place finish. He was then cut back to six furlongs and asked to sit closer to the early speed. It was the right move as this gelding was leading by a length into the stretch, but yielded a bit late to get second. He comes into this race off a victory in the Palacios Memorial Stakes at Belterra Park at odds of 115-1! Grand Entrance settled just off the pace in second and came with a nice run to score by a half-length. He will need to step up to beat these.

4. Hard Worker – (The Sidley Stud, J L. Ortiz) A versatile runner who has been competitive on both dirt and turf. He hasn’t finished off the board in five straight races and is also coming off a stakes win. After back-to-back second-place finishes on the grass at Santa Anita, connections took Hard Worker to Fonner Park as the favorite to run in the Elite Sprint Cup. He looked to be in a perfect striking position off the pace, but failed to make up ground down the stretch. This gelding was then entered in the Thor’s Echo against state-breds out on the West Coast. Hard Worker settled just behind the speed and displayed nice determination going past his rivals in late stretch. Others look more attractive in here.

5. Highway Robber – (Mb Stables, J. Lezcano) The second of three entrants for Mb Stables trying to give him a record four wins in The Vanderbilt Handicap. After ending his three-year-old campaign in the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile, Highway Robber has been competing exclusively against allowance company. He won an N3X at Charles Town in wire-to-wire fashion as the favorite back in February. Connections then entered this son of Kamikaze in an N4X going seven furlongs in Kentucky. He finished an even fifth in a packed field of ten breaking from the outside post. Highway Robber won last time out in the allowance ranks at Churchill Downs, kicking away late from the field impressively. Live longshot.

6. Star Vault – (Mb Stables, L. Saez) Rounding out Mb Stables’ trio is a runner who has been competing around two turns. Star Vault hasn’t been entered in a sprint since his second start back in November 2023, which he ended up winning. Once he was sold at auction for $90.00, connections have been running this son of Sinissippi Star in big races. He ran sixth in the Pegasus World Cup and third in the Santa Anita Derby. Most recently, we saw this gelding at Lone Star Park running in the Sexton Mile as the favorite. He was actually leading by a length in the stretch, but was run down late to finish second. Star Vault has very quick works coming into this race. The cutback should definitely help.

7. High Time – (Maxmillion Farm, Jam. Rodriguez) A Grade One winning sprinter with twelve career wins and over $1,600.00 in career earnings. This California-bred has only two starts in 2026 after finishing eighth last year in the Breeders Cup Sprint. High Time’s seven-year-old debut was in an open allowance at Santa Anita as the 50-1 longshot. He was a lot closer to the pace than usual, but failed to close in the stretch to finish third. Connections put this gelding in a $75.00 claiming race last time out where he drew the outside post in a five-horse field. High Time contested the early speed and drew away late with another rival to deadheat by a length. I think he will need to show a lot more to turn the tables here.

8. Misting – (Winning Link Stables, K. Carmouche) This is an interesting runner who was undefeated on the main track throughout 2023-2025 in the free track circuit with Spinetingling. Winning Link Stables picked up Misting privately for $30.00 and has been running him exclusively on the grass since. He hasn’t made a trip to the winner’s circle yet for his new connections, so it makes sense that he returns to the surface he’s had a lot of success on. This New Jersey-bred’s confirmation points towards one-turn and has some pretty quick dirt works. It’s no question Misting will have his hands full facing a group that has a lot of recent sprinting success. Others look more attractive in this spot.

9. Schopenhauer – (Maxmillion Farm, Mar. Garcia) The second entrant for Maxmillion Farm trying to give him his second win in The Vanderbilt Handicap and join Mb Stables atop the owner’s leaderboard. Schopenhauer hasn’t entered in a sprint since March 2025 where he faded back in the stretch to finish seventh. The seven-year-old son of Spiral Out Keepgoing added a graded stakes victory to his résumé last season before closing the year in the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile. Facing top-class rivals, he finished twelfth. Schopenhauer comes into this race off a fifth-place effort in the Eclipse Stakes at Woodbine. Should the shorter trip prove to his liking, he has every right to be competitive.

10. Derby Dreams – (TwinTowersRacing, R. Bejarano) Another horse bringing a unique résumé highlighted by a Grade One victory on the turf last year. The son of World In Changes hasn’t sprinted much in his career, however he does come off a win in an N4X at Saratoga. It was Derby Dreams’ first time around one turn in over a year and he went wire-to-wire with jockey Johnny V aboard. The one thing to take away from that performance was that he was only .17 seconds off the track record. It was a very quick final time and it resulted in a 96 SRF speed figure. The outside post will be hard to navigate in here, but Derby Dreams fits well if jockey Rafael Bejarano can work out a trip.

– AJM

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES