The Whitney (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.00 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
August 8, 2026

It’s time for one of the biggest races of the SAR meet, as the Grade 1, $1,000.00 Whitney will be taking place for the 21st time. Ten horses will be heading to starting gate, looking for not only the winner’s share of that purse, but the automatic spot in the coveted BC Classic that will also be awarded. The Whitney has been won by some big names in the past, including Omni and Barbarino in the older days, and more recently, Atomic Twister, Splash Mountain, and Tactical. Taking the win last year was Fried Chicken, for Angelos Stable. Unfortunately, he would be a non-factor in the BC Classic and has not won another race since. He’s been hitting the board, though, so don’t write him off from winning more big races. Here is a look at those we’ll see run this time around!

1- The Stone Pony (Maletto, ridden by Ad Hernandez)- Last year, this PA-bred spent a lot of time running at PRX, and performed well enough both there and elsewhere to get into the BC Dirt Mile. While that would not go well, The Stone Pony returned to PRX and continued to run well. He’ll enter this Whitney on a race winning streak, with two of the wins coming in PA-bred stakes. Last time out, he kept my own Fins Up from winning the Banjo Picker Sprint in a photo. He’s been doing a lot sprinting lately, so that makes me wonder about his running nine furlongs here. Sure, he can stretch out, but can he do it against elite company? That’s a whole new question.

2- Charlie Jace (Mb Stables, ridden by A Fresu)- You just know that Mb Stables would be coming to the Whitney with a powerful trio of horses, and that’s exactly what he has done. With Charlie Jace, he has a five year old that is on a three race winning streak, and that’s a stronger streak than The Stone Pony is on. All three were triple digit SRF’s, and he regular hits that figure. Handled the Suburban well here last month, sharing the winner’s circle with his stablemate, Edward The Good, and they’ll be seeing one other closely again. He was fifth in the BC Classic last year, and is on the right path to get back to that race.

3- Edward The Good (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- As mentioned above, Edward The Good finished in a dead heat with his friend Charlie Jace right here last time out in the Grade 2 Suburban. A month prior to that, he ran here as well and had a similar result. The only difference was that he did not need to share the winner’s circle with anyone else in taking the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. Last year, he was a sprinter and was also sharp at the Spa, winning the Grade 3 True North before running a strong second in the Grade 1 Forego. While he’s been good his whole career, he may be at his best right now and is hard to look past here.

4- Special Event (Nakamura Stables, ridden by R Santana Jr)- While it did not result in a win, Special Event was impressive last time out, running third in the in the Grade 1 Foster at CD with a 102 SRF. Earlier, he rolled off a four race winning streak that began with a $75.00 ungraded stake at PRX and would culminate with the Grade 1 SA Handicap this March. He’s a six year old, and has definitely been a slow developer. Now, his day of destiny has arrived and the only question is just how far can he go. Regardless of what happens here, it will be interesting to see what the rest of the year holds for him.

5- Fawkes (Delta Farms, ridden by F Pennington)- His three year old season was one for the ages, winning both the Wood Memorial and the Haskell last year while picking up the fourth place check in the PRK along the way. If that’s where his story ended on the year, it’d be a great success, but he would have more work to do in November at DMR. It would be there where he would become legendary, capturing the BC Classic. Since then, he’s been good but maybe not spectacular. He’d place second to a familiar rival, Extreme Jet, in March at the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic for his best effort on the year. Unfortunately, he had an ugly performance in the Foster last time out. I sense that the trainer knows why it happened, but it is still tough to ignore.

6- Criminal Law (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- There have been times where Criminal Law looked like one of the best, with several productive results over his 22 starts that have led to him earning nearly $1,300.00 in total. Then, there have been times where he has looked completely lost, and unfortunately for the trainer that has been the case in his two starts that followed an OP Handicap win in April. You look at that race, and who he beat, it’s baffling how he has been so out of it in his last two. At any moment, this inconsistent gelding could bounce back and maybe he’s worth small consideration if his odds really climb, but I can’t trust him.

7- Mr Monarch (Simmer Down Stable, ridden by E J Wilson)- Claimed by the trainer for $40.00 two starts ago, and Simmer Down Stable immediately ran him at the graded level. Mr Monarch, a horse that has bounced around between trainers throughout his career, would win for the tenth time in 19 starts, grabbing the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes. You have to like a horse that knows how to win, and now he will be sharing the starting gate with some of the best horses in the game.

8- Eight West Party (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by M J Sanchez)- The eight year gelding will be starting from post eight as he celebrates his 60th career start. His 59th race was very successful, as he won the Grade 1 Foster at CD, topping several of these in the process as he formally earned his spot in the BC Classic. Running in the BC is nothing new to him, as after all he won the BC Dirt Mile last year. Additionally, he’s also becoming a pretty common face in the Whitney as he runs in the race for the fourth year in a row (8th in 2023, 5th in 2024, 3rd in 2025). He’ll look to continue that trend of running at least two spots better than he did the previous year here.

9- Salah (Royalty Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Salah made two starts here last year, running in both the Dandy and the Travers. After beating all but one horse in the Dandy, he could only beat one horse in the Travers, and that’s pretty indicative of the inconsistency that he has had over his career. After a flat performance in the Metropolitan Handicap two back, he did recover to win an open allowance sprint at ELP last time. If he’s at his best, he can be in the mix, but there are too many other contenders here that I feel better about.

10- Diametric (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Rounding out the field is a horse that is beginning to establish himself as one of the top active horses going right now. He’s earned triple digit SRF’s in his last seven starts, with four of them being wins. That’s highlighted by the CD in May to go with three Grade 3 wins. Additionally, he has been second in a photo in two other starts, and that includes to Eight West Party in the Foster last time out. His works are beautiful, and while he is on the right track already to get into the BC Classic, he has a great shot to make that official here.

Prediction: 10-8-2-3

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES