Longshot Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will try to match the feat of his father, Keen Ice, when he leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Travers Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. In the 2015 Travers, Keen Ice, a 16-1 longshot, rallied past Triple Crown hero American Pharoah to post one of the most shocking upsets in the history of the race. On Saturday in the Travers Stakes 2022, his son Rich Strike, who won the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 odds, is a 10-1 longshot in the 2022 Travers Stakes odds. Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter is the 7-5 favorite in the eight-horse 2022 Travers Stakes field, while Cyberknife is 7-2.
Post time for the 1 1/4-mile Travers Stakes 2022 is 5:44 p.m. ET. With an accomplished field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker Bob Weir has to say before making any Travers Stakes picks of your own.
A Saratoga Springs-based racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker, Weir is a two-time qualifier for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. He has produced multiple five-figure days at the track over the years, including a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar in 2014. Last year, he was on fire. He hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes, Blue Grass Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby and the superfecta in the Belmont Stakes.
He also called Essential Quality the "most likely winner" of last year's Travers and featured the colt heavily atop his wagers before the horse won.
This year, he has been red-hot in the Triple Crown prep races, hitting the superfecta in the Blue Grass Stakes, the trifecta in the Louisiana Derby and exactas in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby. He also has hit the 19-1 winner of the Man o' War Stakes, the trifecta in the Pegasus World Cup, the superfecta in the Met Mile and multiple Pick 4s, including May 14's at Belmont for $1,851. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, he has handicapped the 2022 Travers Stakes lineup, made his picks, and constructed his bets. You can only see them at SportsLine.
Top Travers Stakes picks
One surprise: Weir is low on the chances of Cyberknife, even though he is one of the top favorites at 7-2. Cyberknife is coming off a career-high 102 Beyer Speed Figure, which he earned in winning the Haskell. That figure is tied for the best figure earned by any of the eight 2022 Travers Stakes horses in his last start.
However, Weir questions the quality of the field Cyberknife beat in the Haskell, in which the favorite was Jack Christopher, who was not proven around two turns or beyond a mile. "There's no doubt that Cyberknife is an improving three-year-old, but I think this field will prove tougher than the Haskell's," Weir told SportsLine. Weir prefers three other 2022 Travers Stakes contenders over Cyberknife. See who they are right here.
How to make Travers Stakes picks
Moreover, Weir has a shocking opinion on Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike. Also, Weir's top pick is a horse whose trainer "seems as confident as ever leading up to this race." He also is high on a longshot who has achieved a feat no other Travers horse has. Weir is including these horses in his 2022 Travers bets, and so should you. He's only sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the Travers Stakes? What longshot is a must-back? And how has Weir constructed his wagers? Check out the latest Travers Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir's picks for the Travers Stakes, and find out.
2022 Travers Stakes odds, post positions
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
| 1 | Cyberknife | 7-2 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 2 | Rich Strike | 10-1 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 3 | Ain't Life Grand | 20-1 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 4 | Gilded Age | 30-1 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 5 | Artorius | 9-2 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 6 | Epicenter | 7-5 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 7 | Early Voting | 8-1 | SEE PICKS HERE |
| 8 | Zandon | 5-1 | SEE PICKS HERE |
