Brother jockeys Irad Ortiz Jr. and Jose Ortiz will try to win the family's first Travers Stakes when they leave the starting gate in the 2023 Travers Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Despite winning six of the last nine riding titles at Saratoga, the brothers are a combined 0-for-20 in the Travers. On Saturday, Irad has the mount on reigning two-year-old champion Forte, the 7-5 favorite in the 2023 Travers Stakes odds. Jose will ride Blue Grass Stakes winner Tapit Trice, a 12-1 longshot among the 2023 Travers Stakes horses. Belmont Stakes hero Arcangelo, who will be ridden by six-time Travers Stakes winner Javier Castellano, is 5-2 in the seven-horse 2023 Travers Stakes field.
Post time for the 1¼-mile Travers Stakes 2023 is 6:11 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Saratoga Springs-based racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker Bob Weir has to say before making any 2023 Travers Stakes picks.
A member of the Beyer Speed Figure-making team, 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 red-hot in the Triple Crown prep races, hitting the superfecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for $1,678 and exactas in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby. He also 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.
In April of this year, he hit a Pick 4 at Gulfstream Park for $641, the exacta in the Florida Derby, a Pick 5 at Keeneland and the exacta in the Lexington Stakes. He smashed the trifecta in the Belmont Stakes for $532.96, and later in June he crushed the Pick 4 at Belmont for $555. In each of the last two years, his top pick has won the Travers Stakes. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
For Saturday, he has handicapped the 2023 Travers Stakes lineup, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2023 Travers Stakes predictions
One surprise: Weir is high on National Treasure, even though he's an 8-1 longshot. Trained by Bob Baffert, National Treasure enters the Travers off a layoff since June 10 when he finished sixth in the Belmont Stakes.
Baffert originally was scheduled to also enter Reincarnate in the Travers Stakes, but has decided to run only National Treasure, which could suggest that the trainer is expecting a huge effort from the Preakness Stakes winner. "I will never doubt trainer Bob Baffert with these speedy 3-year-olds," Weir told SportsLine. Weir is using National Treasure in his 2023 Travers Stakes betting strategy. You can see all of Weir's 2023 Travers Stakes bets here.
How to make 2023 Travers Stakes picks
Weir's top pick is a surprising underdog whose connections have been eyeing the Travers for months. Weir also is high on a double-digit longshot who's a "late bloomer." Weir is including these horses in his 2023 Travers Stakes bets, and so should you. He's sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the Travers 2023, and what late-blooming longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2023 Travers Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir's picks for the Travers Stakes, all from the expert who's nailed the winner of this race the last two years, and find out.
2023 Travers Stakes odds, contenders
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
| 1 | Forte | 7-5 | SEE PICKS |
| 2 | Arcangelo | 5-2 | SEE PICKS |
| 3 | Tapit Trice | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 4 | Mage | 4-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 5 | National Treasure | 8-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 6 | Disarm | 8-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 7 | Scotland | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
