Some of the fastest horses in thoroughbred racing take the spotlight Saturday afternoon in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, a sprint going six furlongs on the dirt at Saratoga. The race offers a purse of $350,000, and the winner of the Vanderbilt sets himself up well for other important sprint races on the New York Racing Association circuit and beyond through the summer and fall.

Excitement about the race focuses on a pair of runners. Champion male sprinter Elite Power carries a seven-win streak into the Vanderbilt Handicap for hall of famer Bill Mott, including a score in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last year. His most-proven foe is Gunite, trained by fellow hall of fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who won the Aristides last out and hit the board in a pair of showcase races in the Middle East over the winter.

2023 Vanderbilt Handicap Information

• Race Date: Saturday, July 29
• Track: Saratoga Race Course
• Post Time: 4:26 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 6 furlongs
• Age/Sex: 3-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: TVG.com, Fox
• Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Vanderbilt Handicap Draw and Odds

These seven horses entered the 2023 edition of the Vanderbilt Handicap. This list includes their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for the race.

Vanderbilt Handicap Prep Race Results

The seven runners in the Vanderbilt Handicap come out of six different races. The only race that sends out more than one is the Nerud (G2) on July 1 at Belmont Park. Though winner Three Technique does not press on to the Vanderbilt, two others do: Synthesis finished a rallying second while Little Vic was a weakening fifth.

Two other runners come out of graded stakes company. One is likely favorite Elite Power, who won the True North (G2) at Belmont Park on the Belmont Stakes undercard. The other, Dean Delivers, broke out at the graded level with a score in the Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream Park on July 1. One other comes out of a stakes race: Gunite, the second choice on the morning line, proved he came back well after his trip abroad with a win in the Aristides on June 4.

The other two come into the Vanderbilt Handicap out of allowance company. Gun It, in his third start off the claim by trainer Linda Rice, won a third-level sprint allowance at Belmont on June 22. Awesome Aaron, making his first start in a month and a half, was third in a second-level sprint allowance at Ellis on July 1.

Vanderbilt Handicap Contenders

These are the runners in the 2023 Vanderbilt Handicap, in order of their post draws.

1. Gun It: Long in the barn of Steve Asmussen, Gun It was claimed by red-hot trainer Linda Rice for $62,500 on April 23 at Keeneland. He immediately held his own in third-level allowances for the red-hot Rice, winning at that level at Belmont Park on June 22 after a pair of money finishes. He is in the best form of his life, and now that he is out of conditions, he tries the top level. He needs another step forward and has the challenging rail gate, but he does have tactical speed and a quality pedigree for the rainy forecast, and his last-out win suggests six furlongs just might be his game.
2. Synthesis: With 10 wins in 47 starts, this seven-year-old is one of the more experienced horses to show up in top-level company nowadays. He beat Gun It in a third-level allowance/optional claimer going seven furlongs at Belmont three starts ago, and last out ran as well as he ever had in a graded race when second in the seven-furlong Nerud. However, he is winless in four starts at six furlongs, and trainer David Jacobson tends to underperform in graded company.
3. Awesome Aaron: He comes out of a third-place finish in second-level allowance company, but is winless in seven starts since being claimed off of Chad Brown in November of last year. He has enough speed to try to be part of the early pace, but his only money finish at six furlongs came when he was a well-beaten second in a $50,000 claimer at Churchill Downs two starts ago. It is hard to see him involved at the end, and he seems better suited against softer company over a longer distance.
4. Elite Power: The likely favorite, this consistent son of Curlin rides a seven-win streak into this race, including easily dispatching with five challengers in the True North last out. He rallied from well off the early pace to win a second-level allowance over this course and distance last year, but has shown himself to be potent whether he is stalking the pace, rallying from near the rear, or anywhere in between. With strong rider Irad Ortiz back in the irons, it would be no surprise to see another top-class effort. The biggest question is the rain in the forecast: he has a nice pedigree for slop, but has never actually tried an off-track.
5. Gunite: He is a Grade 1 winner at the Spa, having won the Hopeful (G1) in 2021 over the course. He missed the Kentucky Derby trail last year, but that’s just as well: he has found a home sprinting. He has never been off the board going shorter than a mile, and has held his own against good horses. Though he has yet to win a Grade 1 since the Hopeful, he was second to Jack Christopher in the H. Allen Jerkens (G1) last year and also second to Elite Power in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) in February. This stalking type needs a step forward to beat the favorite, but he shouldn’t be far away, and the rain should not be an issue.
6. Dean Delivers: After nibbling at underneath pieces in extended one-turn graded stakes at Gulfstream Park over the winter, he has stepped up in the summer, winning a Florida-bred stakes in May before wiring the Grade 3 Smile Sprint at the beginning of the month. This is a much tougher group than he beat there, but in a relatively short field, that sharp Gulfstream speed could serve him well. Demand a price given the class questions as well as his need to prove himself away from Florida. But, he is in the right form to try this, a muddy track suits him, and trainer Michael Yates already sprung a surprise on the national level with his sophomore filly Dorth Vader.
7. Little Vic: He won a muddy edition of the Tom Fool (G3) in March at Aqueduct, his first-ever score in graded company. However, his last two races have been flat. They were both at seven furlongs, though his win in the City of Laurel over that distance last fall suggests that class may have been more of an issue than distance. More than anything, though? He may just be a mud monster. And, with rain in the forecast for Saturday, that gives him a chance to run back to that freak effort in the Tom Fool and actually hang with these.

Vanderbilt Handicap FAQ

Q: When is the 2023 Vanderbilt Handicap?

A: The 2023 Vanderbilt Handicap happens on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Post time is scheduled for 4:26 p.m., and it is the eighth race of 12 on the card.

Q: Where is the Vanderbilt Handicap?

A: The Vanderbilt Handicap takes place at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Vanderbilt Handicap?

A: Steve Asmussen shines in the Vanderbilt Handicap. He has won the race four times with Majesticperfection (2010), Justin Phillip (2013), Volatile (2020), and Jackie’s Warrior (2022). He returns in 2023 with Gunite.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Vanderbilt Handicap?

A: Elite Power, the reigning Eclipse champion male sprinter from 2022, is the 4-5 morning-line favorite for the Vanderbilt Handicap. He has not lost since breaking his maiden in June of last year, and should be a heavy favorite on Saturday.

Q: Who is the best Vanderbilt Handicap jockey?

A: Pat Day and Javier Castellano are tied for the most wins in the Vanderbilt Handicap with four each. Neither of them have a call in this year’s edition. Among jockeys riding in the race in 2023, the only one who has won the race before is Irad Ortiz, Jr., who rode Poseidon’s Warrior to victory in 2012. He rides favored Elite Power this year.

Q: Who won the Vanderbilt Handicap in 2022?

A: Jackie’s Warrior came into the Vanderbilt as the horse to beat in 2022, and he continued his already stellar campaign for trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Joel Rosario. Asmussen sends out Gunite this year, while Rosario does not have a mount.