SARATOGA SPRINGS —

The $1 million, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course is one of the most important races in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic division as well as one of the marquee summertime races in U.S. horse racing. The 1 1/8-mile dirt race is a “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series qualifier for the Classic, giving the race winner an automatic berth to the $6 million race to be held Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

Cody’s Wish, shown winning the Metropolitan Handicap in June, is the odds-on morning-line favorite in the Whitney Stakes Aug. 5 at Saratoga. (Chelsea Durand/NYRA)

The 96^th Whitney Stakes is headlined by fan favorite Cody’s Wish, currently ranked first in the Breeders’ Cup weekly poll of Longines Classic contenders. The Curlin horse, who won the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last year, will put a six-race winning streak on the line Saturday afternoon at the Spa.

Read the full story by Patrick Reed here.