The Marylou Whitney entrance at Saratoga Race Course. Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

What We Learned from the 2025 Saratoga Meet

Originally posted on Horse Racing on SI | By Dom Polcino | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 9:02 PM ET

Chad Brown Continues His Dominance; Pletcher Barn Gets Hot Late
Spoils were shared for this year’s H. Allen Jerkens Training Title, with Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher both finishing the meet with 32 wins. Brown secured the tie in the final race of the meet, with his runner Say Yes To Dreams finishing first in a one-mile turf maiden special weight. This is Brown’s fifth consecutive year winning the training title at Saratoga, and Pletcher’s 15th time winning the award at the Spa.

Notable winners for Brown include Sierra Leone, who won the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes, and Excellent Truth in the Grade 1 Dunkin’ Diana. Pletcher also picked up his share of Grade 1s, including two on closing weekend with Ted Noffey in the Grade 1 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes and Antiquarian in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Both trainers will look to carry their successful summers into the fall, with a potential meeting of Fierceness, Mindframe, and Sierra Leone in the Breeders’ Cup Classic later this year.

SIERRA LEONE wins the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes!

Last year’s @BreedersCup Classic champ books his return with a “Win and You’re In” score under Flavien Prat for trainer Chad Brown! pic.twitter.com/Rh8BnPLdD7
— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) August 2, 2025

Amoss Barn Impresses with Stellar 2YOs
It was a summer at the Spa to remember for trainer Tom Amoss, who displayed several standout 2-year-old debut runners. It’s Our Time, the son of Not This Time, delivered an immaculate performance in his August debut, winning by 17 3/4 lengths. Amoss has announced he will return in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes next month at Aqueduct. Other impressive 2-year-old winners for the Amoss barn included debut winner Big Dom, who will make his next start in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, and Oscar’s Hope, who won on closing day by 5 3/4 lengths. Amoss is poised for a big second half of the year, with most of these juveniles having a real shot in Breeders’ Cup races this November.

It's Our Time puts on a stellar performance on debut in R7 at Saratoga! @tomamossracing trains and @luissaezpty was aboard.

A nice 5/1 top pick winner for @atthetrack7, too! pic.twitter.com/hJHzmfFfQX
— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) August 16, 2025

Irad Ortiz Remains King of the Spa
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. captured his seventh Angel Cordero Jr. riding title this summer, finishing with 59 wins for the meet. His brother Jose Ortiz also had a great meet, finishing a close second with 55 wins, while Flavien Prat was third with 42. Notable wins for Ortiz Jr. included a pair of Grade 2 victories aboard Halina’s Forte in the Honorable Miss and Leslie’s Rose in the Shuvee. Unfortunately, he was not able to ride on closing day after a scary situation in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, where he was bumped and thrown off Mindframe just after the break. Ortiz Jr. will look to extend his dominance through the rest of the year, with key mounts at Kentucky Downs and the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.

This article first appeared on Horse Racing on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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