2025 Forego Stakes Preview at Saratoga Race Course

Key takeaways:

• Book’em Danno (8-5) is the clear horse to beat, with two Spa graded wins and proven seven-furlong class.
• Mullikin (7-2) is the defending champ but has been second-best to Book’em Danno in all three 2025 matchups.
• Doc Sullivan (20-1) brings sharp Saratoga form and could surprise if his recent improvement holds.
• Extra Anejo (20-1) gets back to his best trip (seven furlongs on fast dirt), making him an interesting longshot.

Both $500,000 and an automatic bid to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint are at stake in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes on Saturday, August 23, at Saratoga Race Course. The seven-furlong dirt sprint is a perennially live prep race for the Breeders’ Cup. It will also be an excellent betting race, as the 2025 edition drew a field of 11 older horses.

The horse to beat is Book’em Danno, who has graduated from plucky New Jersey-bred to the top sprinter in the country. He is a neck shy of perfect in four starts this year, and carries two straight graded-stakes wins at the Spa into the Forego. His toughest foes include defending champion Mullikin, the ever-consistent Bishops Bay, and up-and-coming Most Wanted.

Added to the racing calendar in 1980, the Forego has featured some of the best sprinters and milers over the last four and a half decades. Cody’s Wish, the 2023 Horse of the Year, broke through at the top level in 2022 when he upset the Forego. Other top stars over the years to win it include Groovy, Fappiano, Quick Call, Housebuster, Orientate, Private Zone, and Whitmore.

Forego Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 23
• Track: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York
• Post Time: 5:36 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: seven furlongs on the dirt
• Age/Sex: four-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing and Fox
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Forego Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Forego Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Forego Stakes Prep Race Results

The 11 runners in this race come out of 10 different last-out races. Fittingly, the only race with multiple last-out runners was the Vanderbilt (G2), the major sprint race earlier in the Saratoga season. Book’em Danno tracked the pace and bounded 2 ½ lengths clear of Millikin in the end. Millikin, who ran well to keep on for place after a tough beginning, also presses on to the Forego.

Two other runners come out of graded outings. Bishops Bay romped in the Salvator Mile (G3), a two-turn race at Monmouth on June 14. Crazy Mason, a Grade 2 winner earlier this year, will try to rebound from a belated sixth in the six-furlong Bing Crosby (G1) on July 26 at Del Mar.

Another duo was last seen in open but ungraded stakes company. After a couple of off-the-board finishes in graded stakes, Full Moon Madness got up by a neck over Buccherino as the favorite in the Alapocas Run at Delaware Park on June 14. Extra Anejo turns back in distance after a third-place tilt at the Hanshin at Churchill Downs, where he flattened to cross the finish 1 ½ lengths behind the winning Will Take It.

Doc Sullivan steps back into graded company for the first time in almost a year, fresh off a victory against New York-bred stakes foes. On July 31, in his first start since moving to the barn of trainer John Ortiz, he tracked the pace and got up by a head over classy foe The Wine Steward.

The other four horses in the field come out of allowance company. Three come out of wins: Most Wanted took down Best Actor by four lengths in a stakes-quality conditioned dirt mile at Churchill on June 1, Hold My Bourbon dug in to win by a neck in a second-level sprint over the same course and distance as the Forego on August 2, and Over and Ollie romped in a 6 ½-furlobng race at Saratoga, also a second-level allowance, on July 4. The only one coming in out of an allowance defeat is Scotland, who was third beaten a length in a muddy seven-furlong affair on July 12 at the Spa, facing top-shelf conditioned company.

Forego Stakes Contenders

These are the 11 entrants in the 2025 Forego, in order of their post positions:

1. Most Wanted: Still lightly raced, with only eight starts, this Brad Cox trainee has never been out of the exacta. He hasn’t tried Grade 1 company yet, but has a Grade 3 win to his name and a few graded placings this year. All of that stakes form is at two turns, though he does have a debut maiden win at seven furlongs and a last-out allowance win going the one-turn mile. The post is also a question—though he rallied on debut, and therefore may not be only one-way speed, most of his form has been front-end, so he will either have to battle inside other speed outside him, or revert to that debut running style from a tricky post from which to do so.
2. Bishops Bay: This almost feels like a copy-and-paste situation: like Most Wanted, Bishops Bay has never been out of the exacta, he has a maiden sprint win but has been going longer ever since, and most of his form shows him on or battling for the lead. Unlike his stablemate, he has a graded win at one turn, which he got over the one-turn mile at Aqueduct in May, in the Westchester (G3). He also has a stalk-and-pounce win against winners, in an allowance late last year. He still may find the draw near the inside tough, though, forcing jockey Irad Ortiz to either gun it or try to find a place to stalk without dropping too far back.
3. Full Moon Madness: He won the Tom Fool (G3) four starts back in his first graded try, but after a couple of off-the-board finishes, he dropped to the ungraded level at Delaware for his last try. He won, but had to work for it. To his credit, he is tactically versatile, something that helps in such a big field. But, he has class to prove against these foes, and he is a six-furlong horse who has never been better than third going seven panels.
4. Book’em Danno: Last out, he proved his quality going six furlongs in the Vanderbilt, but his usual game has been these extended-sprint trips. He has four good efforts in four tries at the Spa, he has been on the board in five of six tries at seven furlongs—and his only fourth-place finish at the trip was a neck defeat by Mindframe in the Churchill Downs (G1) this year in a frenetic finish. He has shown versatility in pace, as well,though expect a stalking trip since that is what Paco Lopez has been most inclined to give him. All told, he is consistent, classy, and the horse to beat.
5. Extra Anejo: He looked like he was on the precipice of a breakout year three back when he won the seven-furlong Commonwealth at Keeneland, but faltered in the slop in the Churchill Downs Stakes next out. He got a class drop in the Hanshin next out and made a credible run, but flattened out in the final furlong. Perhaps the cut back in distance is what he needs—after all, he is perfect in three starts going seven furlongs on a dry track. He is also versatile enough to win from a tracking spot or even further back, giving jockey Ben Curtis options. He’ll need a step up to be a win candidate, but he appeals for at least a piece given his seven-furlong form.
6. Crazy Mason: A confirmed closer, the question is not whether Crazy Mason will try but whether he will get enough of a setup and enough of a fair track to get all the way there. With quite a few runners in this race liable to show speed, there is a good chance Crazy Mason does get a good setup in this race. And, seven furlongs might be his thing, as he won the Carter in his only try over the trip, and he has other good form going 6 ½. More than anything, watch the track on race day—if closers are making up ground, he is intriguing, particularly in exotics. If it’s one of those big days where closers don’t appear to be getting a fair shake, he won’t have his day.
7. Mullikin: This Rodolphe Brisset trainee has the class—he won this race last year in a blowout, after all. But, he hasn’t won in five starts since, and Book’em Danno has had his number in all three matchups this year. He does shape as the speed of the speed, and drew outside of horses like Most Wanted, Bishops Bay, and even Full Moon Madness, who may show a lot of early pace. The extra distance helps as well, as (at least at this level) he has seven-furlong speed but not really six-furlong speed. All in all, he’s not impossible, but may be an underlay as a likely shorter-priced second choice behind the superior Book’em Danno.
8. Scotland: This five-year-old is still trying to find his place—he has five wins, but nothing graded. Seven furlongs is his best game; his lone graded-stakes placing was a runner-up finish in a sloppy Vosburgh (G2) last year, and he has five money finishes in six tries at the trip. He has yet to run a race fast enough to make him a serious threat for anything other than a minor award—but this field is stratified enough that his consistency and his affinity for the Spa makes him perfectly possible to round out a trifecta or superfecta if he brings his best.
9. Over and Ollie: There are worse times to try graded-stakes company than off of a blowout win at Saratoga, but this will be a sharp step up from that second-level allowance field. The good news is, he doesn’t need the wire-to-wire trip he got last out, and can win (at least against inferior company) from off the pace. He also loves Saratoga, with two wins in two starts over its dirt (and a win on the grass too, for good measure), but he tries seven furlongs for the first time and needs to improve upon his last against far better company from a tough outside draw.
10. Hold My Bourbon: He had to fight for a victory in a second-level allowance over this course and distance last out, and now the waters get even deeper. To his credit, he can win from on or off the pace, but those have all come against maiden or allowance company—this is his graded debut, and he was well beaten trying even listed company last year. Perhaps he’s better now,and maybe he has moved forward on the move to the Saffie Joseph barn earlier this year, but he regressed the last time he took a similar jump up in form as last out, and also has to deal with the risk of ground loss.
11. Doc Sullivan: He is a solid New York-bred contender and comes into the race off a win over the same course and distance as this race in the John Morrissey on July 31 after an outside stalking trip. He hasn’t proven himself against graded foes yet, but he is a better horse than he was when he tried the Pennsylvania Derby last year. The question is if he can follow up a career best last out with something even better, against company that could push him to his limit. But, he does tend to bring his absolute best to Saratoga and retain the services of high-percentage rider Joel Rosario, giving him horse-for-course appeal at a big price.

Forego Stakes: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the Forego Stakes:

1. Book’em Danno (8-5)

This may be a field of 11, but sometimes the favorite looks legitimately like the horse to beat even in such a large field, and this is one of those times—especially since the other horse who may take some money, Mullikin, hasn’t won in a year. Book’em Danno has marked himself as a serious candidate for the best older sprinter in the country—and though the likes of Mindframe or Nysos from that blanket finish in the Churchill Downs could give him a run for his money, they’re not here. He has come back from that narrow defeat to take down two more graded-stakes races at the Spa. Though both were slightly shorter distances than this, Book’em Danno shines at seven furlongs, and he has never run a bad race at the Spa.

His post draw is a good one, toward the inside but not mired on the rail. He is versatile enough to win from any race shape. He is putting together a nice rapport with jockey Paco Lopez this year, who hasn’t ridden much at Saratoga yet this summer but has made the most of the chances he has gotten to do so. And, from a speed perspective, Book’em Danno’s regular day at the office is the kind of race that would require a career best from most of his opponents.

2. Doc Sullivan (20-1)

Class is the big question for this son of Solomini, as he was well beaten in his only other try in graded company. However, that was over a year ago, and it was at Parx—a very love-it-or-hate-it dirt track. He is in the best form of his life right now, on a smooth upward trajectory in his last few races.

Though this is a tougher set of opponents than the New York-bred stakes he won last out, he did it over course and distance and also won it in fast enough fashion to be competitive. And, though it was a move forward from his previous effort, it wasn’t such a jump forward to make regression seem like a foregone conclusion. If he holds his form, he can work out a good outside stalking trip, something like he worked out last time, and draw on his course and distance affinity to outrun his odds.

3. Extra Anejo (20-1)

Three starts back, Extra Anejo looked poised for a breakout season, after a sharp late-running win in the seven-furlong Commonwealth at Keeneland. However, he didn’t run well on the slop against some of the best horses in the country in the Churchill Downs Stakes, and then found the mile too long in his last race at the Hanshin. Now, he gets back to seven furlongs on fast dirt—a trip over which he has never lost in three tries.

He needs a step forward to challenge Book’em Danno, but if he gained some fitness from going longer in the Hanshin last out, perhaps he finds that. He has the tactical speed to swing a stalking or midpack trip, and got a good middle gate where he has a shot to find a spot away from any battle for the lead. He’ll be a price given his muddled form, but with a chance to get a good trip at his best distance, there’s more than enough to like about this Steve Asmussen trainee.

Forego Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Forego Stakes?
A: The Forego Stakes happens Saturday, August 23, at 5:36 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Forego Stakes?
A: The Forego Stakes happens at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race will be run as the 12th on Saratoga’s 14-race Travers Stakes day card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Forego Stakes?
A: The late Robert Frankel has the most victories in the Forego; he won four times between 2003 and 2008. Steve Asmussen has three wins, most recently with Gunite in 2023, and can tie the record if Extra Anejo breaks through.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Forego Stakes?
A: Off of a victory in the Vanderbilt last out, Book’em Danno has been named the 8-5 morning-line favorite and should hold as such through post time. He has beaten morning-line second choice Mullikin on the square three times this year, and is well proven both at this level and going seven furlongs on dirt at the Spa.

Q: Who is the best Forego Stakes jockey?
A: Angel Cordero, Jr. is the all-time leader with four wins in this race between 1981 and 1987. Junior Alvarado leads all jockeys in the 2025 edition with two wins so far, most recently in 2022 with Cody’s Wish. He can make it three with Scotland in 2025.

Q: Who won the Forego Stakes in 2024?
A: Mullikin won the 2024 Forego for trainer Rodolphe Brisset and jockey Flavien Prat. Brisset and Prat are still in Mullikin’s corner for the 2025 edition of the race.

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