3 Best Bets to Win the 2026 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course

Key Takeaways:

• The Jim Dandy is a compact but elite Travers prep. Despite a five-horse field, it features multiple Grade 1 winners and Triple Crown standouts pointing toward Saratoga’s biggest race.
• Pace should decide the outcome. With little early speed signed on, race shape favors horses that can stay close rather than deep closers.
• Chip Honcho: The projected lone speed could control the race from the front, making him dangerous in a short field with limited pace pressure.
• Commandment: His Florida Derby and Belmont form show he can rally into moderate fractions, making him the top closing threat despite the pace setup.
• Renegade: The Arkansas Derby winner is dangerous cutting back to 1 1/8 miles, but questions about his Saratoga form keep him just behind the top two.

The Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course is the key local prep race for the track’s flagship three-year-old race, the Travers Stakes in August. Though the 1 ⅛-mile race drew a field of only five horses, even with Golden Tempo waiting for the Travers, the Jim Dandy drew some of the proven top horses of the sophomore division, including three from the Triple Crown races.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade and Belmont Stakes runner-up Commandment, both Grade 1 winners in their own right, lead the group. They are joined by Chip Honcho, the Ohio Derby (G3) winner who also finished third in the Preakness Stakes, as well as Silent Tactic, the most consistent presence on the Arkansas spur of the Kentucky Derby trail. The only long shot in the field is Asked and Answered, a maiden who will get his stiffest test yet.

The Jim Dandy is scheduled as the 10th race on Saturday’s 12-race card at Saratoga, with post time of 5:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It is one of three graded stakes races on the card, alongside the Saratoga Special (G2) for juvenile sprinters and the Lake George (G3) for sophomore grass fillies. You can watch the action through FanDuel or on Fox, and make sure to bet the Jim Dandy and horse racing all day long through FanDuel!

2026 Jim Dandy Picks

These are the three best bets in the 2026 Jim Dandy Stakes:

1. Chip Honcho (2026 Jim Dandy Stakes odds: 3-1)

The old adage is that pace makes the race, and nowhere is that idea stronger than a race with a short field and very little front-end pace. The Jim Dandy drew a field of five, with no one-way speed. Only one horse in the field reliably takes a spot anywhere near the front – and that’s this one, Chip Honcho.

This Steve Asmussen-trained son of Connect has gone gate-to-wire once before, breaking his maiden on the front end under Jose Ortiz, who takes the call this time as well. He also led most of the way in the Risen Star before being down in the late stages by Paladin, a horse who probably would have been the Kentucky Derby favorite had he not been injured in a late-March workout. Chip Honcho reliably finds a spot on or near the lead, and should be able to handle the fence – the one time he drew the rail he pressed the pace and got up to win the Gun Runner Stakes in a six-horse field. Especially with both Steve Asmussen and Jose Ortiz running hot so far at Saratoga, there’s a lot to like about Chip Honcho in the Jim Dandy.

2. Commandment (2026 Jim Dandy Stakes odds: 6-5)

Looking to the next two horses, Commandment and Renegade – the tote board could go either way between the two, between the fact that Commandment beat Renegade on the square in the Belmont Stakes, but on the other hand Todd Pletcher always takes heavy interest at Saratoga and is well known for having his horses ready to return to their best in the Jim Dandy.

All things equal, however, Commandment is slightly preferred in this pair. Both he and Renegade are late-running types in a short field that lacks speed. But, not only is Commandment’s last start – which came over the local course – better than Renegade’s? Pletcher may be more associated with New York in the long run, but Cox has the hotter hand coming into this Saratoga meet, winning just over a quarter of the time leading into the race week.

Commandment also gets the riding services of Flavien Prat. Prat is not only the leading big-race jockey of recent years, but Prat himself rode Commandment to a dazzling nose victory in the Florida Derby (G1) three starts back. Even though the margin of victory wasn’t flashy, the way he did it bodes well for the Jim Dandy. After all, he got a sluggish pace to rally into. And yet? Commandment came from last of six over the famously speed-friendly Gulfstream footing, fought every step of the way down the lane, and got the job done. The Jim Dandy is the same distance as the Florida Derby, and a similar gritty stretch run could get him home.

3. Renegade (2026 Jim Dandy Stakes odds: 7-5)

An impressive winner of the Arkansas Derby, he overcame the rail draw to run a bang-up second despite a tough trip in the Kentucky Derby. However, he disappointed in the Belmont Stakes; though he was in the mix through midstretch, he didn’t have the late finish of either Golden Tempo or Commandment, and weakened to third.

Renegade has had two months to freshen up since then, and the cut back to 1 ⅛ miles may end up helping him along – this was, after all, the same distance as his victory in the Arkansas Derby. And, if he runs back to that Arkansas Derby, he has a shot, especially since he didn’t get a particularly fast pace to close into that day, and was still able to not only win, but win in blowout fashion. He did so under Irad Ortiz, Jr. – his regular rider, who keeps the faith here.

Saratoga, however, is a question he still has to answer. For one, trainer Todd Pletcher is getting a slow start to the meet. Usually when that happens, Pletcher rights the ship sooner or later. However, Renegade hasn’t run his best at Saratoga yet. His debut was forgivable in isolation – he was a well-beaten third behind a runaway winner, but it was his debut, and it was a sprint. In conjunction with his disappointing Belmont Stakes performance, however, it raises questions about whether he can find his best form at the Spa. It’s a small enough sample size to leave some room for improvement, and on his best, Renegade will be right here at the finish. But, there are just more questions around him than some of his foes in the Jim Dandy.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.