Stars and Stripes leads deep Suburban Stakes field at Saratoga

The Suburban Stakes drew 11 runners at Saratoga as a Grade 2 worth $500,000 for 4-year-olds and up, and NYRA waived the fees for the first four finishers if they came back for the Jockey Club Gold Cup later in the meet.

Bill Mott entered with Stars and Stripes, a horse who came in off a Grade 3 Ben Ali win and owned a perfect 4-for-4 mark in races at 1 1/8 miles or farther. Mott saw the horse as suited to the trip, and this longer Saratoga test looked made for him. Luis Saez was suspended, so Junior Alvarado took over in the saddle.

Mott’s other runner, Parchment Party, lived at the far end of the stamina spectrum. He had already won at 1 1/2 miles and in the Belmont Gold Cup at 1 3/4 miles, and he had ended a seven-race winless run that dated to late 2023 when he broke through in that Belmont Gold Cup. Equibase listed him with a career line of 15 starts, six wins, one second and one third, plus $241,570 in 2026 earnings before the Suburban. Mott treated him as a marathon horse with the Birdstone next on the map.

Phileas Fogg and Antiquarian were separated by a head in last year’s Suburban, when Phileas Fogg wired the field from the rail in 2:02.97 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 104. Antiquarian came back to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Todd Pletcher had been trying to keep him more relaxed after he showed more early speed than expected in the Met Mile. Forged Steel controlled the Hollywood Gold Cup and returned with Flavien Prat aboard.

Equibase listed Phileas Fogg’s 2026 Suburban victory as a 10-length rout, the largest winning margin in the race’s history.