Kentucky Derby winner Mage is back Saturday to face a contentious field of seven rivals in New Jersey’s premier race.

Arabian Knight is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Stakes. Post time from Monmouth Park is 5:45 p.m. EDT with NBC showing the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old runners.

Mage, the Bob Baffert-trained Arabian Knight and Grade 1 winner Tapit Trice lead the field for a race that is a Breeders’ Cup Classic qualifier. The winner earns a fees-paid “win and you’re in” berth to the $6 million Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

While Mage is the biggest name in the field, Arabian Knight was tabbed as the favorite despite not making a start since January.

After winning his debut in November at Keeneland, Arabian Knight scored by an easy 5 1/2 lengths Jan. 28 in Oaklawn’s Southwest Stakes (G3). The Uncle Mo colt went on the shelf after an early March workout at Santa Anita and missed the Triple Crown series.

The Zedan Racing Stables colt looks to back up the $2.3 million price tag he garnered at auction, entering the Haskell off a string of lengthy works. Baffert, who seeks his record 10th triumph in this Monmouth event, has tabbed jockey John Velazquez to ride the favorite.

Two starts back, Mage closed from 16th to give trainer Gustavo Delgado and jockey Javier Castellano their first Kentucky Derby triumphs. He did not get his desired pace setup May 20 in the Preakness Stakes, settling for third.

Mage’s team bypassed the Belmont Stakes with the Haskell and next month’s Travers Stakes (G1) in mind. He makes a fourth straight Grade 1 start having run second in the Florida Derby (G1) before the Derby and Preakness.

Tapit Trice (3-1) was third June 10 in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, one race after crossing a disappointing seventh in the Derby. The Todd Pletcher trainee has a Grade 1 win on his resume, coming in April’s Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.

Geaux Rocket Ride (9-2) ships east and jumps up in class after winning the Affirmed Stakes on June 4 at Santa Anita for trainer Richard Mandella.

Extra Anejo (5-1) makes his stakes bow in this challenging spot for trainer Steve Asmussen. He won an allowance race June 10 at Ellis Park, only his third career start, by 6 1/4 lengths.

Here is a look at the field for the 2023 Haskell Stakes (trainers and jockeys in parentheses) with morning-line odds:

1. Geaux Rocket Ride (Richard Mandella, Mike Smith), 9-2

2. Awesome Strong (Jorge Delgado, Jose Batista), 30-1

3. Salute the Stars (Brad Cox, Joel Rosario), 8-1

4. Mage (Gustavo Delgado, Javier Castellano), 3-1

5. Tapit Trice (Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez), 3-1

6. Howgreatisnate (Elizabeth Dobles, Paco Lopez), 20-1

7. Extra Anejo (Steve Asmussen, Tyler Gaffalione), 5-1

8. Arabian Knight (Bob Baffert, John Velazquez), 5-2

TimeformUS pace projections show Arabian Knight making the lead under jockey John Velazquez and setting a fast pace with Extra Anejo close by.

Visit Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for more information on the Haskell Stakes and a pair of other Grade 1 races on Saturday’s schedule.

Haskell links

Reinier Macatangay writes that, given his raw talent and early speed, Extra Anejo is playable as a Haskell Stakes win bet. Macatangay also writes why a fast Haskell pace is likely to be set by Arabian Knight.

Laurie Ross and Ashley Tamulonis go head to head handicapping the Haskell Stakes. One picks the Kentucky Derby victor to score Saturday, while the other picks a local stakes winner to pull an upset.

Matt Shifman analyzes all eight Haskell Stakes contenders and discusses why Geaux Rocket Ride is his top choice.

Ed DeRosa’s Haskell Stakes fair odds show that, in his opinion, the value lies with Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Tapit Trice.

“Before the Derby he was one horse, a normal horse,” trainer Gustavo Delgado said of Mage. “Now each race is very important and each brings more attention from all the people. There is a target on my back now.”

This week on HorseCenter, Brian Zipse and Shifman handicap a pair of big Grade 1 races on the East Coast on Saturday. The Haskell at Monmouth Park is led by Kentucky Derby winner Mage, and the Coaching Club American Oaks features Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Gambling Girl.

Opening week at Del Mar, the closing of Golden Gate Fields and the Haskell Stakes are the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Three of J. Keeler Johnson’s watch list runners will contest the Haskell, including Kentucky Derby hero Mage.

Fixed-odds betting on horse racing is bringing new betting excitement to New Jersey, where fans can wager on the Haskell Day card via MonmouthBets.com. Check out a roundtable discussion on Fixed on Racing: The Haskell Day Preview Show featuring fixed-odds betting information, tips and interviews with special guests.

A full brother to Kentucky Derby winner and Haskell starter Mage debuts Saturday afternoon at Saratoga.

Renowned race caller and horse racing analyst Larry Collmus, whose distinguished career includes a 20-year stint as Monmouth Park’s track announcer, was named the winner of the 2023 Bill Handleman Award for outstanding coverage of last year’s Haskell Stakes.

Other Saturday stakes

Here is a look at other graded stakes taking place Saturday in New Jersey and elsewhere across North America. All post times are EDT.

1:52 p.m. – $300,000 Matchmaker Stakes (G3), 3-and-up fillies and mares, 1 1/8 miles (turf), Monmouth Park, FanDuel TV

Consumer Spending (5-2) has a recent win over this Monmouth course for trainer Chad Brown, winning the Eatontown Stakes (G3) on June 17. Jockey Joel Rosario has the mount on the 4-year-old More Than Ready filly, a Grade 2 winner. Shug McGaughey trains Personal Best (3-1), a Grade 3 victor who makes her first start since running third April 28 at Keeneland in the Bewitch Stakes (G3). Surprisingly (3-1), another Grade 3 winner for McGaughey, was runner-up to Consumer Spending by 3/4 of a length last out in the Eatontown.

3:29 p.m. – $400,000 Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3), 3-and-up, 1 1/8 miles, Monmouth Park, FanDuel TV

Proxy (3-5) enjoys a measure of class relief after finishing eighth July 1 at Ellis Park in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1), a Breeders’ Cup Classic qualifier. Rosario will be up on the 2022 Clark Stakes (G1) winner, a 5-year-old son of Tapit, for trainer Michael Stidham. Jamie Ness trains Calibrate (7-2), who was runner-up going 1 1/2 miles June 10 on the Belmont Stakes undercard in the Brooklyn Stakes (G2). Antigravity (6-1) prepped for this race with a second-place finish June 17 in a local allowance race for trainer Dan Ward.

3:52 p.m. – $200,000 Caress Stakes (G3), 4-and-up fillies and mares, 5 1/2 furlongs (turf), Saratoga, FOX

Roses for Debra (9-5) aims to make the grade for trainer Christophe Clement off a Belmont allowance victory July 3. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will get a leg up on the 4-year-old Liam’s Map filly. Brad Cox trains Bubble Rock (2-1), a Grade 2 winner who was second June 9 at Belmont in the Intercontinental Stakes (G3). Poppy Flower (3-1) scored in the Intercontinental by a nose over runner-up Bubble Rock for trainer Bill Mott.

4:14 p.m. – $150,000 (about $113,000 U.S.) Ontario Colleen Stakes (G3), 3-year-old fillies, one mile (turf), Woodbine, FanDuel TV

Queen Picasso (5-2) is 2-for-2 running for Clement, and heads north of the U.S.-Canada border off a victory May 27 at Belmont in the Soaring Softly Stakes (G3). Jockey Declan Carroll has the mount on the Kingman filly. Brown trains Preliminary (3-1), who makes her first start since finishing a disappointing 11th as the Edgewood Stakes (G2) favorite May 5 at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) card. Mohawk Trail (7-2), trained by Kelsey Danner, won the local Alywow Stakes on June 25.

4:38 p.m. – $500,000 Molly Pitcher Stakes (G3), 3-and-up fillies and mares, 1 1/16 miles, Monmouth Park, FanDuel TV

Search Results (8-5), whose resume includes a 2021 Acorn Stakes (G1) score, won the Molly Pitcher last summer for Brown. Rosario rides the 5-year-old Flatter mare, who was second on the Belmont card in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1). Ignacio Correas IV trains Le Da Vida (5-1), winner of the Lady Jacqueline Stakes on June 24 at Thistledown. Loved (5-1) has won three straight starts for trainer Brendan Walsh, including a June 11 allowance race at Ellis, leading into her stakes bow.

4:48 p.m. – $150,000 (about $113,000 U.S.) Hendrie Stakes (G3), 3-and-up fillies and mares, 6 1/2 furlongs (all-weather track), Woodbine, FanDuel TV

Loyalty (9-5) brings a 5-for-7 record into this race for trainer Josie Carroll and won her first start of 2023, an allowance race June 25 at Woodbine. Jockey Kazushi Kimura pilots the 4-year-old Hard Spun filly. Mark Casse trains Miss Speedy (2-1), who took the local Ballade Stakes on June 24. Hazelbrook (5-1) returns off a long layoff dating to a second-place finish Nov. 12 at Woodbine in the Bessarabian Stakes (G2).

5:06 p.m. – $600,000 United Nations Stakes (G1), 3-and-up, 1 3/8 miles (turf), Monmouth Park, NBC

Red Knight (5-2) became a Grade 1 winner as a 9-year-old two starts back at Belmont by winning the Man o’ War Stakes for trainer Mike Maker. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione will try to boot the Pure Prize gelding to a second such victory off a fourth-place finish on the Belmont card in the Manhattan Stakes (G1). Richard Mandella trains Planetario (3-1), who ships east after winning Santa Anita’s San Juan Capistrano Stakes (G3) on June 18. Catnip (4-1) won the local prep race for the United Nations, the Monmouth Stakes (G3), on June 17 for Stidham.

5:42 p.m. – $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/8 miles, Saratoga, FOX

Wet Paint (2-1) finished fourth two months ago in the Kentucky Oaks as the favorite and then was second June 17 at Ellis in the Monomoy Girl Overnight Stakes, also as a favorite. Cox has tabbed jockey Flavien Prat to ride the Blame filly, twice a Grade 3 winner. Tom Amoss trains Hoosier Philly (5-2), a Grade 2 heroine who beat Wet Paint by 3 1/2 lengths last out at Ellis. Gambling Girl (5-2) returns to the starting gates for the first time since she was runner-up to Pretty Mischievous in the Oaks.

9:05 p.m. – $200,000 San Clemente Stakes (G2), 3-year-old fillies, one mile (turf), Del Mar, FanDuel TV

Anisette (4-1) made her U.S. racing debut a winning one May 29, taking a Santa Anita allowance event for trainer Leonard Powell. Jockey Umberto Rispoli gets the call on the Awtaad filly. Jonathan Thomas trains Delight (5-1), a Grade 2 winner whose last race was an allowance victory May 9 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Comanche Country (6-1), whose resume includes a Grade 3 win, was sixth June 10 at Santa Anita in the Honeymoon Stakes (G3) for trainer Phil D’Amato.