Sovereignty remains the only horse to have defeated Preakness winner Journalism and brought his record to five wins from eight starts, with his sole defeat this year coming when second to Tappan Street in March's Florida Derby.

The $135,000 Curlin Stakes at Saratoga is not a time-honored path to the Travers Stakes (G1). Yet the Curlin serves a purpose as one last chance to swim in a shallow pond before heading over to much deeper waters in the Aug.

Journalism — the horse that emerged as Sovereignty’s rival on the Triple Crown circuit this year — won last week’s Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. Journalism ran second to Sovereignty in the Derby and Belmont, and won the Preakness, in which Sovereignty didn’t run.

Jim Dandy - the namesake of the signature Saratoga stakes race - won the 1930 Travers Stakes over Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox at odds of 100-1

As the connections of the top finishers in the Haskell Stakes (G1) spend the next few days and weeks mulling plans for their 3-year-olds, some interesting possibilities abound.