Travers 2015 Results: Winner, Payouts and Order of Finish from Saratoga

American Pharoah was back in action for the second time since winning the Triple Crown at the 2015 Travers Stakes, but he was upset following a stunning late rally by Keen Ice who walked away with the title. 

For most of the race, it was a battle between American Pharoah and Frosted, who actually took a brief lead around the final turn before fading down the stretch. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the loss snaps American Pharoah's eight-race winning streak that started at the Del Mar Futurity in September 2014.

On the flip side, Keen Ice was riding an eight-race winless streak and earned his second career victory with this upset. 

According to OddsShark.com, American Pharoah entered the race at Saratoga Race Course in New York as a heavy favorite with 1-5 odds. Keen Ice, who started from the seventh gate, came in with 16-1 odds. 

Despite American Pharoah's dominance this racing season, including winning the Haskell Invitiational by 2.25 lengths four weeks ago, other owners were not afraid to bring their horses out. He went up against a field of 10, with the final results looking like this:

Pos	Horse
1	Keen Ice
2	American Pharoah
3	Frosted
4	Upstart

Pos.	Horse	Win	Place	Show
1	Keen Ice	$34.00	$6.50	$3.80
2	American Pharoah	-	$2.40	$2.10
3	Frosted	-	-	$3.20

American Pharoah's whirlwind 2015 season may be winding down, but his trainer Bob Baffert told Art Wilson of the Los Angeles Daily News coming into the Travers Stakes that the horse has gotten stronger with each race. 

“Most horses can give you a great performance, but he’s the only horse I’ve ever had that’s given me six great performances right in a row, and he’s shipping back and forth,” Baffert said. “I mean, the mileage, it’s unheard of for a race horse."

Unfortunately, American Pharoah's strength and energy seemed to finally dissipate. He did lead most of the race, coming out of the gate in front, but didn't have the energy to finish things off. 

Baffert even acknowledged after the race that he could sense things weren't going well long before the final stretch (via Breeders' Cup):

One small silver lining for American Pharoah is he joins a short list of Triple Crown champions who went on to lose a race after pulling off that historic feat (via international horse-racing-pedigree writer Sid Fernando):

"

Secretariat. Seattle Slew. Affirmed. American Pharoah. All modern greats. Each lost after TC.

— Sid Fernando + Obser (@sidfernando) August 29, 2015"

The fact that a Baffert-trained horse lost at the Travers Stakes isn't a surprise. He's one of the best in the business for many reasons, but this event has not been kind to him, with just one career victory (2001: Point Given).

It may have been American Pharoah's final race, as his owner Ahmed Zayat had this to say after the loss (via Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden):

Even though there's a somber tone around American Pharoah's winning streak coming to an end, he put up a valiant effort on a day when even his trainer acknowledged the horse didn't have his best stuff. 

NBC Sports tweeted out a picture of the photo finish between American Pharoah and Keen Ice:

Anyone paying attention before the race should have been able to piece together Keen Ice was capable of doing something, as Eric Mitchell of TheBlood-Horse.com noted the horse's jockey, Javier Castellano, has historically fared well in this event:

Castellano saved Keen Ice for the final-stretch run, as the horse came from out of nowhere down the final stretch to knock off American Pharoah and Frosted. 

Credit should also be given to Frosted for American Pharoah's lost, specifically jockey Jose Lezcano who was riding close to the Triple Crown champion all race and making sure he couldn't get away from the rail. 

Thanks to the upset at Saratoga, things suddenly look a lot more interesting heading into the Breeders' Cup at the end of October. One thing that can help is extended rest for American Pharoah, as Baffert noted how much the horse has been used since April.

If American Pharoah runs, there's no doubt he will be the favorite, but suddenly the potential competition looks a lot more compelling than it would have if he had breezed through this event.