Haskell Invitational 2020: Date, Post Positions, Odds, Prize Money and More

The Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, like most sporting events in 2020, has undergone a few changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday's race, set to be held at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, will still offer a $1 million purse and a place in Nov. 7's Breeders' Cup Classic to the winner.

However, because the Kentucky Derby has been moved to Sept. 5, the 53rd Haskell Stakes is "open to any three-year-old through the typical stakes nomination process," according to Matt Shifman of Horse Racing Nation. What's more, only 750 spectators—250 owners and 500 fans—will be in attendance.

Points will be awarded to the top four finishers (100, 40, 20, 10). Here's everything else you need to know ahead of post time.

Haskell Invitational 2020 Info

Date: Saturday, July 18

Time: 5-6 p.m. ET

TV Info: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sport App

Post Positions and Odds

1. Dr Post: 5-2

2. Authentic: 4-5

3. Jesus' Team: 15-1

4. Ancient Warrior: 20-1

5. Fame to Famous: 30-1

6. Lebda: 20-1

7. Ny Traffic: 7-2

Odds via the official Kentucky Derby website.

Once again, a Bob Baffert-trained horse is the favorite to win the race.

After injuries sidelined his horses at the Belmont Stakes, Baffert returns to add to his record number of Haskell titles. The U.S. Racing Hall of Famer has enjoyed great success at Monmouth Park, having won eight times—most recently in 2015 with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

His horse, Authentic, is 4-5 to win the 2020 Haskell and is third in the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 100 points, per the Derby's official site.

Authentic won his first three starts before coming in second to Honor A.P. in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on June 6.

"Well, he had sort of a rough trip," Baffert said of Authentic's performance in that race during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association media conference call Wednesday. "He didn't break well and he broke out a couple lanes and ended up getting caught wide, was a little rank. He came into the race a little bit fresh. I backed off of him because I didn't know when they were going to run the Santa Anita Derby."

Dr Post will be the top competitor for Authentic, and both horses will be breaking alongside one another Saturday.

The 2020 Belmont Stakes runner-up has proved he should not to be overlooked after making a late push to finish second at Belmont Park, 3 ¾ lengths behind Tiz The Law.

However, unlike then, he won't be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. at the Haskell Stakes.

Joe Bravo will be riding Dr Post for the first time because Ortiz cannot travel because of recent travel restrictions established by the New York Racing Association in response to the spike in COVID-19 cases.

"It's a Grade 1, and that's very important to a horse with his potential stallion value," trainer Todd Pletcher said to Horse Racing Nation's Tom Pedulla on the importance of winning the Haskell. "We liked the timing from the Haskell to the Kentucky Derby at seven weeks a little more than we did the Travers at four weeks."

Ny Traffic has received some buzz as well, most notably from former ESPN and NBC horse racing analyst Hank Goldberg.

Goldberg is "high" on Ny Traffic, telling SportsLine (h/t CBS Sports): "Most importantly, he has drawn perfectly, with all of the speed on his inside."

The three-year-old son of Cross Traffic has two wins in eight career starts. At his most recent race, the Matt Winn Stakes on May 23, he finished second.

If the bookmakers are to be believed, the four remaining horses have tough roads to victory at Monmouth Park, with Jesus' Team coming behind Ny Traffic at 15-1, while Lebda, Ancient Warrior and Fame to Famous are all 20-1 or higher.