Twenty Six Black, a graded stakes-placed runner, brings a snazzier résumé to this year's Troy Stakes (G2T), a race the New York-bred finished second in last year at odds of 10-1.
Roger Cimbora Jr.'s homebred is a specialist at the Troy's 5 1/2-furlong distance and has an affinity for Saratoga Race Course's Mellon Turf Course. That, plus the hot connections on his side of trainer Horacio De Paz and jockey Manny Franco, have landed the gelding the role of the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Aug. 9 turf stakes.
The 6-year-old by New York sire War Dancer enters the $300,000 stakes following a 2 3/4-length victory in the listed Harvey Pack Stakes earlier in the meet.
Closing in on $800,000 in earnings, Twenty Six Black has yet to win a graded stakes, and he has eight rivals Sunday to defeat before achieving that milestone.
De Paz couldn't be happier with how his horse is training.
"He ran well last year in the Troy and hopefully will again this year," De Paz told the New York Racing Association's media office. "He is deserving of it. It is not going to be a cakewalk. There are some solid horses in there that he has to run against, but he couldn't be going into it any better."
Twenty Six Black's style is to allow the pace to develop in front of him and come with a late run. The pace dynamics, at least on paper, suggest he will get his preferred trip.
Fellow New York-bred Waralo, also a son of War Dancer, has tangled with Twenty Six Black twice before with each coming away with a victory and the other finishing second. The Chris Englehart-trained gelding races for My Purple Haze Stables. The fleet-footed 7-year-old figures to be sharp from the gate.
Another speedster from the gate is JAL Racing's Doncho. Trained by Michelle Lovell, the 5-year-old is in top form, with recent back-to-back non-graded stakes wins. Unraced at Saratoga, Doncho has won races at several different racetracks during his career and his recent works in Kentucky suggest he's poised for a solid effort.
John the Beer Man, trained by Rob Atras, is lightly raced compared to his rivals because of a two-year layoff. The More Than Ready gelding, who was bred by Phipps Stable, came close to becoming a grade 1 winner when third, beaten less than a length, in the June 6 Jaipur Stakes (G1T).
"He didn't quite break as sharp as I was hoping and Kendrick (Carmouche) had to really get after him," Atras said of the 5-year-old. "The pace was fast, and we ended up getting to the front, but we had to work for it. Down the lane, he took a funny step and Kendrick said that all of a sudden the horse saw something and kind of spooked. It looked like he was going to fade and then he stayed on."
Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, August 9, 2026, Race 8Entries: Troy S. (G2T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Dancing Buck (NY) Jose L. Ortiz 124 Michelle Nevin 15/1 2 2Twenty Six Black (NY) Manuel Franco 124 Horacio De Paz 5/2 3 3Doncho (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 124 Michelle Lovell 3/1 4 4Coppola (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 124 Carlos F. Martin 20/1 5 5Waralo (NY) Jose Lezcano 124 Chris J. Englehart 6/1 6 6John the Beer Man (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 124 Rob Atras 7/2 7 7Works for Me (NY) Flavien Prat 124 Joseph R. Lee 8/1 8 8Rezasrolex (FL) Junior Alvarado 124 Joseph F. Orseno 10/1 9 9Determined Kingdom (VA) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 124 Michael J. Trombetta 15/1
