History is important. We would be wise to learn from it. Lessons are taught and we have the opportunity to learn from others’ mistakes. If you are foolish and ignore history, you are bound to repeat it. Today marks the 151st running of the G1 Travers Stakes in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Travers and the track have a lot of history.

Those of us who were raised in the 1970s will undoubtedly recall the Carly Simon song “You’re So Vain.” One of the lines in the song was, “You flew up to Saratoga, and your horse naturally won.” Truth be told, it is not easy to win a race at Saratoga.

The primary reasons are that the best horses, trainers and jockeys flock to Saratoga Springs every summer to compete in what has often been described as the premier thoroughbred meet in the country.

When the 35 owners of favored Tiz The Law watch their magnificent colt run in what is often referred to as the Mid-Summer Derby, they need to be aware that Saratoga is known as the graveyard of champions. One of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time, Man O’ War, won 20 of 21 races he ran.

His only loss was at Saratoga to a horse named Upset. The great 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat lost at Saratoga. American Pharoah, winner of the 2015 Triple Crown and that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, suffered his only loss that year in the Travers.

The list goes on and on. Overconfidence can, and often does, bring defeat.

Facts are also important. One million dollars will be on the line as well as 100, 40, 20 and 10 qualifying Kentucky Derby qualifying points for finishing first through fourth in the Grade One Travers. Like the Derby, the Travers is run at a distance of 1 1/4 miles. Since Saratoga’s track is 1 1/8th mile, the horses will start 1/8th of a mile before the finish line.

Jockeys would be wise to remember that unlike the one-mile track at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, Saratoga’s track is larger in circumference. Most American dirt tracks are like the one-mile Churchill oval. This size difference can cause confusion. Another important fact is that the stretch run at Saratoga is 90.5 feet shorter than Churchill’s 1,234.5 feet stretch run. A lot of races are won or lost in those fateful final strides.

Fortunately for Tiz The Law, he has a stalking style of running which allows him to keep near the early front runners. The slightly shorter Saratoga stretch should not affect him as much as horses that have a closing style like Max Player and South Bend. Interestingly, when Max Player was closing for third in the Belmont, he only had 1,097 feet of Belmont stretch to work with.

The early leaders likely will be Uncle Chuck and/or Shivaree. Several in the eight-horse field appear to have stalking styles like the favorite. Two of them are considered deep closers.

A brief look at the entries:

— First Line will break from post No. 1. He has raced only four times, breaking his maiden in his last race on July 29 at Saratoga. It will be interesting to see if the short turnaround of 10 days will help or hurt him.

— Country Grammar, coming out of gate No. 2, just won the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Saratoga on July 16. He is trained by one of this country’s leading trainers, Chad Brown. The Peter Pan was only his second win. He should benefit from the extra distance in the Travers.

— Uncle Chuck, from post No. 3, is a serious up-and-coming threat. His first race was on June 12 and his second was in last month’s G3 Los Al Derby. He won both races impressively, including a four-length win over Thousand Words, who last weekend came back to beat highly regarded Honor A.P.

Uncle Chuck is trained by silver-haired Hall Of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who rarely ships from California unless he thinks he can win. This is the steed Tiz The Law likely will have to run down coming down the stretch. Uncle Chuck has been described as easy going, which is a huge benefit if he needs to rate instead of being on the lead early.

— Max Player was last seen closing strongly in the G1 Belmont Stakes, finishing third to Tiz The Law. He was coming off a long lay-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and should benefit from the added 1/8th of a mile distance, as this year’s Belmont was only 1 1/8th of a mile. Max Player also should benefit from this second start off that unintentional layoff before the Belmont. He will exit gate No. 4. Max Player will probably be trying to run down both Uncle Chuck and Tiz The Law.

— Shivaree will break from post No. 5. He likely will battle Uncle Chuck for the early lead. He finished second to Tiz The Law in the Florida Derby back in March, but faded badly, finishing 11th after leading early on July 11 in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes. Shivaree has been described as ornery, and it took him five starts before he broke his maiden. He also has the most starts of all the entries, with 12. He will need to revert back to his early season form if he expects to compete at the end of this 1 1/4 mile classic distance.

— Tiz The Law drew the No. 6 hole, which will allow him to easily deploy his stalking style. For those who are not familiar with riding high-strung horses, many of them become very competitive when another horse is running beside them, making it more difficult to control their speed. Tiz The Law has become very tractable, allowing his jockey to more easily dictate when to wait and when to pounce. He has won five of six races, including his very first start at Saratoga as a 2-year-old exactly a year ago. He clearly is the horse to beat.

— Caracaro will break from post No. 7. He narrowly lost to Country Grammar by a neck in the Peter Pan Stakes in his last start. He has raced only three times, winning once and finishing second twice. He should continue to improve with more racing. He likely will need to finish in the top three to earn enough points to get in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

He currently has earned only 20 points thus far in his fledgling career.

— South Bend will break from the outside in post No. 8. He won his first three starts as a 2-year-old, but has not won since. With eleven starts total, he may benefit from the longer distance. South Bend closed well from far back in his last start in the G3 Ohio Derby, finishing second by 3/4 of a length.

Fox will televise the Travers beginning at 5 p.m. Post time for the Travers is 6:15 p.m.

“And down the stretch they come!”