SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — The field for tomorrow’s US $1m Travers Stakes is so impressive that Kentucky Derby winner Orb isn’t even the favorite.

Neither is Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice.

The role of three-year-old to beat in racing’s Mid-Summer Derby at Saratoga Race Course is Verrazano, runaway winner of the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 28.

“It’s a great field,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Verrazano and Palace Malice. “From a fan’s perspective, it’s one of the strongest Travers we’ve seen in a while. With the exception of (Preakness winner) Oxbow, all the major players are here.”

There’s a logical explanation why Verrazano is the 2-1 top choice in the nine-horse field entered Wednesday, with Palace Malice next at 5-2 and Orb at 4-1. It’s the “what have you done for me lately” approach.

“The last two races with our horses were very powerful,” Pletcher said, “and in the sense of what’s going on in the moment, that’s why (they are the favorites). But we have a lot of respect for Orb, and we know he’ll be tough to beat.”

Verrazano ran the worst race of his career in the Derby, finishing 14th over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs. He came back and won the Pegasus at Monmouth before his big effort in the Haskell.

Palace Malice rebounded from his dull 12th-place Derby finish by winning the Belmont by 3_ lengths and then taking the Jim Dandy over Will Take Charge and Moreno on July 27.

“With Palace Malice, you’ve got very much of a now horse that’s always dangerous,” said Orb’s trainer, Shug McGaughey. “Verrazano, ever since he broke his maiden, has been a top horse. His only blemish was in the Derby, and he bounced out of that pretty well.”