After finding out that this year’s “Mid-Summer Derby” goes off on Aug. 25, these same fans now search for when the Whitney Handicap will be contested.

The 80th edition of the Grade I, $750,000 Whitney is set for this Saturday and it promises to have an immediate impact on a muddled handicap division.

When 2006 Horse of the Year, and last year’s Whitney Handicap winner, Invasor, retired last month, it left a great void at the top of the division. The winner of Saturday’s race may thrust himself to the top of the ladder.

If that’s not enough incentive for the connections of the 12 older horses lining up in the starting gate, the winner will also automatically qualify for America’s richest race - the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The new “Win and You’re In” format is meant to add spice to the race, especially for fans that don’t realize winning the Whitney means inclusion in the Classic anyway.

With all that being said, New York Racing Association oddsmaker Eric Donovan has installed

Magna Graduate as the favorite in the Whitney.

The Todd Pletcher trainee will be ridden by Garrett Gomez and is coming off a second in the Grade I Stephen Foster.

The winner of that race was the upstart Flashy Bull at 4-1 odds. Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Flashy Bull is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, who saddled Invasor last year.

Look for Lawyer Ron, also trained by Pletcher and ridden by his main guy, John Velazquez, to make some noise in this spot.

The Whitney is the final leg of a $500,000 Pick 4 that includes the Grade I Diana, Grade I Go for Wand and the Grade II Alfred Vanderbilt. If the weather cooperates, this could be one of the best opening Saturdays ever run at Saratoga Race Course.