The event was won by James R. Keene's 1904 Belmont Stakes winner Delhi starting as 2/9 odds-on favorite who led from start to finish in a small three horse field defeating the entry of Stalwart and St. Valentine in a time of 2:132⁄5.
[2] The event only attracted four runners but the winning margin was a close neck in a time of 2:18 flat.
The Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes was positioned as the second leg of the new three race series with the first running on 21 July 2019 over a distance of 1+3⁄16 miles with an impressive purse of US$1 million.
In 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, NYRA cut the purse to $500,000 meeting.
[7] The 2021 winner, the Irish-bred State Of Rest confirmed the high classification of the event by later in the year travelling to Australia and winning the Group 1 Weight for age W. S. Cox Plate and the following year winning the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.