NEWS
A racing kind of town
Posted: Saturday, July 15, 2000
Saratoga's six-week meet contributes greatly to Saratoga Springs's economic well-being
Saratoga Race Course's six-week racing season in upstate New York not only generates a sizable chunk of Saratoga Springs's economic activity each year, but it also defines the city of 26,000. "I think it's a central piece of what we are in Saratoga Springs," Mayor Ken Klotz said. "The racing season is critical to Saratoga, and I couldn't imagine being without it."
The mere thought of no Saratoga meet would send shudders up the spine of every member of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, which estimates the racing season generates approximately one-half of the area's summer visitors and half of its summer tourist business, contributing tens of millions of dollars to local coffers.
Hotels are packed, and those in prime locations attract reservations many months in advance of the meet. Restaurants quickly fill to capacity, and waits for a table often run to more than an hour.
And that is only part of the equation; the meet has a trickle-down effect that seeps literally into many Saratoga Springs homes. The annual, 200-mile shift of racing from Belmont Park on Long Island to Saratoga triggers a mass migration of trainers, jockeys, exercise riders, stable workers, approximately 500 New York Racing Association (NYRA) employees, and media members.
Most of them require temporary housing for at least part of the six-week meet, and many stay for the whole season. The Fasig-Tipton Co. yearling sale brings in a whole new crowd for several days each August. So do the Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
Another 1,500 residents in Saratoga Springs and throughout the Capital District area in upstate New York take temporary jobs with NYRA every summer in a myriad of capacities ranging from waitresses to ushers to tellers to security guards.
Saratoga Race Course's success, which is indisputable, sends ripples through many people's wallets in the sylvan, scenic community. But it was not always so.
Two-decade explosion
"We remember when we weren't getting tourists to come to Saratoga," said Rod Sutton, a 51-year-old native Saratogian who owns the Sutton and Tarantino Insurance Agency and is the immediate past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. "Certainly, the economic impact is quite obvious with the popularity Saratoga has received the past 20 years. We see it selling insurance to the business community in Saratoga. We see new businesses spring up every year trying to take advantage of the popularity of Saratoga."
Sutton has an intimate knowledge of the racing season's impact. He was nine years old when he began parking cars in the back lot of his family's property on Union Avenue.
"Back in the early '50s, my father purchased a piece of property right across the street from the main entrance," he said. "That was long before the Northway (Interstate 87) was built. Route 9 was the main thoroughfare. Those were days when they'd get 22,000 people for the Travers (Stakes). Now they average 22,000 a day."
Back then, it cost 50 cents to park in the Sutton's lot. Now it's $5. "It's a little cottage industry that's been going on forever," Sutton said. "People rent their lawns out to buy groceries. No one gets rich off it."
Maybe not, but the people who rent out their houses certainly reap a tidy sum. "The house prices have gone up the last four or five years," NYRA President Terry Meyocks said. "I think it's sort of unfair, but they're getting the prices they ask for."
Meyocks said $8,000 for a six-week rental is no longer the upper limit. "I think it's more than that," he said. "The townhouses go for up to $10,000. Someday, somebody's going to say, 'That's enough.'
Saratoga Springs at a glance
- Population:26,000
- Location: 175 miles north of New York City
- Principal employers:Quad Graphics (more than 1,000 employees); Saratoga Hospital; Skidmore College; Stewart's Shops
- Main attractions: Saratoga Race Course; Saratoga Performing Arts Center; Saratoga Polo; Saratoga State Park; Congress Park; National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame; National Museum of Dance; Saratoga Equine Sports Center (harness racing); mineral baths and spas; Saratoga Harness Racing Hall of Fame
- Motels and hotels: 30
- Bed and breakfasts: 15
- Total rooms: 1,850
- Conventions or conferences per year: 350"
Captive audience
Bill Nader, NYRA's director of broadcast communications and promotions, echoed Meyocks's assessment: "I think people in Saratoga who rent homes think we're rich down here, that we're wealthy NYRA suits, and that we and owners and trainers will pay anything for a house. It's a shame because the people who work at NYRA have a limited per diem. For many of us, it's a working vacation. They have a captive audience. What's fair? Fair is what price you can get."
Nader said he spent $4,000 last summer for a three-bedroom house for six weeks, which was $1,000 less than he spent to rent a similar house in a less-desirable location when he, his wife Elaine, and their three children spent their first summer in Saratoga in 1995. "The farther away from the track, the better the price," Nader said. "For people who have a second home, it's ideal. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to give away my home for six weeks."
There are other options, and people of moderate means are following the example of wealthy people who for many years have traveled from Long Island or Pennsylvania or wherever for the racing season. They bought their living quarters.
"Glen Mathes (NYRA's director of communications), bought a house up there after leasing for years," Nader said. "You see more and more people do that. (Announcer) Tom Durkin bought a condo. Terry (Meyocks) got a place up there."
Durkin rented a house with broadcaster Chris Lincoln his first year at Saratoga. "And I will never live with Chris Lincoln again as long as I live," Durkin laughed. "Then I rented another house for seven years. And the people were very nice. But basically, I just did the math. The reason I bought a house in Saratoga was I couldn't afford to rent one. For a very modest house, I paid like $5,000."
So Durkin purchased a townhouse five miles from the track three years ago. "When I work at that meeting, when I go home, I go home," he said. "There's a big difference in your mindset because you're going home instead of going to someone else's very expensive house that you're renting."
Most people, though, have their hands full with one house. They look to rent.
House matchmaking
Mara King is one of five agents who handle racing season rentals for Roohan Realty, which has been doing Saratoga house matchmaking since the agency opened in the late 1970s. "It seems to have grown in the last few years," King said. "There are a lot more people renting houses. There is new construction, and those houses are very popular."
Any homeowner who wants to change summer addresses for up to six weeks can request a package of information from Roohan Realty. "Then we list the house in our office," King said. "We keep a book of everything that's available. Tenants call us asking for specific numbers of bedrooms and baths, or location or the price."
King declined to divulge an average price for a Saratoga rental, but she said she fields calls from everywhere. "We have people from Texas and California, some people from Ireland."
She said the length of a rental contract is very flexible, ranging from one week to even longer than the six-week season. "Some people come earlier in July," King said.
Rod Sutton's cousin, Bill, a plumbing and heating contractor, and his wife, Betsy, a promotion director for the Saratoga Preservation Foundation, annually rent out their house for just two weeks through Fasig-Tipton. "We've been doing it for about 20 years," Betsy Sutton said. "We've been very pleased. So many people in town do it, so many of my friends, it's sort of standard procedure for many people in Saratoga. We have a family home on Saratoga Lake, so that makes it easy for us."
She said she has yet to have any trouble with her two-week tenants. "Fasig-Tipton always said if there was a problem, they'd take care of it. And there hasn't been a problem."
Penny Chenery, who owned Secretariat, and D. G. Van Clief Jr., Breeders' Cup Ltd. president and Fasig-Tipton's chairman, are two of the tenants Dave Appel has had since he began renting out the eight-bedroom house he purchased on
Circular Street 14 years ago. He also rents out rooms in his house to college students from nearby Skidmore College. "I've never had a problem," Appel said.
Since the meet expanded to six weeks, Appel rents out for three weeks every year, spending that time at his cousin Lawrence's house in town.
Renters and friends
Neither Sutton nor Appel divulged their rental prices, but Racing Hall of Fame trainer Phil Johnson, who has been going to Saratoga every summer since 1961, said the rental increases he has paid have been minimal. "We've never had an unhappy situation with the rentals," Johnson said.
After renting through an agency for years, Johnson has found a permanent temporary home on Eureka Avenue. "The last 12 years we've been in the same house, and we deal directly with the owners, Milford and Nancy Lester," he said. "They're very nice people. It's a big house, three bedrooms, a seven-minute drive to Oklahoma (Training Track), and a ten-minute drive to the track, which is great for me because I can drive or walk there."
The Lesters, who spend the race meet at their lodge on nearby Lake George, have become friends with the Johnsons. They attended Johnson's 1997 induction into the Racing Hall of Fame as well as a party the night before at the Wishing Well, a popular restaurant near Saratoga. "They've become part of the family, and we enjoy them as guests in our house," Milford Lester said.
The relationship between the residents of Saratoga Springs and the racing season is mostly symbiotic. Saratoga's racing season could never have reached its current lofty status without the backing of the city, and many people in the city would never be so well off financially without the racing. "I've never seen a place that a community backs and supports as well as Saratoga," NYRA's Meyocks said. "That makes Saratoga what it is."
In the past 20 years, Saratoga has become a mecca for racing fans and owners. Its only rivals in that arena are Del Mar's similar meet, Deauville in France, and Royal Ascot. Its success is crucial for NYRA, whose profitability hinges on the six-week Saratoga meet.
Benefit from expansion
Also, local businesses have reaped the benefits of NYRA's expansion of Saratoga's meet from 24 days to 36. Last summer, attendance at Saratoga topped 900,000 for the first time, suggesting that Saratoga's popularity may still not have reached its limit. "We want to think not," Rod Sutton said. "We'd like to think we're like any tourist venue: Aspen, Palm Beach, Florida, or Hilton Head in South Carolina. We are a destination point. Back when I was a kid growing up, the city had 16,000 people. If you missed a lay-up at the end of a high school basketball game, everybody in town knew about it. Everybody kind of knew everybody. It's not like that now. Now, there's so many people in Saratoga, 26,000. And the towns of Malta and Wilton each have 12,000 to 15,000. We've seen a great vitality not only in Saratoga Springs, but in the surrounding townships."
The swell of tourists is such that visitors begin making restaurant reservations for July and August as early as January 1. "We start taking reservations the first of January," said Bob Lee Jr., whose family has run the Wishing Well, a converted 1823 farmhouse, for the past 33 years. "People have made their hotel reservations, and they want to know where they're going to dine. They don't want to get shut out. Usually, the Kentucky Derby (G1) spurs business. People start thinking about Saratoga. It goes from one or two calls a week to one or two calls a day. For the six weeks of racing, the impact is tremendous. We're filled to capacity every night. We get people from all over the world. It's a great time of the year."
It is nearly that time again. Saratoga's 132nd meeting begins on July 26 and runs through Labor Day, September 4.
Of course, not every person in Saratoga Springs views the racing season as a source of joy. "There are people who grumble about traffic and the commotion, but it's good-natured grumbling," Klotz said.
Detractors remain few. Most residents recognize the upcoming racing season's importance both to the community's economy and its identity. Klotz said: "What makes Saratoga Springs a unique city is what happens at the racetrack."
Bill Heller is a New York correspondent of Thoroughbred Times.
Is Saratoga racing getting too big?
New York Racing Association officials can hardly be faulted for expanding the Saratoga meet, which has blossomed into the centerpiece of New York racing and brightens NYRA's annual balance sheet.
Saratoga racing Dates:
July 26 through September 4
Open house: Sunday, July 23, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., free admission, free parking.
Racing: Wednesdays through Mondays, 1 p.m. post (Travers Day, August 26, 12:30 p.m.)
Giveaways: Saratoga stein (July 30); Saratoga T-shirt (August 5); Saratoga commemorative plate (August 13); Travers baseball cap (August 20); Saratoga Classic T-shirt (September 3)
1999 season leaders: Leading jockey, Jerry Bailey, 47 wins; leading trainer, Bill Mott, 16 wins
Total 1999 attendance: 920,218
Total on-track handle: $111,969,548
Daily average total handle: $15,486,599
Average attendance: 25,562
In 1991, NYRA extended the Saratoga meet from 24 days to 30. In 1994, the meet was stretched to 34. In 1997, NYRA made it 36 days, where it stands today: six weeks of six days-a-week racing, the only part of the NYRA racing calendar without two dark days each week. This year's meet begins on July 26 and ends on Labor Day, September 4.
Though NYRA executives say they will not extend the meet, the possibility is certainly out there because Saratoga's numbers dwarf those of the Belmont Park spring and fall meets. Last year, the Belmont spring meet averaged 8,907 for 55 days, and that average included the all-time New York record crowd of 85,818 for the 1999 Belmont Stakes (G1). The average crowd for the 32-day Belmont fall meet was only 6,756. Saratoga's 1999 average attendance was 25,562, an increase of 3.7% from 1998.
Saratoga's 1999 average daily on-track handle ($3,705,558) nearly matched averages for the Belmont spring ($2,041,777) and fall ($1,784,718) meets combined. Saratoga's daily on-track handle increased 5.4% from the year before.
But the biggest Saratoga number was total handle. Average daily handle from all sources was a North American record $15,486,599, breaking its own record from 1998.
Saratoga certainly can be regarded as the favorite track of full-card simulcasting outlets across the country because of the quality racing and generally full fields. "The meet exceeded all of our expectations and hopes," NYRA President Terry Meyocks said.
One possibility would be for NYRA to begin the meet earlier and run eight weeks of five-days-a-week racing. That would only be 40 days, an increase of four. Or have seven weeks of six racing days a week, for a total of 42 dates.
Meyocks said an expansion is not going to happen. "I've always said that 36 days is the limit," he said. "I think it'd be unfair to the local communities and the people that have homes. It's unfair to the horsemen and the other employees. People have got to go up there. The grooms and the assistant trainers and the exercise boys have living accommodations-whether they came from here on Long Island or Florida or Kentucky or elsewhere-that they've got to support. It makes it tough."
Expanding to 40 or 42 days would make it tough on everyone. "I think the 36 days is pretty much stretching the limitation of what we could do up here," Saratoga Springs businessman Rod Sutton said.
Are 36 days too many? "No, I don't think so," said Bill Nader, NYRA's director of broadcast communications and promotions. "I think 36 days, as we go into this meet, is the right number. The day-to-day racing last year was very, very good. I wouldn't suggest we run more than that, but that's for our board of trustees to decide."
Dave Appel, who rents out his Saratoga Springs house for half of the six-week meet, wishes the NYRA board would decide to reduce the meet. "For a couple of reasons," Appel said. "The physical plant can't handle the traffic, and you're walking around in a dust bowl, and that I don't like."
His second reason? "On the last day, when the last race is over, when it was four weeks, you'd say, 'Oh, please one more day.' You wanted it to go longer. With six weeks, I say to myself, 'Thank goodness it's over.' I think that's a bad note to end with. Too much of a good thing isn't a good thing."
-Bill Heller
Summer at the racetrack
She thought she was just killing a few weeks and making extra bucks. But Barb Czaikowski of Schenectady, New York, an elementary school music teacher in East Greenbush, instead developed a second, thoroughly enjoyable part-time career. For six weeks from the end of July through Labor Day, she is a supervisor of admissions at Saratoga Race Course, a position to which she has risen in 16 years after beginning to work there as an usher.
"I've risen up the ranks," Czaikowski said. "I call myself one of the supervisors of the lowest level, but I love it. We're involved with scheduling, making sure the ushers are at their posts, that the customers are happy, and that the employees are happy. A little bit of both. It's like school: I'm teaching. For more than half of the ushers, I would say, it's their first job. I like that. I really do."
Being able to watch many of the world's best Thoroughbreds is a bonus. "The best thing is watching these two-year-old races, because there's your next (Kentucky) Derby (G1) winner," she said. "And your Breeders' Cup winner. That's what makes it real fun."
She has become such a fan of racing that she and her fiancŽ, Jim Poole, who works in the State University of New York Comptroller's Office, attended last year's Breeders' Cup at Gulfstream Park.
They are planning to marry on August 11 where they first met, at Saratoga Race Course, if the New York Racing Association approves. "We're going to get married four years on the anniversary of our first date," she said. "Saratoga is such a big part of my life, I thought, 'Why not?' "
-Bill Heller
A popular Wishing Well
Bob Lee, owner of the Wishing Well restaurant north of Saratoga Springs, was attending the Eclipse Awards dinner in California in 1981 when he was introduced to actor Jack Klugman, whose horse Jaklin Klugman had won a $32,000 handicap at Saratoga Race Course the previous August.
Klugman had dined that night at the Wishing Well and, when introduced to Lee, he exclaimed, "Oh, those tomatoes and corn!"
Those huge, home-grown beefsteak tomatoes and fresh corn on the cob are trademarks of the Wishing Well, one of Saratoga's most successful restaurants. By the first week of June, the Wishing Well had 1,000 reservations for the upcoming racing season. "You treat people nice and they remember," Lee said. "Everybody's important. There are no special people; that's why we've been here 33 years."
Lee, wife Brenda, and sons Bob Jr. and Dean certainly must be treating people right, including their employees. Otherwise, why would waitresses Margo Panton and Margaret Brown be in their respective 33rd and 32nd years working for them? Why would President Clinton's mother send the Lees a note after dining at the Wishing Well just once?
Bob and Brenda Lee, who met while they were working at the same restaurant in New Jersey, bought the Wishing Well in 1968. The converted farmhouse, built in 1823, had opened as a restaurant in 1936 under Jack Hedrick. It was then operated seasonally by three families, the Winetraubs, Liptons, and Zeiberts, before the Lees took over. "We couldn't afford to hire too many people at first, so I cooked two days a week, my son Dean washed dishes, and my wife worked in the pantry," Bob Lee said. "The harder you work, the luckier you get."
An original total staff of 12 full-time and part-time employees has swelled to 50 as the Wishing Well has blossomed into a favorite dining place for horsemen and celebrities. George Steinbrenner, Sonny Werblin, Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, and Red Smith have dined there. Daily Racing Form executive columnist Joe Hirsch has been a frequent customer.
But the night the Lees will always remember was in 1993 when Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson brought along a group of six, including Virginia Clinton Kelly, mother of President Bill Clinton. She had presented a trophy in the winner's circle at Saratoga Race Course that afternoon.
"She took the time to send us a note," Lee said. It read: "Thanks so much for the wonderful dinner and your kind hospitality to my family. We enjoyed meeting you."
A lot of people enjoy meeting the Lees. But more importantly to them, a lot of people really enjoy dining at their restaurant.
Anybody who has ever worked in the restaurant business will tell you it is a tough way to make a living. Lee disagrees: "If you like what you're doing, it's not tough."
-Bill Heller
Calendar of Events
Opens July 9
Special Exhibit: Hall of Fame Heroes. Featuring dozens of unique
artifacts, plus a Racing Hall of Fame timeline, celebrating Thoroughbred racing's greatest horses, jockeys, and trainers. Shown at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
July 9-September 4
Summer Fine Arts Exhibit: The Mastery of Munnings. Featuring 60 paintings by Sir Alfred J. Munnings, the leading English equine artist of the 20th century, including works borrowed from 20 private collections. First major Munnings exhibition in 28 years. Shown at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
July 17-August 28
Photo Finish Photography Program. For children ages 10-to-15, an introduction to photography. Class starts at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and then includes a tour of the Oklahoma Training Track, where the students get a chance to put their newfound skills to work.
Sunday, July 23
Saratoga Race Course, open house, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Enjoy music, pony rides, and family entertainment. Take a tour of the backstretch; attend a handicapping seminar. All refreshment sales benefit local nonprofit organizations.
Monday, July 24
Saratoga Preview, Special Program. Beginning at 7 p.m., a panel discusses insights into the top horses, trainers, and jockeys who will be racing at Saratoga Race Course. Free to the public and held in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
July 26-August 13
Hector and Susan Barrantes Memorial Cup Tournament, 16-20 goal U.S.P.A., held at Whitney Polo Field and Saratoga Equine Center.
Wednesday, July 26
Saratoga Race Course, opening day. Gates open at 11 a.m., post time is 1 p.m. Buffet breakfast is available 7-9:30 a.m.
Schuylerville S. (G2), $100,000 added, 2yo fillies, 6 furlongs.
Thursday, July 27
Sanford S. (G2), $100,000 added, 2yos, 6 furlongs.
Friday, July 28
Bernard Baruch H. (G2), $150,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, 9 furlongs, turf.
National Museum of Dance Gala. Held at the National Museum of Dance on Union Avenue.
Saturday, July 29
Hat contest, held at Saratoga Race Course. Prizes for three categories-most fashionable, Kreative Kids, and Spirit of Saratoga.
Test S. (G1), $250,000 guaranteed, 3yo fillies, 7 furlongs.
Sunday, July 30
Go For Wand H. (G1), $250,000 guaranteed, 3&up, fillies and mares, 9 furlongs.
Ceramic stein giveaway at Saratoga Race Course; with paid admission while supplies last.
Monday, July 31
Lake George S. (G3), $100,000 added, 3yo fillies, 81Ú2 furlongs, turf.
Tuesday, August 1
Skidmore Polo Luncheon, 1 p.m., held at Whitney Field, Bloomfield Road.
Wednesday, August 2
Honorable Miss H. (G3), $100,000 added, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, 6 furlongs.
Thursday, August 3
A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase H., $75,000 added, 4yos & up, 16.5 furlongs, turf.
Friday, August 4
Amsterdam S. (G3), $100,000 added, 3yos, 6 furlongs.
Saturday, August 5
Jim Dandy S. (G2), $400,000 guaranteed, 3yos, 9 furlongs.
T-shirt giveaway at Saratoga Race Course, with paid admission while supplies last.
Weekend in Old Saratoga Gala, held at the Gideon Putnam Hotel.
Sunday, August 6
Whitney H. (G1), $750,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, 9 furlongs.
August 6-13
Cross Gate Gallery Sporting Art Exhibition. Shown at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion.
Monday, August 7
National Museum of Racing Induction ceremony, luncheon at Saratoga Race Course, an autograph signing session at the Big Red Spring, and evening barbecue.
National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame H. (G2), $150,000 guaranteed, 3yos, 9 furlongs, turf.
Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation fund-raiser, held at Saratoga Golf and Polo Club.
August 8-10
Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. Begins at 8 p.m. at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion.
Wednesday, August 9
A. G. Vanderbilt H. (G2), $200,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, 6 furlongs.
Thursday, August 11
Glens Falls H. (G3), $100,000 added, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, 11 furlongs, turf.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Ball.
Stallion Access Champagne seasons and shares sale at Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion.
Saturday, August 12
Saratoga Polo Ball.
Sword Dancer Invitational H. (G1), $500,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, 12 furlongs, turf.
Sunday, August 13
Ballston Spa Breeders' Cup H. (G3), $200,000, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, 8 1/2 furlongs, turf.
Commemorative Alabama Stakes ceramic plate giveaway, NFL Alumni Day "Caring for Kids," to include luncheon and autograph signing, held at Saratoga Race Course from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
18th Century Day. Noon-5 p.m. Featuring over 30 period demonstrators, free refreshments, and guided tours. Held at the Schuyler House.
Fasig-Tipton Saratoga preferred yearlings sale, held at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion.
The Jockey Club Round Table Conference, held at Sheraton Saratoga Springs Hotel and Conference Center.
Monday, August 14
Adirondack S. (G2), $150,000 guaranteed, 2yo fillies, 6 1/2 furlongs.
Tuesday 15-27
Monty Waterbury Memorial Cup Tournament, 16-20 goal U.S.P.A., held at Whitney Polo Field and Equine Sports Center
Wednesday, August 16
Saratoga Special S. (G2), $150,000 guaranteed, 2yos, 61Ú2 furlongs.
Thursday, August 18
Yaddo H., $75,000 added, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, restricted, 9 furlongs, turf.
Friday, August 19
Alabama S. (G1), $750,000 guaranteed, 3yo fillies, 10 furlongs.
Chili cook-off, held at Saratoga Race Course. Vote for your favorite chili.
August 19-27
Travers Festival, with more than 30 special events throughout the area celebrating the Travers S.
Sunday, August 20
Ballerina H. (G1), $250,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, 7 furlongs.
Travers Baseball Cap giveaway, held at Saratoga Race Course, with paid admission while supplies last.
Whitney Cup tailgate picnic competition, held at Whitney Polo Field.
Monday, August 21
Lake Placid H. (G2), $150,000 guaranteed, 3yo fillies, 9 furlongs, turf.
New York Turf Writers Awards Dinner, held at the Gideon Putnam Hotel.
Tuesday, August 22
Travers Festival Salute at the Great Escape Theme Park-Jockey NASCAR 900 Race.
Wednesday, August 23
West Point H., $75,000 added, 3yos & up, restricted, 9 furlongs, turf.
Salute to the Red, White and Blue, held at Saratoga Race Course. A day honoring veterans; featuring free-fall aerial maneuvers by the United States Army's premier parachute team, the Golden Knights, and a free concert by the Navy jazz band, Commodores, 7-9 p.m.
Thursday, August 24
New York Turf Writers Cup Steeplechase H., $100,000 added, 4yos & up, 19 furlongs, turf.
Friday, August 25
Personal Ensign H. (G1), $400,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, 10 furlongs.
Saturday, August 26
Travers S. (G1), $1,000,000 guaranteed, 3yos, 10 furlongs; Fourstardave H.
(G2), $200,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, 81Ú2 furlongs, turf; King's Bishop S.
(G1), $200,000 guaranteed, 3yos, 7 furlongs.
Sunday, August 27
Saratoga Breeders' Cup H. (G2), $300,000, 3yos & up, 10 furlongs.
Wednesday, August 30
Forego H. (G2), $250,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, 61Ú2 furlongs.
Thursday, August 31
Albany H., $150,000 added, 3yos, restricted, 9 furlongs.
Friday, September 1
Spinaway S. (G1), $200,000 guaranteed, 2yo fillies, 7 furlongs.
Saturday, September 2
Hopeful S. (G1), $200,000 guaranteed, 2yos, 7 furlongs.
Handicapping contest at Saratoga Race Course.
Sunday, September 3
Saranac H. (G3), $100,000 added, 3yos, 9 1/2 furlongs, turf.
September 3-4
Final Stretch Family Festival, held at Saratoga Race Course; classic T-shirt giveaway; family fun day, to benefit the Ronald McDonald Charities of the Capital Region. Featuring stage entertainment, face painting, clowns, riding ponies, drawn caricatures, and
games.
Monday, September 4
Diana H. (G2), $500,000 guaranteed, 3yos & up, fillies and mares, 9 furlongs, turf.
Join in on the festivities on this last day of Saratoga racing with Family Fun Day and America's Day at the Races. Free coloring books and crayons for the children, with horseshoe decorating and a jockey T-shirt toss.
Saratoga Race Course
- Address: Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
- Phone:(518) 584-6200
- Web site: http://www.nyra.com
- Track: 1 1/8-mile oval, sandy loam; seven-furlong chute; one-mile turf course; seven-furlong inner turf course; steeplechase course with six jumps; Oklahoma training track, one mile
- Admission: Grandstand, $2; clubhouse, $4; children under 12, free
- Hours: Gates open weekdays, 11 a.m.; weekends, 10:30 a.m.; on Travers Stakes (G1) day, 7:00 a.m.
- Broadcasts: "Inside Racing," a weekly telecast on SportsChannel, hosted by John Imbriale at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; "Thoroughbred Action," on SportsChannel each racing day, hosted by Imbriale at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, 7 p.m. on weekends
Saratoga contact numbers
