Beer cans popped open. The pages of The Daily Racing Form rustled. A voice boomed through the loudspeakers, accompanying the replays of the previous day’s races.

And in the near distance, the whirling turnstiles at Saratoga Race Course clattered rhythmically, admitting some patrons only once, but others — those who came to spin, not to bet — over and over again.

On most days, Marty Strack is a horseplayer, but on a recent Sunday, he had joined the ranks of the spinners, a particular breed of racetrack regular whose name derives from repeated spins through the entry turnstiles on track giveaway days, amassing hats, T-shirts and the like by the armful.

Mr. Strack (“Track,” he said, “with an ‘s’ ”) handed over his $5 and collected a blue voucher entitling him to the track giveaway item: a free Saratoga 2014 hat. He entered the grounds, made a quick left, exited, and hit the turnstiles again.

Continue reading at The New York Times…