At the bottom of the post, you’ll find events that happen daily.

Thanks for reading this summer. I hope that you found events you might not have otherwise heard of, learned something about Saratoga or horse racing, discovered a cause or charity that you want to support.

If you have suggestions for how to improve this, I’d love to hear them. Been at this for a few years now, and I’d like to make it as useful as possible. In the same vein, if there’s anything that you find particularly useful, let me know.

Hard to believe that it’s really over…but here’s to Saratoga, 2018. 

Thursday, August 31

At the races

Stakes races: $100,000 P.G. Johnson for two-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles on the turf

Taste NY, wines, ciders and spirits in the Saratoga Pavilion on the backyard side of the grandstand, towards the top of the stretch. At this weekly event, customers can purchase five samples of adult beverages made in New York for $5.  Noon – 5pm.

Fan Appreciation Week. Season pass and Saratoga Season Perks members will receive a free “premium apparel item,” featuring the Saratoga and NYRA Bets logos. Offer available through Saturday, while supplies list. To receive the item, show your season perks card or season pass at the redemption area near the box office inside Gate A.

Saratoga Season Perks members and season pass holders will receive the following discounts, good every day except Saturday, September 2.

• 35 percent savings on dated merchandise, including 2017 Travers collectible items, at NYRA stores. Offer is not valid on 2017 Saratoga premium giveaway items.
• 10 percent savings at most on-track concession stands
• 10 percent savings at Shake Shack
• 10 percent savings at participating vendors in the Artist’s Village

Discounts do not apply to lottery, tobacco, alcohol, restaurant dining, group sales or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Grandstand reserved seats: Customers who buy two grandstand reserved seats will receive a third seat for free when using the promo code BUY2GET1. Customers who purchase a reserved table in the Miller Lite Picnic Paddock or the Fourstardave Sports Bar will receive a second table for free when using the promo code TOGABOGO.

Both offers are available at Ticketmaster.com and are not valid on previously purchased tickets. Offers valid on August 31; and September 1, 3 and 4. Subject to availability.

Clubhouse box seats: Customers that buy a clubhouse box will receive five free programs and a bottle of champagne OR five Saratoga collectible apparel items. To purchase, call (718) 659-3551. Offer valid on August 30 and 31; and September 1, 3, and 4.

In NYRA’s community outreach booth, located near the jockeys’ silks room: Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties

 

Tequila and Taco Thursdays: After the last race, The Post will feature specials on margaritas and tacos, accompanied by flamenco guitar.

Elsewhere

Andy Serling’s At The Post Live at the Parting Glass in downtown Saratoga, an hour of live radio featuring a variety of guests from the racing world. The show airs 8 – 9pm weekly and is held before a live audience at one of Saratoga’s best-loved watering holes. Can’t make it to Saratoga? You can listen at ESPN Radio 104.5 or online.  Video segments will also be posted and shown on NYRA.com, the NYRA Network, and NYRA’s Youtube channel. This week’s guests: NBC’s Randy Moss & Jerry Bailey; TVG’s Todd Schrupp; trainer Jeremiah Englehart; NYRA’s Tony Allevato

Friday, September 1

At the races

Stakes races: $100,000 Lucky Coin, four-year-olds and up, 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf

Fan Appreciation Week. Season pass and Saratoga Season Perks members will receive a free “premium apparel item,” featuring the Saratoga and NYRA Bets logos. Offer available through Saturday, while supplies list. To receive the item, show your season perks card or season pass at the redemption area near the box office inside Gate A.

Saratoga Season Perks members and season pass holders will receive the following discounts, good every day except Saturday, September 2.

• 35 percent savings on dated merchandise, including 2017 Travers collectible items, at NYRA stores. Offer is not valid on 2017 Saratoga premium giveaway items.
• 10 percent savings at most on-track concession stands
• 10 percent savings at Shake Shack
• 10 percent savings at participating vendors in the Artist’s Village

Discounts do not apply to lottery, tobacco, alcohol, restaurant dining, group sales or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Grandstand reserved seats: Customers who buy two grandstand reserved seats will receive a third seat for free when using the promo code BUY2GET1. Customers who purchase a reserved table in the Miller Lite Picnic Paddock or the Fourstardave Sports Bar will receive a second table for free when using the promo code TOGABOGO.

Both offers are available at Ticketmaster.com and are not valid on previously purchased tickets. Offers valid on August 31; and September 1, 3 and 4. Subject to availability.

Clubhouse box seats: Customers that buy a clubhouse box will receive five free programs and a bottle of champagne OR five Saratoga collectible apparel items. To purchase, call (718) 659-3551. Offer valid on August 30 and 31; and September 1, 3, and 4.

Taste NY: Craft Beer, in the Saratoga Pavilion on the backyard side of the grandstand, towards the top of the stretch. At this weekly event, customers can sample five New York craft beers for $5. Noon – 5pm. (Weekly)

Summer BBQ in the At the Rail Pavilion. $45 for adults, $35 for kids 12 and under. Includes admission and a “program book.” Reservations can be made by calling the NYRA Box Office at 1-844-NYRA-TIX.

In NYRA’s community outreach booth, located near the jockeys’ silks room: National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Woodford Reserve Fridays at The Post: Following the end of racing, a DJ sets up at The Post bar near the Clubhouse entrance, where Saratoga customers can enjoy dancing, cocktail sampling, and trivia.

Elsewhere…

Free admission at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame after 2 pm.

Saturday, September 2

At the races

Stakes races:

Grade III, $200,000 Glens Falls for fillies and mares, three years old and up, 1 3/8 miles on the turf

Grade III, $300,000 Saranac for three-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles on the turf

Grade I, $750,000 Woodward for three-year-olds and up, 1/18 miles on the dirt

Grade I, $350,000 Spinaway for two-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs on the dirt

Fan Appreciation Week. Season pass and Saratoga Season Perks members will receive a free “premium apparel item,” featuring the Saratoga and NYRA Bets logos. Offer available through Saturday, while supplies list. To receive the item, show your season perks card or season pass at the redemption area near the box office inside Gate A.

NYRA Bets & Taste NY: Food and Artisans: An on-track market in the Berkshire Bank Saratoga Pavilion (back of the grandstand, near the top of the stretch) that will feature food and crafts by New York makers. Customers can also purchase five samples of craft beer for $5. This event will include handicapping tutorials and racing tips from the NYRA Bets Squad.   10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In NYRA’s community outreach booth, located near the jockeys’ silks room: Capital Region Toys for Tots Foundation

Ketel One Party at The Post: The fun will continue each Saturday of the season with the Ketel One Party at The Post. Saturday evenings at Saratoga will feature music from a DJ following the day’s final race, cocktail samplings and giveaways.

Elsewhere        

5K Run/Walk for the Horses and Kids’ Fun Run, to benefit the Racehorse Aftercare Charities of Saratoga coalition, which includes the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, ACTT Naturally, Heading for Home Racehorse Retraining and Adoption, and Saratoga WarHorse.  Held at the Orenda Pavilion in the State Park, the Kids Fun Run begins at 8:00 am, the 5k run at 8:30 am. On-site registration begins at 7am. The kids’ run is $5; registration for adults is $25 before September 1, then $30. Click here to register or for more information.

There are awards for the top three finishers in all three divisions, and dogs are welcome to participate, too—for their own prizes!

Final Stretch Festival, marking the end of the 2017 racing season. Stroll downtown for free live music up and down Broadway from 7 – 11 pm. The event continues on Sunday, September 4.

 

 

Sunday, September 3

At the races

Note the early post time of 12:30 pm.

Stakes races: Grade II, $250,000 Prioress for three-year-old fillies, 6 furlongs on the dirt

Giveaway #4, a Saratoga wall clock. Giveaways are free with paid admission while supplies last. Season pass and season ticket plan holders are guaranteed a Saratoga premium giveaway item on the day of the giveaway; they must be in attendance, enter through the designated season ticket and pass holder lines, and redeem the giveaway by 3 p.m. Redemptions will begin when gates open to the general public.

Low Roller Handicapping Contest: Held in the Lower Carousel near the Fourstardave Sports Bar. Entry into the contest is $40 with $30 going towards your live bankroll and $10 towards the prize pool. Players may submit up to two entries per contest; registration begins at 11 a.m.

Fan Appreciation Week. Season pass and Saratoga Season Perks members will receive a free “premium apparel item,” featuring the Saratoga and NYRA Bets logos. Offer available through Saturday, while supplies list. To receive the item, show your season perks card or season pass at the redemption area near the box office inside Gate A.

Saratoga Season Perks members and season pass holders will receive the following discounts, good every day except Saturday, September 2.

• 35 percent savings on dated merchandise, including 2017 Travers collectible items, at NYRA stores. Offer is not valid on 2017 Saratoga premium giveaway items.
• 10 percent savings at most on-track concession stands
• 10 percent savings at Shake Shack
• 10 percent savings at participating vendors in the Artist’s Village

Discounts do not apply to lottery, tobacco, alcohol, restaurant dining, group sales or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Grandstand reserved seats: Customers who buy two grandstand reserved seats will receive a third seat for free when using the promo code BUY2GET1. Customers who purchase a reserved table in the Miller Lite Picnic Paddock or the Fourstardave Sports Bar will receive a second table for free when using the promo code TOGABOGO.

Both offers are available at Ticketmaster.com and are not valid on previously purchased tickets. Offers valid on August 31; and September 1, 3 and 4. Subject to availability.

Clubhouse box seats: Customers that buy a clubhouse box will receive five free programs and a bottle of champagne OR five Saratoga collectible apparel items. To purchase, call (718) 659-3551. Offer valid on August 30 and 31; and September 1, 3, and 4.

In NYRA’s community outreach booth, located near the jockeys’ silks room, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region.

NYRA Bets & Taste NY: Food and Artisans: An on-track market in the Berkshire Bank Saratoga Pavilion (back of the grandstand, near the top of the stretch) that will feature food and crafts by New York makers. Customers can also purchase five samples of craft beer for $5. This event will include handicapping tutorials and racing tips from the NYRA Bets Squad. 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Elsewhere

Summer stroll with the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation: “Queen Annes, Circular Street and Union Avenue” tours the area that used to house the Young Women’s Industrial Club of Saratoga, which would become Skidmore College. Tours last approximately 90 minutes and require walking and standing on various terrain. $5 for Preservation Foundation members, $8 for non-members. Meet at the southwest corner of Spring and Circular Streets at 10:30 a.m.

Final Stretch Festival, marking the end of the 2017 racing season. Stroll downtown for free live music up and down Broadway from 7 – 11 pm. The event continues on Sunday, September 4.

Monday, September 4

At the races

Note the early post time of 12:30 pm. 

Stakes races:

Grade I, $350,000 Hopeful for two-year-olds, 7 furlongs on the dirt

Grade II, $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap for three-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles on the turf

Monday Family Fun 4-Pack includes four grandstand reserved seats (includes admission); four hot dogs and four sodas for $44. Available for purchase by calling 1-844-NYRA-TIX.

Fan Appreciation Week. Season pass and Saratoga Season Perks members will receive a free “premium apparel item,” featuring the Saratoga and NYRA Bets logos. Offer available through Saturday, while supplies list. To receive the item, show your season perks card or season pass at the redemption area near the box office inside Gate A.

Saratoga Season Perks members and season pass holders will receive the following discounts, good every day except Saturday, September 2.

• 35 percent savings on dated merchandise, including 2017 Travers collectible items, at NYRA stores. Offer is not valid on 2017 Saratoga premium giveaway items.
• 10 percent savings at most on-track concession stands
• 10 percent savings at Shake Shack
• 10 percent savings at participating vendors in the Artist’s Village

Discounts do not apply to lottery, tobacco, alcohol, restaurant dining, group sales or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Grandstand reserved seats: Customers who buy two grandstand reserved seats will receive a third seat for free when using the promo code BUY2GET1. Customers who purchase a reserved table in the Miller Lite Picnic Paddock or the Fourstardave Sports Bar will receive a second table for free when using the promo code TOGABOGO.

Both offers are available at Ticketmaster.com and are not valid on previously purchased tickets. Offers valid on August 31; and September 1, 3 and 4. Subject to availability.

Clubhouse box seats: Customers that buy a clubhouse box will receive five free programs and a bottle of champagne OR five Saratoga collectible apparel items. To purchase, call (718) 659-3551. Offer valid on August 30 and 31; and September 1, 3, and 4.

Taste NY, Food and Artisans, in the Saratoga Pavilion on the backyard side of the grandstand, towards the top of the stretch. At this weekly event, customers can sample and shop for food and crafts such as jams, baked goods, and hand-crafted soap, all produced in New York State. 10:30am – 5pm. (Weekly)

Berkshire Bank Family Mondays, Saratoga Pavilion on the backyard side of the grandstand, near the top of the stretch. Enjoy kid-friendly games and activities and pet a retired Thoroughbred, all free of charge, with one designated activity carrying a suggested donation for a local school or PTA. This week’s recipient is Lisha Kill Middle School in South Colonie.  11 am – 4 pm.

The first 500 kids, ages 12 and under, to visit the Pavilion will receive a free drawstring bag filled with school supplies. One drawstring bag per child, who must be present to receive.

In NYRA’s community outreach booth, located near the jockeys’ silks room: Cohoes Connect Center for Youth

Elsewhere           

Secretariat at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Coinciding with the Hopeful Stakes, which Secretariat won in stakes-record time 45 years ago, this guided tour will include the whole Museum, with a focus on sculptures, artwork and various memorabilia related to Secretariat and his connections. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and costs $10 for Museum members, seniors and students, $15 for non-members. Each tour participant will receive a poster of Secretariat winning the 1972 Hopeful, courtesy of Secretariat.com. Reservations are required for the tour and can be made by calling (518) 584-0400 ext. 120.

Daily events

Morning workouts at Saratoga Race Course. Every day except Tuesdays, the track opens to the public at 7 a.m., and fans/customers can get in free to watch morning workouts until 10 am. The Dunkin Donuts concession on the track is open, but you can do better by bringing in your own food/coffee and sitting in the clubhouse to watch the horses exercise. A NYRA host talks about the history of the racing in Saratoga and comments on the horses on the track.

Across the street, the Whitney Viewing Stand and the Oklahoma training track is also open to the public.

Breakfast at Saratoga, presented by B95.5 FM Breakfast Club: Fans are invited to enjoy breakfast on The Porch of the clubhouse while the thoroughbreds train on the main track. Breakfast is held from 7 to 9:30 am and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The morning buffet is $18.50 for adults and $10.25 for kids. Mornings at Saratoga also welcome fans to go behind the scenes with a free, guided backstretch tram tour. Tram tours begin at 7:30 a.m. and depart from the clubhouse entrance approximately every 15 minutes through 9 a.m. Tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are 45 minutes in length. Breakfast and tours are available daily, except Travers Day, Saturday, August 26.

Backstretch tours at Saratoga Race Course. Every day except Tuesday, take a free 45-minute tour of the backstretch. No reservations are accepted; tram tours begin at 7:30 am and depart every 15 minutes until approximately 9 am. Tours leave from the Wright St. entrance to the track, near the clubhouse. No tours on Travers Day or Labor Day.

Walking tours of Saratoga Race Course. Learn why there’s a canoe in the infield lake and why the winner’s circle bell is rung at 17 minutes to post. This guided tour lasts about 45 minutes and take place at 9:30 am, 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm each racing day (note: no tours on Tuesdays). $3 per person or $10 per family. Contact Guest Services at 518 584 6200 x4433.

Walking tour of the Oklahoma training facility. Offered by reservation every day except Tuesday by the National Museum of Racing. Tours begin at 8:30 am in the Museum parking lot and reservations are required—weekend reservations are required by 4 p.m. the previous Thursday.

No tours are offered on August 4 or Travers weekend, August 27-28.  No children in backpacks or strollers, and tour participants must be at least 10 years old.

Sturdy walking shoes are suggested, and the cost is $5 for Museum members, $10 for non-members, which includes admission to the Museum after the tour. The tour covers approximately a mile and lasts for approximately 90 minutes.

For reservations or more information, call the Museum’s Education Department at 518 584 0400 ext. 120 or e-mail nmredu2@racingmuseum.net.

Tours of Old Friends at Cabin Creek Thoroughbred retirement farm. Tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. Visit Commentator, Be Bullish, Cool N Collective, and Will’s Way among others, learning about their racing days and how they’re enjoying being spoiled in retirement.

 

 

 

 

 

Join NYRA race caller Larry Collmus in his booth for the third race to support Backstretch Employees Service Team. Up to nine people can participate each day for $100 per person, with all proceeds going to support BEST’s work with backstretch workers. To reserve a spot, call (516) 488-3434 ext. 100 or (518) 587-3720.