The public library is one of the glories of Saratoga Springs. Back when I was in high school up the street at Spa Catholic, it was housed in the cozy building at the corner of Spring St. and Broadway before it moved to a modern, larger space on Henry St. in 1995, offering local residents a myriad of services, including classes, lectures and programming for people of all ages. It is suffused with light and staffed by people who seem to genuinely enjoy talking with and helping visitors.

It’s one of my favorite places, which is why I was so disappointed about the Saratoga Springs Public Library’s decision to cancel this past week’s scheduled presentation by local and well-known anti-racing advocate Patrick Battuello, the founder of Horseracing Wrongs. 

That library attracted a firestorm of internet outrage when some horse racing enthusiasts learned that the library was offering what it called a community presentation by Battuello. He calls for the abolition of horse racing and animal ownership of any kind, scrupulously detailing as many equine deaths related to horse racing that he can find, using information garnered from Freedom of Information requests and publicly available data, like that on the site of the New York State Gaming Commission. His group regularly protests at horse racing events, including at Saratoga. 

Continue reading at Times Union… (Gift link, which should avoid the paywall. You may need to put in an email address to read.)