The results are in.

And, from my wholly unscientific, small-sample-size survey, the four-day racing week has a pretty high approval rating, at least from the people most directly involved in the sport. 

For many years, the New York Racing Association raced six days a week during the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. Then, in 2019, the schedule switched to five days of racing, with the meet beginning earlier in July in order to maintain 40 days of racing.

This year, as the rebuilding of Belmont Park comes to a close and as Aqueduct Racetrack held its final day of racing at the end of June, 46 days of scheduled racing began at Saratoga on July 3 and ends on Sept. 7. After an initial three-day flurry of racing, four-day weeks were scheduled through most of July, with five-day blocks slated to begin on July 30 before ultimately being delayed to starting with this week’s racing after drenching rains in Saratoga canceled the July 30 card.

“We wanted to run up here during the July 4 weekend,” explained NYRA CEO David O’Rourke. “We knew that being here for two months would put a strain on the turf courses, so it made sense to lighten up the racing weeks in July. The fan base seems to have enjoyed that, and I’ve gotten good feedback (from) just walking around, talking to people.”

Continue reading at Times Union… (Unfortunately, I’m out of gift links, so you may hit a paywall)