Charity check-in: horses, kids, cats

Charities of various flavors take advantage of the throngs that descend on Saratoga during racing season: every week, even every night, events both modest and elaborate take place across the Spa City. The terrific spirits shop Crush and Cask supported a number of charities with Tuesday night wine tastings, and Chianti Il Ristorante offers diners…

The BEST of the Backstretch

“Saratoga is a healing community,” said Paul Ruchames recently, “and you can accomplish a lot with a healing community.” Ruchames is the recently appointed executive director of Backstretch Employees Service Team (BEST); he comes to the position from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx, where he served as director…

A Rodeo for the Children of Anna House

“We’re here to thank you,” said Michael Dubb, chairman of the board of the Belmont Child Association, to the crowd assembled at last week’s benefit at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga. “Tonight is more than financial. It’s the one time a year that we get to thank you for your support.” The children who…

This week in Saratoga

It is with great melancholy that I post this week’s happenings, as at least one of them will be taking place after I return to Brooklyn. I can’t believe that Saratoga is almost over, and nearly every day I come face to face with a reminder that before too long, the old Spa will be…

This week in Saratoga

Another week at Saratoga is in the books, and some among us are already looking mournfully towards the end of the meet. We’re past the halfway point, and it feels like Labor Day is going to come much too soon. But we’ve still got a few furlongs left, and there’s plenty to keep us busy…

Beyond the Backstretch

I wrote recently in the Saratogian about the multitude of charitable opportunities that the racing season in Saratoga offers; nearly every night, we can choose an event to attend, a way to contribute, a charity to support. Among those charities are those that support New York racing all year round, some of which pack up…

The Call to the Post

On a spectacularly beautiful Saratoga morning, hundreds of racing fans turned out to support New York backstretch charities and get a little exercise in this morning’s Fasig-Tipton 5k to benefit the Belmont Child Care Association, the Backstretch Education Fund, Backstretch Employees Service Team, and the Racetrack Chaplaincy. I went into this morning’s race with no hope of matching…

Friday morning quick picks from Saratoga

Today brings the first of two twilight racing cards at the Spa this summer; post time is 2:30. Yesterday brought several promotions to the track: a short-sleeved T-shirt giveaway and a mid-summer St. Patrick’s Day. As I walked into the track just as the first race went off, I saw, in quick succession: people lined…

Jockeys 45, Horsemen 41

In what has become something of a Saratoga tradition, the jockeys played basketball last night for charity. Three years ago, they took on a fifth grade A.A.U. team from Texas, beating the youngsters by a score of 44-39; two years ago, the kids came back for a rematch and trounced the riders, 49-32. Last night,…