Opening Day Eve, an unofficial holiday observed by those for whom Christmas comes in July when Saratoga Race Course opens, lacked its usual excitement and anticipation last year. The pandemic was only four months old, masks were still required everywhere, travel was forbidden, and large gatherings of people, even outdoors, were a non-starter under state…
The stakes schedule at Saratoga at the turn of the last century was already robust. Announced in February in the New York Times for the 1901 season, it featured 25 races worth a total of $85,000. Among those to be run were the Adirondack, Spinaway, Travers, Alabama and Saratoga Cup. The racing meet that year was 22…
A few hours after the third race on Sunday, Aug. 7, Lacey Gaudet stood on the second floor of the clubhouse at Saratoga Race Course. It’s a place she’s been many times before, but despite her familiarity with it, on that afternoon, she viewed the place with a new perspective, that of a trainer with…
Trainer Rick Schosberg shipped from his Belmont Park base to Saratoga this year on the Tuesday before the meet started. The routine has been the same for decades: the stable staff heads up to get the barn ready, and then the horses arrive, with Schosberg, his wife Dawn, his dogs following behind. The same process,…
More than 15 years ago, folklorist Ellen McHale was asked by the National Museum of Racing to do a short-term consulting project on the life of backstretch workers at Saratoga Race Course. “The education department wanted more information about the people who worked on the backstretch,” said McHale recently from her office at the New…
Opening weekend at Saratoga brought many reasons to smile, not the least of which were two terrific stakes races in the Diana and the Coaching Club American Oaks. The blanket, competitive finish in the Diana contrasted with Songbird’s romp in the CCAO, each stirring the racing fan’s heart in its own way. Pleasing, too, is…
In a June 21 op-ed in The Saratogian, New York Racing Association (NYRA) president and CEO Chris Kay chided those who cite attendance as a measure of success of the summer racing meet. “The questionable pursuit of trying to gauge the popularity of Saratoga using attendance as the metric should be apparent,” he wrote. “A…
At Sunday’s fan forum presented by the New York State Gaming Commission’s Fan Advisory Council, one of the first speakers was a man who was introduced to horse racing by his fiancée’s family, which is from this area. “They said, ‘We’re going to take you to a horse race,’” recounted Bill Sullivan of Beverly, MA.…
Saratoga lived up to its legacy as the “Graveyard of Champions,” but racing fans got an exciting renewal of the Travers on yet another beautiful day at Saratoga, and Javier Castellano set a new record for Travers victories, winning the race for the fifth time. One week ago, but there’s still plenty to keep you…
The New York Racing Fan Advisory Council held an open forum Aug. 30 at Saratoga Race Course, inviting customers and racing fans in the state to share comments and questions about their experiences at New York’s tracks. The Fan Advisory Council was established in 2011 by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, and…
Brooklyn Backstretch 