- 155th Saratoga Race Course meet expected to maintain momentum
SARATOGA SPRINGS — On a quiet morning last week, trainer Bill Mott and three reporters were standing by the outside of the rail and chatting on the first turn of the Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga Race Course when three horses jogged toward them in single file along the inside.
Spotting the humans, the leader of the group angled away from the rail so as to avoid this grave threat.
“Better get used to people,” Mott said.
And soon.
The 155th Saratoga meet opens on Thursday with a 10-race card, and promises to maintain the trend in recent years of drawing a total of over one million in paid admission for 40 days of live racing.
Fans flock to Saratoga for the atmosphere and a variety of amenities, but primarily because it will consistently provide the best Thoroughbred racing in North America for the better part of two months, concluding on Labor Day, Sept. 4.
The best horses flock to Saratoga because the New York Racing Association will offer 71 stakes races worth a total of $20.8 million in purses, most notably the 154th Travers on Aug. 26, which is restricted to 3-year-olds and typically draws many of the horses who were on the Triple Crown trail.
Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo, for example, is already on the grounds.
As are horses like Cody’s Wish, a potential Eclipse Award Horse of the Year winner; stablemate Elite Power, the 2022 Eclipse Award-winning champion male sprinter; and Clairiere, a championship candidate among older dirt fillies and mares.
“What can you say? Saratoga racing is the best of the best,” trainer George Weaver said on Saturday morning. “Very hard to win up here.
“Yeah, we’re looking forward to it. It’s a special time of year every year. Everybody comes together here and really focuses on the racing. Then after it’s over, you’ve got the yearling sales, people disperse, people go to Belmont. It’s just a different feel. It’s a pretty active meet, a lot of socializing, a lot of fun to be had. And a lot of great horses running.”
In 2022, paid admission at Saratoga topped one million for the seventh year in a row, not counting 2020, when spectators weren’t allowed through the gates because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Average daily paid admission in 2022 was 26,890.
Meanwhile, Saratoga has shattered the record for all-sources betting handle for the last two years. Last year, there was a total of $878,211,963 bet on Saratoga races, up from $815,508,063 in 2021.
There will be a change to the general admission price structure this year, which will be $10 on the day of racing, or $7 if purchased at least a day in advance. That admission price will afford access to both the general grandstand and clubhouse areas. Previously, fans paid $7 for grandstand only, and could upgrade for $3 to include clubhouse access.
The traditional opening-day feature is the Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies, signaling a point in the season when juveniles gain a bigger share of the spotlight.
Of the 71 stakes, 19 are Grade I, including the Travers, Aug. 5 Whitney (for which Cody’s Wish is preparing) and Aug. 19 Alabama.
The Travers Day card will include four other Grade I’s, the Sword Dancer, Forego, H. Allen Jerkens Memorial and Ballerina. The Grade I Personal Ensign, which is expected to draw Clairiere, has been moved from Travers Day to the Friday before, Aug. 25.
Besides the Schuylerville, the 2-year-olds can point to graded stakes in the Sanford next Saturday, the Adirondack on Aug. 6, the Saratoga Special on Aug. 12 and the Spinaway and Hopeful on closing weekend.
Just as Saratoga serves as a stage for the established stars of the sport, it also does so for potential future stars in races like these.
It’s that uncertainty that can make the 2-year-old races — even the high-priced maiden races with no stakes designation — fascinating. For instance, trainer Gary Contessa has high hopes for his Schuylerville entry, Becky’s Joker, but at the same time, she’s never run and will be taking on a bunch of horses who have not only raced, but have won.
“You also open that door to get seriously let down, if she doesn’t show up like you think she’s going to. And it could happen,” he said on Saturday morning. “This game is full of disappointment. But if you don’t try it, if you don’t take risks, you can’t achieve any greatness. So we’re taking a little risk here. But the endgame will be a good thing if we’re right.”
“Look, we do what we do, you lead them over there, you hope you find the right spots and the horses run well,” Weaver said. “But you know it’s tough to win. It’s just as easy to go on a winning streak here as it is to go oh-for-30.”
