Saratoga Race Course begins its traditional summer meet Thursday, July 10th.
But this year in addition to the usual 40 days of racing, Saratoga will host for the first time a July 4th Racing Festival with 10 Stakes races over four days from July 3rd-6th- Saratoga bonus day!
The Spa is one of the most storied racetracks in the world, and it’s been mecca for horse racing fans for hundreds of years.
Thousands of horseracing fans will descend on the picturesque region for seven and a half weeks of racing nirvana.
Here’s a little primer for those not familiar with upstate New York’s divine equine experience.
WHO: Elite equine athletes and their human connections. Saratoga is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to racehorses.
Some of the top horses in the nation, along with many of the most promising 2-year-old racehorses around, will spend their summer in Saratoga.
The meet is packed with the highest levels of races, many of which offer an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in November.
As you would expect, these horses each come with a human support team, so you’ll see the best trainers, jockeys, and grooms at Saratoga along with some of the most prominent horse owners in the game.
WHAT: The Spa & The Graveyard of Champions. With more than 150 years of history, it’s no surprise that Saratoga has picked up a couple of nicknames along the way.
The track’s two most used are The Spa and The Graveyard of Champions– not as macabre as it sounds. That nickname refers to the fact that some of the most famous Champion racehorses in American history have lost races at Saratoga, including the likes of SECRETARIAT and AMERICAN PHAROAH just to name a couple.
Both the track and town are collectively referred to as The Spa because the city sits on top of natural springs with waters rumored to bring good health to humans and horses.
Saratoga became a playground for the wealthy throughout the Gilded Age thanks to the mineral water and the race meet, and there are still bathhouses and drinking pavilions galore throughout the town.
WHERE: Saratoga Springs, NY. Nestled in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and located approximately 40 miles north of Albany, Saratoga is a place of serene natural beauty.
The track and town are easily accessible by plane, car, and train and is (relatively) equidistant to Boston, New York, and Montreal, Canada.
WHEN: July 10th to September 1st. Back-in-the-day when the meet ran only four weeks in August The Spa was referred to as the August Place to Be.
When NYRA expanded the format to where it is today, Saratoga, justifiably, became the Summer Place to Be.
And why not- the meet lasts from mid-July through Labor Day, and it draws vacationers and racing industry professionals throughout the season.
WHY: Because we love Saratoga. When horse racing reached Saratoga, the city became a playground for the rich and famous.
One local icon was Marylou Whitney, a philanthropist who dedicated herself to the town of Saratoga and shepherded the city and racetrack through the 1960s and 70s when the track was at its economic low point.
Thanks in no small part to her efforts, both Saratoga Springs and Saratoga Race Course are thriving.
In 1999 Sports Illustrated named Saratoga Race Course as one of the top ten greatest sports venues in the world.
