A New Podcast Joins the Saratoga Scene

SARATOGA SPRINGS — There is an air of mystery to creating a successful podcast. The conversations and content have to be interesting, of course. But the hosts also need a special rapport, an “it” factor, a je ne sais quoi (if you will) to keep their listeners engaged.

Former WTEN/News10 ABC anchor Noel McLaren and restaurateur Zac Denhan (co-owner of Standard Fare and Bocage Champagne Bar) had been friends for a year or two before they launched the “Off Track Saratoga Podcast” earlier this month.

McLaren has a boatload of experience being on camera and mic’d up. Denham is a self-described “recovering musical theater performer.” United, the two easily weave their way through conversations that can begin with a debate over the spelling and pronunciation of “kerfuffle” to a sincere chat about the realities of doing business in the Spa City. 

“I think Zac and I are used to, in our lives, having some kind of script or some kind of, at least, an outline for how things are going to go,” McLaren told Saratoga TODAY. “We’ve found that what works best for us is to literally just go off on tangents, and we talk about things that are going on and each other, and that’s how we get our best material.”

The “Off Track” hosts exhibit a gift for gab that is hard to replicate. The conversations are meant to feel inviting and casual, as if you, the listener, have just stumbled across two friends conversing over cocktails and pulled up a chair to join them. That friendly vibe is partly achieved by producing episodes outside of a formal studio space. (One day, Saratogians might even spot an episode of “Off Track” being recorded on a front porch on Broadway.) 

The podcast’s informal aura was matched on its first episode by guest Daniel Chessare, the owner of Saratoga’s Broadway Deli and Bibulous. Chessare unexpectedly found himself at the center of town gossip recently after a public exchange on Facebook with Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus. In between some censored vocabulary, Chessare, Denham, and McLaren discussed everything from dealing with tourists to the impact of the Saratoga Race Course to Spa City “propaganda” (Chessare’s term).  

“As soon as everything went down with Dan and the County Chamber, we were like, ‘Let’s jump in on this and get it while it’s relevant,’” Denham said.

“The second I saw people caring about something in the community, sirens went off, light bulbs went off, and I said, ‘Well, we’ve got to talk about this,’” McLaren said. “Everything we talk about on our show is going to be newsworthy. It’s going to be stuff that is impacting people in our area, and that was something that is impacting people.”

Although the second episode’s guest was Trinity Mouzon (whose family owned the Mouzon House restaurant), the pod won’t only feature local business owners. One future guest, for example, was a contestant on “America’s Next Top Model.” Potential future or dream guests could include Saratoga socialite Michele Riggi (“Where did she go?” wondered McLaren), Opera Saratoga’s Mary Birnbaum, and track WAGs (the wives and girlfriends of horse trainers). But some episodes won’t have any guests at all, and, ultimately, the hosts hope that their podcast becomes part of the community, which means incorporating the voices and ideas of their listeners.

“As long as people tune in and stay engaged, I’m willing to be engaged as well,” Denham said.  “I would love to see [the podcast] reach as far and wide as it can. We want to keep this podcast rooted in Saratoga, but we definitely are talking about things that are culturally relevant.”

“I feel like something that got exhausting as a journalist to hear was, ‘Oh, the media just spins things’ and ‘The big bad media’ and ‘Big bad journalists,’” McLaren said. “I feel like my gift as a reporter has always been [that] I’m approachable. I want this to feel like a table that everybody can pull a chair up to… If I successfully create something that everybody feels like they can come to and have fun with and enjoy, and I’m also informing them and giving them information about the community, then I have succeeded in continuing the important work of reporting.”

The first two episodes of the “Off Track Saratoga Podcast” are currently available on Spotify and Apple.