QUEENSBURY — On Aug. 22 at the Hiland Park Country Club in Queensbury, the Saratoga Central Catholic girls golf team defeated Queensbury, 106 to 113.
For the Saints, Maddison Norton shot a 47 and was crowned a medalist. Lilly Norton shot a 59,
Eva Nucera 60, and Lauryn Duell 68.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A whopping 11 baseball players from Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa were recently named to the 2025 NYSSWA All-State teams, including Saratoga Catholic’s Hunter Fales, who was named the Class C Player of the Year.
Fales was a senior last season who was part of the state championship-winning Saints. He was team captain and played catcher, outfield, and second base. He will attend St. John Fisher University.
Other Saints named to All-State teams included senior Ronan Rowe and pitcher Pierce Byrne (both first team), junior outfielder Kihl Kelly (third team), sophomore catcher and third baseman Brian Selig (fourth team), and senior utility player Ryan Gillis (fifth team).
In Class AAA, three Blue Streak juniors (who were also crowned state champs last season) earned All-State honors: outfielder Alex Landau (first team), catcher Brady Mills (second team), and shortstop Raul Rodriguez (fourth team).
In Class AA, Ballston Spa junior pitcher Jameson Hotaling made the second team, and senior shortstop James Haughton was named to the third team.
For the first time in Saratoga’s history, the Blue Streaks and Saints both won state titles in their respective classes last season. They were honored with a downtown parade and were recognized prior to games at Yankee Stadium.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs High School ice hockey program is looking back, and forward. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the program, which hopes to celebrate the occasion with a new LED sign outside the rinks on Weibel Avenue.
Rick Cobello was a 22-year-old teacher in Saratoga when he was asked if he’d be interested in launching an ice hockey team. The first two years were a bit rocky. In 1973 and ‘74, the newly-formed team could only play a few games because there was no refrigeration in the ice rink, and a warm winter meant no ice.
Luckily, things improved in the program’s first official year, 1975, when refrigeration was added and the ice rink actually became ice. The inexperienced team traveled across the northeast in search of competitors while also attempting to nail down the basics of the sport.
“It was rough in the beginning,” Cobello said. “We had to teach people the game, right from scratch. But we rapidly got better.”
When Saratoga Youth Hockey began, it served as a feeder program for the high school team, adding more players who had already learned hockey 101. But before that, more unique recruiting efforts were required.
“I had a core of kids who were hockey players and I told them, ‘Go out and find your friends who are football players and tell them they can hit people,’” Cobello said. “We had a lot of football players the first couple years. I taught them how to play hockey.”
The team’s first tournament in Rome, New York was a bit of a massacre, with Cobello describing the squad as “utterly humiliated.” But in year two, Saratoga managed to earn a few wins. By year three, remarkably, they were state champions. Then they repeated the title-winning feat again in year four.
Flash forward several decades later, and the puck-slapping Blue Streaks are in need of some help (though, perhaps not as much help as that first tournament in Rome).
A new LED sign is being planned for the Weibel Avenue Ice Rink, home of Saratoga’s hockey team. The sign, which would be installed at the entrance of the rink, would serve as both a tribute to the program’s legacy and a modern communication tool for fans, players, and visitors. It will highlight upcoming games, player achievements, special events, and community announcements.
“This new sign is more than just an upgrade — it’s a symbol of our proud history and a beacon for the future,” Cobello said. “We’re honoring everyone who’s worn the jersey over the past five decades — the players, coaches, parents, and supporters who built this program.”
In order to be ready for a fall unveiling, the sign needs to be ordered this summer. But funds still need to be raised in order to make this plan a reality. Online donations can be made through The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region at www.cfgcr.org. All donations should be directed to “Saratoga Springs Friends of Rec.”
SARATOGA — A new music venue called the Mostly Modern Arts Center is being planned in the Town of Saratoga near the intersection of County Route 68 and Burke Road.
According to a proposal dated June 2025, the project site would encompass 18.5 acres spread across three parcels located southeast of the intersection. The site is bordered by single-family residential properties and vacant wooded land. Included on the site would be a 10,000 square-foot, three-story “music barn” that would host performances, art shows, and community events. A parking lot with 51 paved spaces would be created adjacent to the venue, along with additional overflow parking of 39 grass spaces along the entrance road.
Two existing single-family homes on the project site will be renovated and used as residences for the project owners and/or as accommodations for guests, musicians, and artists visiting the center. As many as five cabins would also be built, with each one varying in size between 2,000 to 5,000 square feet. Each cabin would be accompanied by parking spaces for up to two cars, bringing the total number of parking spaces to around 100. 7 or 8 acres of wooded or open fields would be preserved for walking trails and sculpture exhibits. Primary access to the center would be on Burke Road, with secondary access on County Road 68.
The proposal was prepared for Robert and Victoria Paterson, co-founders of the Mostly Modern Festival that’s hosted at Skidmore College’s Arthur Zankel Music Center. The Patersons have been looking for a new home for the festival, as well as a venue for small concerts, community events, and art exhibits. Their representatives on the project include the Phinney Design Group and the Environmental Design Partnership.
According to the proposal, “the proposed project has been designed to maximize the distance from the music and art venue to the existing dwellings while also maintaining existing wooded buffers… The proposed music venue is designed to hold small concerts in a building that is designed to dissipate and absorb sounds. The small outside venue area is designed [for] more small and intimate performances and will be positioned to prevent the projection of sounds to neighboring residences.”
Despite such assurances regarding noise pollution, some locals are resisting the proposed project. As of Aug. 18, a petition on Change.org opposing the music venue had garnered 89 signatures, and a Facebook group called “Keeping Burke Road Peaceful” had 53 members.
“While we applaud the development of the arts and economic development, this commercial project does not belong in our quiet neighborhood,” stated the Facebook group’s “about” section.
A flyer shared with Saratoga TODAY said the project would bring “loud music and noise pollution,” “large crowds into our quiet, rural neighborhood,” “increased traffic,” and “a constant flow of strangers close to our homes and children.” The flyer also encouraged attendance at a public meeting scheduled for Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Saratoga Town Hall.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Yacht rockers, parrotheads, and a whole lot of boomers stormed SPAC on Monday night for a double-header of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and the legendary Doobie Brothers, featuring the one-of-a-kind Michael McDonald.
The Reefer Band—Buffett’s backing group that has continued touring after the “Margaritaville” singer’s death in 2023—delivered exactly what was expected of them. With images of cheeseburger palm trees and dancing spring breakers behind them, they cranked out Buffett’s signature tunes in the same style as their former band leader. “License to Chill,” “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” were all part of the predictable repertoire.
One of the Reefer singers seemed to incorrectly identify SPAC’s host city as “Sarasota Springs,” though, in a sense, this was not entirely inaccurate given the band brought a taste of Florida to Upstate New York.
The headlining Doobie Brothers then took the stage, playing a setlist that spanned from classic 70s hits to cuts off their new, well-reviewed 2025 album “Walk this Road.” Towards the end of their set, the group strung together a series of tracks that blended seamlessly into one another. The presence of both yacht rock god/keyboardist McDonald and sax player Marc Russo was more than welcome, offering a richness of sound that culminated in a seemingly improvised piano and sax solo during the encore. This jam led into a rousing edition of “Takin’ It to the Streets,” proving the Doobies still got it after 55 years in business.
Some of their latest offerings, such as “Walk this Road,” “Angels & Mercy,” and “Call Me” were surprisingly good, defying the cliche that aging rock bands can’t put out decent new material. “Listen to the Music” was the fitting final encore song that sent the nearly-full amphitheater crowd to the exits.
The SPAC show closed out the summer leg of the Doobies/Coral Reefer tour. They’ll be takin’ it to the streets once again on Sept. 4 for a show in St. Louis.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Bear’s Cup Bakehouse—an artisanal bakery and coffee shop known for its New York-style bagels, fresh-baked bread, and pastries—may soon be opening a new location on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.
According to the Albany Business Review, Bear’s Cup would take over 543 Broadway, the former home of Jacobsen Oriental Rugs, which relocated to 145 Ballston Ave.
The bakery is based out of Bolton Landing, a hamlet that borders Lake George and is across from the Sagamore Resort. The company’s bagels were once featured on the “Rachel Ray Show.”
In a video posted to their Instagram account, Bear’s Cup indicated that their Saratoga location could open as soon as this fall.
MALTA — The former home of Dunning Street Station in Malta is set to become a new eatery named Harvest Grain Pizza, according to a banner hung outside the location on Route 9.
Dunning Street permanently closed in June after a series of temporary closures. It was sold shortly thereafter.
Harvest Grain Pizza currently has a location open in Clifton Park, where a variety of pies are offered, including whole wheat, square pan, Sicilian deep dish, gluten free, a white “Saratoga” pizza, Hawaiian, veggie lovers, and many more.
Saboor Sekandari of Harvest Grain told Saratoga TODAY that an opening date for the new Malta outpost has not yet been confirmed, but the pizzeria could open sometime between mid-September and early October.
The diner on Route 9 has a long history of prior owners stretching back to the early 1950s, when it first opened as the Malta Ridge Diner. In the 1970s, it was a filming location for “My Old Man,” a made-for-TV drama about a horse trainer that was based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
The Fodero Dining Car Company manufactured many of the stainless steel, art deco-inspired diners scattered throughout the country, including the famous Empire Diner on 10th Avenue in Manhattan.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was a dog-gone, paws-itively beautiful night as the warm evening air above the Saratoga Casino was filled with a chorus of barking wieners.
On Saturday, the casino’s harness track hosted a battalion of furrier, much smaller competitors during a wiener dog race that followed the third horse race of the night. Buoyant, bouncing wieners trotted onto the track. Some, clearly, had done this before. Others seemed happy just to be there.
When the race began, three Dachshunds bolted for the finish line, arriving there in about 5 seconds. The victor, Maple Sausage, ran relatively steady and true. The second and third place finishers, Granny and Gus, weaved a bit but ultimately earned their ribbons.
The aptly named Granny was the race’s oldest competitor at 15 years, and her owner is Jack Carpenter, co-founder of the local social media company Two Buttons Deep.
Nearly every bench near the track had at least one racing fan stationed on it, whether there for horses or wieners or both. The event also featured a corn dog contest and a puppy meet-and-greet. The spectacle set the stage for what was to come the following day: a five-race Corgi Cup competition at the Saratoga Race Course.
48 Corgis registered for the event, including a trio dubbed the “Corgs of War,” who were the heavy favorites thanks to prior victories in races held by NFL teams. Ares, named after the Greek god of war and courage, had previously won two Corgi Cups with the Buffalo Bills. Athena, named for the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, was the 2024 New York Giants Corgi Cup champion. And Tails, who apparently does not share a name with a Greek god, won a Corgi Cup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Four qualifying heats took place throughout the afternoon on Sunday. The top three finishers from each heat advanced to the championship round, which featured a 12-Corgi field that went to post shortly after the 7th (horse) race. Each sprint was run at a 40-yard distance, and the action was broadcast on FOX Sports (FS1) for the world to see. Fans were not able to bet on the Corgis via the official NYRA Bets app, though it’s likely some wagers were placed off the books.
The first heat was star-studded. Horse trainer Jena Antonucci, the first woman to win a Triple Crown race, ran her pup Mando. “This is stressful right now,” Antonucci said as she readied her Corgi at the starting gate. Fenway Frank, owned by a Glens Falls resident who used to bus tables at the track, was another popular favorite heading into the qualifier. But neither Corg could contend with the god of war himself, Ares, who flew to the finish in just 5.17 seconds.
The second heat featured a number of local dogs, including Oly from Halfmoon, Spike from Troy, and Finn from Mechanicville. Another Corg of War, Athena, was unexpectedly challenged in this qualifier by Norman, who made his racing debut at the Spa. “Short legs, big dreams,” said Norman’s owner. But the dreamer couldn’t overcome the goddess, and the warrior clan of Corgis secured their second victory of the day, thwarting Norman’s near-Cinderella story.
The third heat featured Abbey, a Saratoga resident whose owner runs the Springwater Bed and Breakfast, and who has wheels attached to her hind legs. Abbey entered the race despite being unable to walk just six months ago. The brave soul took her time wheeling forward, but did so with the support of the spectators, who erupted in applause when she crossed the finish line.
Ultimately, the third qualifier was won by Kona, in a massive upset that left the third Corg of War, Tails, in the dust. Kona recorded a time of 5.27 seconds, the second-fastest of the day at that point. “This boy will run anywhere for his treats,” Kona’s owner said in a post-race interview with FOX Sports’ Maggie Wolfendale.
The final heat featured no Corgs of War, leaving the field wide open. Sam, who had secured the 8th post position, prevailed in dominant fashion, winning in 5.33 seconds. “Sam’s got a little crazy in him so he’s able to go real fast when he wants to,” said Sam’s owners after the race.
Both Sam and the Corgs of War are members of the Long Island Corgi Club. All of them, familiar with each other’s talents, knew that the Corgi Cup would be a mighty challenge.
Ares entered the championship as the favorite thanks to his record-setting time. But Sam made it known he would not shrink quietly into the night by relieving himself at the rail on his way to the track. “My stomach turns every time I come out here, very nervous,” said Ares’ owner. The pups were feisty at the gate, barking and yowling with anticipation.
Out of the gate, Sam trailed behind a heap of Corgis, any one of whom could’ve prevailed. But then Sam found within himself a mighty dose of determination. He launched into high gear and secured the Corgi Cup title. Draped in red flowers and hoisted above human heads, as if to suggest his god-like status, Sam was awarded the Corgi Cup, a silver trophy stuffed with red Saratoga tennis balls that was bigger than his entire body.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sally Sells has seen and done it all. As a Pan Am employee, she flew across the Atlantic with none other than Charles Lindbergh (more on that story later). After seeing the world as a stewardess, she settled down and launched her own travel agency in 1963. But today, the one place Sells really wants to visit is the Saratoga Race Course.
“This will be going down memory lane for me and I’m truly looking forward to it,” Sells told Saratoga TODAY about her upcoming trip to the Spa.
Sells, a lifelong horseracing fan, said she last visited the historic track about 30 years ago. On Aug. 15, a couple of her friends are bringing her back to Saratoga, both because returning to the Spa has long been on Sells’ bucket list, and because she’s hoping to catch a glimpse of Reputation, a horse she co-owns via MyRacehorse. (Reputation won the Tyson Gilpin Stakes at Colonial Downs on Aug. 9 and may be headed to Saratoga next.)
“To own even a minor share in this horse has been an exciting adventure for me,” Sells said.
The former world traveler first saw horse races when she was only five. “My mother said I could read the racing form before I could read ‘Dick and Jane’ in kindergarten,” she said. As a child, Sells would scan the forms, studying horses’ pedigree and past performances, before then taking a trip to the paddock to eyeball them in person. Her passion for the sport has stayed with her for 96 years. “My interest in horse racing and breeding and so forth never waned,” she said.
As for her flight with Lindbergh, Sells once recalled the story to the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF). Many years ago, she was chosen by Pan Am to train stewards for international flights. “We had to ferry an empty plane to Germany,” Sells told IWF. “There was a pilot and a crew but only one passenger…There was no one in this giant aircraft but Charles Lindbergh and me. I sat next to him, and we had dinner together, in this big, big old airplane. It was a wonderful moment. That was one of the most exciting things in my life, that I flew the Atlantic with Lindbergh.”
Though perhaps not quite as memorable as a flight with Lindbergh, Sells will travel from Philadelphia to Saratoga on Friday with her friends, finally achieving a long-held dream.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was standing room only at Putnam Place when a mix of silky smooth vocals and Cuban jazz sounds swirled together.
Caffe Lena presented a seven-person collaboration (including four vocalists) on Tuesday night that featured Lena’s resident jazz pianist Chuck Lamb, Havana-born pianist/composer Jorge Gómez, and singer-songwriter Ria Curley.
After Curley sang with the group for a handful of tracks, Lamb and Gómez performed a series of instrumentals off their “Take 2” album, including the eponymous “Take 2,” which featured a spirited solo on keys by Gómez; “Chabrosa,” a danceable song that included Gómez’s head being smacked by the conga player (presumably for added rhythm); and “Phase 2,” a funky, Dr. John-inspired tune with a blistering tenor sax solo. The ensemble also debuted a new piece from their forthcoming EP (aptly named “Take 3”) called “Estudio.”
Accompanying the sonics was a projected display of Cuban art and photography, showcasing the country’s famous cigars, classic cars, and colorful architecture. The show also included an opening set by the Jazz Pebbles, a youth ensemble from Lena’s School of Music.
Lamb is a longtime member of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, known for his expressive playing and genre-blending compositions that span jazz, classical, fusion, and world music. Gómez is the founder of the three-time Grammy-nominated band Tiempo Libre, famous for their blend of Latin jazz and Cuban timba.
