Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball player Dolly Cairns poses with Rich Johns, a former Saratoga Springs tennis coach and founder of “Act With Respect Always.” Photo provided by Johns.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Dolly Cairns, a Saratoga native and the all-time girls basketball scoring leader at Saratoga Springs High School, is in the midst of an exceptional, sharpshooting season at Florida Gulf Coast University. Cairns currently ranks 16th in three-point percentage (44.55%) among all NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball players.
Cairns is a starting shooting guard averaging 9.2 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds per game in the 2024-25 season thus far, helping to lift Florida Gulf Coast to a 19-3 overall record. As of press time, the Eagles had won 12 straight games.
Last season, Cairns and company fell in the first round of the NCAA women’s “March Madness” tournament in a nailbiter against the No. 5 seed Oklahoma Sooners. After the loss, Cairns told Saratoga TODAY that she plans to pursue a career in healthcare following the conclusion of the 24-25 season.
In high school, Cairns played for the Blue Streaks, scoring more than 2,000 points to set the school’s all-time scoring record. In 2019, she committed to the University of Rhode Island, where she played for two seasons before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast.
The 2024 Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers visited with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday. Photo via Margo Martin, Special Assistant and Communications Advisor to President Trump.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vincent Viola, a regular at the Saratoga Race Course, visited with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to celebrate the Florida Panthers’ 2024 Stanley Cup victory (Viola owns the team).
“We brought a cohort, to use a term we use in the military, of champions to visit a champion,” Viola said to Trump amid a roomful of spectators. “Your kindness and the hospitality displayed by your staff is a simple reflection of the excellence that you demand of your people and we were the beneficiaries of it today.”
Viola brought the Stanley Cup to the Saratoga Race Course last summer, allowing visitors to pose alongside the hockey trophy. He also reportedly owns (or owned) several multi-million-dollar homes in Saratoga Springs.
Viola is a horse racing enthusiast and the owner of St. Elias Stable, which produced the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. In 2016, the billionaire businessman was briefly President Trump’s pick for the United States Secretary of the Army, before he withdrew from consideration.
Also in 2016, Viola was accused of punching a concessions worker at a Fasig-Tipton racehorse auction in Saratoga. According to the New York Times, charges were not brought because neither Viola nor the concessions worker wanted to press charges and officers had not witnessed the incident.
Skyway Victor enters the winner’s circle on the 2024 opening night of harness racing at the Saratoga Casino Hotel. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — After a brief hiatus, harness racing will return to the Saratoga Casino Hotel for its 84th season on Sunday, February 2nd. Post time is 12 p.m.
The season will last until December 14, 2025, with most weeks featuring three to four days of racing. Most post times will be at noon, with 6:45 p.m. post times on Saturday evenings in July and August.
The tradition of harness racing in Saratoga dates back to June 26, 1941.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Racers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) held on to their third-place ranking in the East Conference White Division after beating the Herkimer Originals last weekend, 130 to 115. The Racers have a little less than a month before the end of the regular season. Single-elimination playoff games will begin in March.
Against Herkimer, Saratoga’s Tobias Holmes netted an eye-popping 42 points, draining 6 three-pointers and dishing out 7 assists. RJ Rosa added 27 points, John Ryals contributed 21, and both Isiah Grandison (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Shaheem Sanders (14 points, 16 boards) had double-doubles in the contest.
The Racers managed to win in convincing fashion despite losing a few regulars. TJ Jenkins was sidelined with an injury, while Joey Harden and Todd Spotswood both missed time due to deaths in their families.
The Racers are currently ranked #23 in the country and have an 11-5 record on the season. Their next game will be this Saturday against the 518 Ballers in Albany.
The Saratoga Central Catholic boys varsity basketball team defeated Cambridge on Tuesday, 63 to 35. Image via the Saints Facebook page.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Can anyone beat Saratoga Central Catholic’s boys varsity basketball team?
The short answer to that question is “yes.” The Saints lost by 5 points to Berne-Knox-Westerlo on Dec. 8. But that’s Spa Catholic’s only loss of the year so far, and that loss was in a close contest with an undefeated team.
The Saints’ record is currently 15-1 overall and a perfect 9-0 in the Wasaren League, where Spa Catholic is well ahead of the competition. The boys b-ball squad has won 13 games in a row. Of the 85 teams listed in the Section 2 boys basketball rankings, Saratoga is #7. The New York State Sportswriters Association has them ranked #6 among Class C teams. So it’s safe to say that this season is shaping up to be one of the program’s best in recent memory.
The Saints are a relatively short team, relying on speed and three-pointers to accumulate points. But the secret to their sauce this season, according to Coach Shea Bromirski, has been their defense.
“We hold our opponents to around 38 points per game, which is one of the best in the section,” Bromirski said. “The kids have really bought into competing and putting forth a ton of effort on that end of the floor, which is really unselfish; it’s not an easy thing to do.”
Recent games have added compelling evidence to the claim that the Saints have one of the best defenses in town. On Jan. 28, the boys held Cambridge to only 35 points. On Jan. 17, they limited Hoosic Valley to 39 points. On the offensive end, Tyler Hicks led the way with 18 points while Ryan Gillis contributed an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. On Jan. 14 against Waterford-Halfmoon, the Saints won 78 to 42, again excelling on both sides of the ball. In that game, Gillis netted 12 points and Hicks added 11. Before that, Hicks scored 19 in a 54 to 39 victory against Tamarac.
Hicks, said his coach, has emerged as a “complete player” this season, averaging more than 14 points per game and contributing on the defensive end as well. The senior guard has “a bunch of colleges that are poking around and looking at him because he’s turned himself into a really good player,” Bromirski said.
Gillis is a “throwback” who “doesn’t care about scoring,” Bromirski said. “He’s the backbone of our team. He’s quiet but he’s such a leader. He leads by example.” Gillis only has 9 turnovers all season. “He does all the little things that don’t show up in the box score, but then he does the stuff that shows up in the box score too,” said Bromirski.
Another big contributor this season has been David Redgrave, the team’s assist leader. Redgrave’s ball handling abilities have allowed Hicks to move off the ball, which Bromirski said better suits his skill set. “David is one of the biggest gym rats I’ve ever been around,” the coach said. “He’s playing somewhere all the time and when he’s not playing, he’s shooting and working on his game. He just loves basketball.”
Next up for the blessed Saints is a Friday home game on Jan. 31 against Greenwich at 7:30 p.m. Then they’ll take on Stillwater and Hoosick Falls to wrap up their stellar regular season.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced on Monday that general admission tickets, hospitality offerings, and reserved seats for the 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at the Saratoga Race Course will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 13 at BelmontStakes.com/tickets.
NYRA also announced that it has adjusted this year’s presale “to ensure the most equitable opportunity for fans.” Beginning January 28, and continuing through January 31, prospective ticket buyers can enter a drawing at BelmontStakes.com to secure access to various presale opportunities. Those prospective buyers will then be selected at random and directed to select ticket preferences based on available inventory. NYRA said that entering the presale drawing does not guarantee an opportunity to purchase tickets prior to the general public on-sale, nor does it preclude fans from participating in the general public on-sale.
Last year, some prospective presale buyers said that when they tried to buy specific tickets, the Ticketmaster website suddenly said the tickets were no longer available. Others reported they were unable to buy tickets at all, despite having access to the presale.
Also, an advertisement on the Belmont Stakes tickets website fooled some buyers by featuring a green “Continue” button that linked to another site asking for credit card information. A message above the advertisement that read “paid banners below are not related to Belmont Stakes Ticket Sales” appeared to have been added later.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It’s only January but baseball activity has already begun in Saratoga Springs.
Skidmore College’s pitchers and catchers reported for duty on Monday, just a day before the team’s 2025 captains were announced. First Baseman Sam Kornet, Catcher/Infielder Trey Bourque, and Pitcher Peter Martin have been named this year’s leaders. All three players are seniors.
The 6’6” Kornet had a slash line of .308/.448/.567 last season in 104 at-bats. Bourque hit .310/.395/.507 last year in 142 at-bats. He was also selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association Region 3 All-Defensive Team. Martin had a career-best 4.26 ERA in 2024, striking out 13 batters in 19 innings.
Skidmore’s first game of the season is on Feb. 23, when they take on SUNY Old Westbury in the first of 13 straight away games that include 8 games at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida. Their first home game, in which they are expected to play at their brand-new $3.4 million turf baseball field on Daniels Road, is against Vassar College on Mar. 21.
The Thoroughbreds have won 4 Liberty League championships, their most recent being in 2012. In 2023, Catcher Jackson Hornung became the first Skidmore athlete to be drafted by a professional team when he was selected in the 16th round (484th pick) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Hornung was named to the Northwest League All-Star Team last year after completing his first full season with the Vancouver Canadians, Toronto’s High-A affiliate.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — If you plan on buying a general admission ticket to this year’s Belmont Stakes Day, prepare to pay up. Ticket prices have increased by 50%, according to a news release from the New York Racing Association. In 2024, general admission to Belmont Stakes Day was $50. This year, it’s $75.
Despite that increase, general admission prices have held steady for the remaining days of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. In 2024, a general admission ticket for Friday was $30. This year, it’s still $30. And in 2024, general admission for both Thursday and Sunday was $10. This year, it’s still $10.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs High School robotics team reached the semifinals in its first tournament of the year. The 2025 VEX V5 Robotics Competition was held on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Troy on Jan. 20 and featured teams from across Upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
To help support their future efforts, the robotics program will be hosting a fundraiser at the Chipotle near the Wilton Mall. 33% of the proceeds from eat-in or pickup orders placed on Tuesday, Feb. 7 between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. will go to the robotics team. Online orders should use the code HH6JVXJ. Those making in-person orders should tell the cashier that they are supporting Blue Streaks robotics.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — New York Governor Kathy Hochul is advocating for a strict, new statewide cell phone policy that could go into effect as soon as August 1, 2025.
The “distraction-free schools” legislative proposal would, among other things:
Prohibit the unsanctioned use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices on school grounds in K-12 schools for the entire school day, including classroom time and other settings like lunch and study hall periods.
Allow schools to develop their own plans for storing smartphones during the day
Propose that $13.5 million in funding be made available for schools that need assistance in purchasing smartphone storage solutions
In a January 23 Board of Education meeting, Saratoga School District Director of Program and Budget Integration Dr. Joseph Greco said that Hochul’s proposal recommends lockers be used for phone storage during school days, which means the district may not need to tap into the $13.5 million fund set aside for storage solutions.
“We have an ample supply of lockers here, so this may not have a budgetary impact on us,” Greco said, “but it’s certainly something we’re keeping a close eye on.”
Greco said that Saratoga schools would be required to report on their enforcement of the policy, including any disciplinary action that might be necessary. Schools would also be required to provide demographic information for any students subjected to phone-related disciplinary action.
Bobby Yusko, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, said he believed that the chances Hochul’s cell phone policies will be enacted are “pretty high.”
The governor has allowed for some exceptions to the ban, according to Greco, including the use of devices (such as laptops or tablets) sanctioned by teachers for classroom instruction, and the use of devices needed for translation purposes. Students would also be allowed to have access to simple cell phones without internet capability, as well as internet-enabled devices that help manage medical conditions.
The “distraction-free schools” policy would be implemented in time for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
“From parents and teachers, to social justice and law enforcement leaders, New Yorkers agree that our young people succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. “Using the insights from my statewide listening tour, this comprehensive proposal to restrict smartphone use in schools will ensure that New York’s statewide standard for distraction-free learning delivers the best results for our kids and educators.”
