Author: Saratoga TODAY
Washington County Fair 2023
Sundown Sunday at the Washington County Fair Aug. 27, 2023, at the conclusion of the annual fair’s weeklong run.
News & Notes: Week 8 Events at Saratoga Race Course
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 2023 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will continue through Monday, Sept. 4. Racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day. Admission gates will open for live racing at 11 a.m. First post time is 1:10 p.m. with exceptions for Travers Days and closing weekend; Travers Day gates will open at 7 a.m.
Week 8 Stake Races
*Mondays and Tuesdays = Dark Days. No racing.
Saratoga Live presents daily coverage of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit NYRA.com/SaratogaLive.
Friday, August 25
G1 Personal Ensign: F&M 4&UP, 1 1/8 – Dirt, Purse $500,000
Smart N Fancy: F&M 4&UP, 5 1/2 Furlongs – Turf, Purse $150,000
Saturday, August 26
GI Ballerina (BC): F&M 3&UP, 7 Furlongs – Dirt, Purse $500,000
GI Forego: 4&UP, 7 Furlongs – Dirt, Purse $500,000
G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial: 3YO, 7 Furlongs – Dirt, Purse $500,000
G1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer (BC): 3&UP, 1 1/2- Turf, Purse $750,000
G1 Travers: 3YO, 1 1/4 – Dirt, Purse $1,250,000
Sunday, August 27
Albany (NYB): 3YO, 1 1/8 – Dirt, Purse $250,000
Fleet Indian (NYB): F3YO, 1 1/8 – Dirt, Purse $200,000
Funny Cide (NYB) presented by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital:
2YO, 6 Furlongs- Dirt, Purse $200,000
Seeking the Ante (NYB): F2YO, 6 Furlongs- Dirt, Purse $200,000
West Point presented by Trustco Bank (NYB): 3&UP, 1 1/16- Turf, Purse $200,000
Yaddo Handicap (NYB): F&M 3&UP, 1 1/16- Turf, Purse $200,000
Wednesday, August 30
P. G. Johnson: F2YO, 1 1/16 – Turf, Purse $150,000
Thursday, August 31
GIII With Anticipation: 2YO, 1 1/16 – Turf, Purse $175,000
Community Outreach Booth
As part of NYRA’s season-long commitment to spreading awareness of local non-profits, NYRA will again host one organization each day in the Community Outreach Booth, located adjacent to the Jockey Silks Room, inside Gate B.
Friday, August 25: Moreau Lake State Park and Grant Cottage
Saturday, August 26: Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.)
Sunday, August 27: Old Friends at Cabin Creek Thoroughbred Retirement Farm
Wednesday, August 30: Saratoga Children’s Museum
Thursday, August 31: Center for Disability Services
Purdy’s Summer Concert Stage
The Purdy’s Summer Concert Stage will host live musical performances each afternoon of the season from popular local and regional bands. This year’s summer music stage is presented by Purdy’s Discount Wine & Liquor in Saratoga Springs.
Friday, August 25: North and South Dakotas
Saturday, August 26: Big Medicine, ILL Funk
Sunday, August 27: The Soul City Band
Wednesday, August 30: Hot Vox Trio
Thursday, August 31: The Steve Candlen Band
Fan Appreciation Week
Wednesday, August 30 – Monday, September 4
Saratoga will be saying “Thank you, fans!” with special offers on tickets, food and beverage, and hospitality during the final week of the season.
Breakfast at Saratoga
Breakfast at Saratoga welcomes guests to enjoy a morning buffet at The Porch with a view of the thoroughbreds training on the main track. Breakfast is available every live racing day from 7 to 9:30 a.m., excluding Travers Day and Labor Day.
Fans can also go behind the scenes with a free, guided backstretch tram tour, driven by CDTA. Tram tours run from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and depart from the clubhouse entrance approximately every 15 minutes. Tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are 45 minutes in length. Tours are available every live racing day with the exception of Travers Day and Labor Day.
SARATOGA Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tours
Every Wednesday – Friday
Expanded for its second year, NYRA is continuing the Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tour. Tours this year will be offered Wednesday through Friday throughout the meet. Wednesday tours will travel to Song Hill Thoroughbreds, while Thursday and Friday tours will visit Old Tavern Farm.
Guests will enjoy a buffet breakfast at Saratoga Race Course before taking a CDTA trolley to the designated farm, where they will participate in a 60- to 90-minute guided walking tour of a working thoroughbred breeding farm. Admission to the races in the afternoon is included in the package. Tickets, which are $85 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under, must be reserved in advance at NYRA.com.
Taste NY Pavilion
every Thursday – Sunday
New York-made food and beverages will be available for sample and purchase at the Taste NY Pavilion, located inside Gate A at the Top of the Stretch, where fans can enjoy New York craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, cheese, chocolate and gelato. This year marks a decade since the launch of the Taste NY program.
SARATOGA LOW ROLLER CONTEST
Every Thursday And Sunday
Horseplayers can enjoy the Saratoga Low Roller Contest held exclusively on-track every Thursday and Sunday at Saratoga Race Course. Fans can pre-register on contest days outside the Miller Time Fourstardave Sports Bar. There is a $40 buy-in, of which $30 will go to the player’s bankroll and $10 to the prize pool. The winner will receive a Saratoga Low Roller championship T-shirt in addition to the cash prize.
Berkshire Bank Family Sundays
Every Sunday
The popular family-friendly weekly event features a wide variety of free activities, games, attractions and educational experiences from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Berkshire Bank Family Zone, located inside Gate A near the Saratoga Race Course Box Office.
HANDICAPPING SEMINAR AND MEET-AND-GREET
Every Sunday
Spend a Sunday at the races learning betting strategies and tips from expert handicappers in the Spa’s newest hospitality venue, the climate-controlled Paddock Suite. Guests will also be treated to a meet-and-greet with Saratoga Race Course’s rotating cast of on-track talent. Tickets can be purchased through Fevo.
SUNDAY BRUNCH AT THE RAIL OF THE 1863 CLUB
Every Sunday
Fans are invited to enjoy a brunch buffet while experiencing The Rail at the 1863 Club, the first-floor banquet space at the 1863 Club. Tickets start at $100 and include admission, a table seat for the day, brunch buffet, soft drinks, two mimosa or Bloody Mary drink tickets per person, Post Parade program book, tax and gratuity. Reservations are available by calling the NYRA Box Office at 844-NYRA-TIX or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Local High Schools Earn NYSPHSAA Academic Honors
Three local high schools have received academic honors from the NYSPHSAA for the 2022-23 school year.
Ballston Spa High School, Saratoga Springs High School, and Schuylerville High School were all named NYSPHSAA ‘Schools of Excellence’ for the 2022-23 school year. To qualify as a School of Excellence, three-fourths of the school’s varsity sports teams must receive the Scholar-Athlete team award, according to the release.
“The School of Excellence and School of Distinction Awards highlight the best student-athletes in New York State,” said NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas in the release. “For 234 member schools to be honored for their commitment to academics as well as athletics is a testament to the outstanding leadership and student-athletes we have in this state.”
Saratoga Springs High School has 31 varsity teams, while Schuylerville High School has 26, according to the NYSPHSAA website. Ballston Spa High School has 23 varsity teams.
Registration Open for the Over 50 Basketball League
Photo provided
The Over 50 Basketball League is starting September 20th!
New player/skills assessment will take place on Wednesday, September 6th at 6:30 PM
Games will begin on Wednesday, September 20th and will be played in the Saratoga Springs Branch Gymnasium.
All players must be registered by September 4th. Late registrants will be placed on a waiting list.
The cost to participate includes a t-shirt/jersey for each player, certified refs, 10 regular season games, and playoffs.
Saratoga’s Ryan Farr Nominated as All-American Player to Watch
Photo provided
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs senior Ryan Farr has been nominated as a Boys High School Soccer All-American Player to Watch for the 2023 High School Soccer All-American Game.
Farr, a forward, led the Blue Streaks last season with 20 goals and 11 assists. He was named Suburban Council and Section 2 Class AA Boys Player of the Year, and also earned First Team All-State and All-Region selections, said head coach Jeff Geller.
Farr is one of just four boys in New York State to be nominated, along with Drew Leardini (Lewiston-Porter), Kyle Milburn (Spencerport), and Thomas Poz (Garden City), according to the High School Soccer All-American website.
The Saratoga Springs boys soccer team opens its regular season with a home contest against Averill Park on Sept. 5 at 4:15 p.m.
Malta Massive Weekend At Albany-Saratoga Speedway to Honor Kenny Tremont Jr.’s Final Race
MALTA — Kenny Tremont Jr. will hang up his helmet after the Malta Massive Weekend at Albany-Saratoga Speedway this year. To honor his final laps, the Super DIRTcar Series Feature on Saturday, Sept. 23, will be 115 laps and pay $11,500 to win – a nod to Tremont’s famed #115.
“The right thing to do is to honor him, being it is his last race ever and it’s taking place at one of his main tracks he’s raced his entire career at,” Lyle DeVore, who runs and promotes Albany-Saratoga Speedway, said in a statement. “I got thinking, we’re going 100 laps, why don’t we go another 15 and make it 115 laps and make it $11,500 to win.
Tremont, 61, of West Sand Lake, has spent most of his career racing regularly at Albany-Saratoga, collecting 13 track championships and 81 wins. In addition to his success in Malta, Tremont has scored five Super DIRT Week titles – one in a Big Block and four in a Small Block Modified – won 15 Super DIRTcar Series races and has collected 392 total wins across 20 different tracks – 143 of them at Lebanon Valley Speedway.
After the checkered flag falls on Lap 115, Tremont will park his #115 Modified in the trailer for the final time. It’s a thought he hasn’t let linger. But he also knows it won’t be his last time at a racetrack. Tremont’s legacy will carry on through his son, Montgomery Tremont, as he helps him build his racing career.
For more information on the event, visit albany-saratogaspeedway.com.
RISE Housing & Support Services to Host Rocky Horror Picture Show Fundraiser at UPH; Sponsors Sought
An interactive viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Universal Preservation Hall will serve as the premier fundraising event for RISE this Halloween season.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —RISE Housing and Support Services premiere fundraising event will turn Universal Preservation Hall into Dr. Frank N. Furter’s mansion on Friday, Oct. 27.
The event starts at 6 p.m. with a special VIP cocktail hour, and a brief speaking program beforehand followed by the featured event – the interactive viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
RISE invites sponsors to join the fun: Those who wish to be an event sponsor may visit, https://www.riseservices.org/about-us/rhps-sponsor/.
RISE provides supportive and affordable housing, advocacy, and outreach for those who need it, as well as recovery services, and a low-barrier shelter for the unhoused.
General admission tickets to the event will be announced in the fall.
Home Made Theater – Open Registration for Youth Conservatory Program
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater will host open registration for students ages 8-18 years old for the Home Made Theater Youth Conservatory production of The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition.
This program gives students an exciting, creative, and supportive environment in which to experience the thrill and exhilaration of performing live theater. All students who register for the program will be cast in the production.
The SpongeBob Musical is based on the Nickelodeon animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg. The musical production was conceived by Tina Landau. The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition is a one-hour version of the hit musical, specially tailored for young actors.
The Youth Conservatory team is led by director Laurie Larson. Her previous directing credits at Home Made Theater include over 25 Youth Conservatory productions, most recently being last Spring’s Mean Girls, Jr. Ms. Larson is a retired theater and choral teacher at Ballston Spa High School. The choreographer for the program is Olivia Larson, and the production stage manager is Susan Turner, both of whom have been involved with the Home Made Theater Youth Conservatory for a number
of years.
Rehearsals for The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition will begin Sept. 22 and performances will be Dec. 8 – 10 at the Saratoga Music Hall, on the third floor of the Saratoga Springs City Hall.
For complete details and/or to register, visit Home Made Theater’s website, www.homemadetheater.org.
Godsmack Adds Glens Falls Date
GLENS FALLS — Multi-platinum selling hard rock band Godsmack has announced additional North American tour dates in continued support of their eighth studio album, “Lighting Up The Sky.”
The band will kick off their headlining fall tour, produced by Live Nation and FPC Live, on Sept. 3 in Baton Rouge, and stages in Glens Falls, at Cool Insuring Arena on Oct. 24.
For ticket information, go to: godsmack.com.
