MALTA — NASCAR driver and eighth-generation watermelon farmer Ross Chastain stopped by Market 32 in Malta last Wednesday for a fan meet-and-greet near the Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

The event was one of the first in Market 32’s 10-week-long “10 Years Fresh” campaign, which features sampling events, product offerings, and community engagement experiences across Market 32 and Price Chopper stores.

Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing, signed autographs and greeted guests during his one-day appearance. The Malta Market 32 location is one of many that carries his family’s Melon 1 watermelons.

“Ross Chastain is more than an elite motorsports athlete,” said Market 32 and Price Chopper President Blaine Bringhurst in a press release. “His lifelong dedication to farming reflects the same commitment we have to sourcing the high-quality food and products our customers count on us for. He brought incredible energy to our Malta store, and the enthusiasm from fans showed us just how much our communities appreciate the unique experiences we’re able to bring to the table.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York Race Track Chaplaincy announced on Sunday that Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga’s Director of Strategic Growth Kim Weir will be the first recipient of the newly created Nancy Kelly Volunteer Award. 

The honor will be bestowed annually to a person or people for outstanding volunteer efforts in support of the organization. Nancy Kelly served as president and vice president of the NY Chaplaincy after retiring from her long career with The Jockey Club. She passed away on Feb. 9, 2024.

“As she did with every aspect of her life, Nancy Kelly set the gold standard for volunteerism at the Chaplaincy and we felt that this was an appropriate way to honor her memory and her legacy,” said Humberto Chávez, the executive director and lead chaplain of the NYRTCA, in a news release. “Kim Weir is deeply involved with numerous other racing community activities but always finds time to help us in an extraordinary manner and this award recognizes that commitment.” 

Weir will be honored at a luncheon at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga on Nov. 1. The master of ceremonies will be longtime New York Racing Association (NYRA) announcer Tom Durkin.

A native of San Diego, with degrees from the University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary, Weir previously served as the director of donor engagement for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. She lives in Saratoga Springs with her husband Bobby. 

The NY Race Track Chaplaincy serves the NY backstretch and farming communities of Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Saratoga Race Course; providing enrichment programs for children, teens, and women, social services, recreational and educational programming, and non-denominational religious services.

Additional information, including tickets and sponsorships for the event, may be found at www.rtcany.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic Saints girl’s varsity soccer team will play two night games this fall at Skidmore College’s Wachenheim Field.

The games will be held on Friday, Sept. 19 (vs. Germantown) and Friday, Sept. 26 (against Gloversville). Both games begin at 7 p.m. There is no admission to watch the games and free parking is available close to Wachenheim Field on Skidmore’s campus.

In an interview with Saratoga TODAY earlier this month, Saints Head Coach Brian Venn called his team’s ability to play under the lights at Skidmore “a testament to what we’re going to be able to do to build this [program] into a soccer destination in the future.” 

MECHANICVILLE — The Saratoga Racers burst into existence last year, finishing their inaugural American Basketball Association (ABA) season with a 13-7 record and an appearance in the league’s playoff semifinals. But the team could reach even greater heights in its forthcoming sophomore season, which will be hosted at a new home court in Mechanicville.

The venue change is the result of new ownership. Earlier this summer, the Racers were sold by Keith Harrington to an ownership group led by Frank Polsinello, a Mechanicville native with big plans for both the team and his home city.

The structure at 10 North Main Street includes a basketball court originally built in the 1950s that can seat up to 2,800 spectators. It’s a much larger site than the Saratoga Central Catholic gym on Broadway, which hosted the Racers last season. And there are plans already in place to beautify the Racers’ new home.

“I’ve loved this gym since I was 12 years old,” said Polsinello. “We’re redeveloping it… We’re hoping it’ll be the center of a new, revitalized Mechanicville community.”

Tentative plans for the building include adding a fitness club, pickleball court, cornhole league, brewpub and cafe, apartments, and theater events. If all comes to fruition, it’ll be a new era for the historic gym, which has hosted games played by local notables like pro basketball player Barry Kramer and future State Senator Jim Tedisco.

The court’s storied past is not lost on current members of the Saratoga Racers, who said they appreciated the venue’s legacy and have been practicing there almost every night.

“It’s a game changer,” said Racers’ star Tobias Holmes. “Now we can prepare a lot earlier than last year and it’s helping us already tremendously.”

A number of Saratoga’s standouts are set to return for year two, including Holmes and RJ Rosa, both of whom practiced with the team on Tuesday night.

“We can really get in here whenever we want,” Rosa said. “That’s a night and day difference from last year. I’m seeing guys take advantage of it almost every night, which is huge.”

Rosa credited the ownership and venue change with attracting more talent to the team. “We’re seeing new guys that we didn’t see last year come out,” he said. “I think it’s a combination of us performing well last year but also them seeing that we’re doing things the right way.”

Three Racers players said that a combination of added talent and improved chemistry among returning players would likely result in a better team taking the court this season. The goal for the players was the same: to advance as far as possible in the ABA postseason, perhaps all the way to a national championship.

Head Coach Bob Catherwood pointed out that the Racers fell in last year’s playoffs by only 8 points to a team that advanced to the final four. “We’ve got the capability to have a great year,” said the veteran coach, who helped lead both the Albany Patroons and Albany Legends to title victories. 

Catherwood has a career record of 370-154 for a 72% winning percentage. At 73 years old (he’ll be 74 this November), he seemed to have no regrets about coming out of retirement to coach the Racers. He cited one game last season, in which Saratoga went on a 31-0 scoring run, as one of the most extraordinary things he’s ever seen on a basketball court. “I’ve got a couple rings, a couple championships, but I never had a game like that,” Catherwood said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

The fun is set to continue in early November, when the Racers will play their first games of the 2025-26 regular season.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Lindsey Frank is back home running about with the same enthusiasm that she developed as a dual-sport Hall of Fame athlete at Saratoga Springs High School. Only this time, the lacrosse and field hockey star is racing around for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF).

Lindsey joined TRF in May as its marketing coordinator. True to her skills, she covered a lot of ground quickly this summer, including assisting with the Fifth Annual Gumbo with Kendrick for TRF at the Principessa Elena Society; LALO for Jockeys & Horses at the Adelphi Hotel; and the TRF’s Backyard BBQ, presented by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. These events were in addition to her regular responsibilities of TRF’s Horse Sponsorship program and supporting its marketing and development team. 

Multi-tasking comes naturally to Lindsey, who was inducted into the Saratoga Springs High School Blue Streak Hall of Fame last fall. She set school records in both lacrosse and field hockey as a four-year starter in both sports and was named to the USA Lacrosse All-America team in 2018-19.

Lindsey was so adept at her chosen sports that she was heavily recruited by major colleges. Finally settling on the University of Richmond, she notched a school lacrosse record 67 goals and ended her career among the top 10 in Spiders’ history for points (234), goals (164), assists (70) and draw controls (182). For her last two field hockey seasons at Richmond, Lindsey led the team in total points. She also majored in Rhetoric and Communications and minored in Health Care Studies, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Lindsey then attended Northwestern University as a graduate student and earned her master’s degree in Sports Administration. She again made both the lacrosse and field hockey teams in the same school year. 

Back home in Saratoga Springs following graduation, Lindsey responded to a job posting from the TRF. “My family are all racing fans, and my parents had experience owning some race horses growing up,” Lindsey said. “Surprisingly, I had never heard of the TRF, but when I started learning what it was all about, I wanted to get involved working for them and let the community know about the work TRF does.”

The team fell in lopsided fashion to the Indianapolis Colts, 33 to 8, in week one. For Miami’s Head Coach Mike McDaniel, it was an especially brutal result. TV talking heads piled one criticism after another onto McDaniel, with one ESPN analyst mockingly calling him “McGenius guy” and “nerd boy.” If you believe the commentators (who, it should be pointed out, are often wrong), McDaniel’s days as coach of the Dolphins could be coming to an end.

Despite the turmoil, Saratoga Springs native and Miami Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver has largely escaped blame, for good reason. His efforts last season resulted in a top-10 defensive performance by the Dolphins, with the team ranked fourth in the league with 314.3 yards allowed per game. 

Weaver’s biggest problem this season is a good one to have: Miami is overloaded with talented edge rushers, and the task has fallen upon Weaver to divide up their snaps.

“In a perfect world to me, if there was a 70-snap game, somebody leaves with 30-40, another person leaves with 30,” Weaver told reporters last week. “However that shakes out amongst the four, we’ll see.

“But my goal for that room is that whoever is on the field, that they’re playing full speed with no governor for every snap there on the field, and we should be able to attack offenses in waves.”

Weaver wants to bolster his team’s pass rush, which managed only 2.1 sacks per game last season after averaging 3.1 in 2023 and 2.6 in 2022. Luckily, Miami’s front office has seemed committed to spending what it needs to spend to boost those numbers.

“I think you can see by what these edge defenders are being paid nowadays; they’ve got to be disruptors and we’re looking for four quarters of disruptive football from that room,” said Weaver.

In the opening contest against the Colts, Miami managed just one sack and struggled to keep the Indianapolis offense at bay, allowing 418 total yards.

Commentators (be they on TV, the internet, or elsewhere) tend to overreact to small data samples. One game is not nearly enough for Weaver to prove he’s able to limit opponents’ yardage and orchestrate a more aggressive pass rush. But he’ll have his work cut out for him, especially during a season that could be filled with coaching upheaval. 

The experience should be an interesting test for Weaver, who has been a head coaching candidate himself. Prior to being hired by Miami in 2024, he interviewed for vacant coaching positions with both the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. Some of those who know Weaver best, such as his Saratoga Springs High School football coach Blaise Juliano, believe Weaver is not only destined to become a head coach one day, but would make a great one at that.

But no matter how high up the NFL ladder Weaver has climbed (or may still climb), he often makes time for his fellow Saratogians.

“When he comes back to Saratoga, he’ll go and visit his elementary teacher and see all of his friends,” Juliano told Saratoga TODAY last year.

“When I received the head football coach position at Saratoga, he was the first to text me and congratulate me,” current Saratoga varsity football coach Eric Hayden said. “Anthony is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. His athletic achievements are amazing, but his personality is what separates him.”

Perhaps one day it’ll be Hayden congratulating Weaver on a new coaching position. But until then, Weaver’s talents will be challenged by a whirlwind season in Miami.