SARATOGA SPRINGS — Depending on how district residents vote on May 20, some Saratoga school athletic facilities may soon get facelifts.
Part of the $142.8 million Legacy 2025 Capital Project referendum includes resurfacing the track and installing turf on the high school softball diamond.
“The thing that I have in my mind more than anything is safety concerns for the track,” said Boys Track Coach Chris Conley in a video posted by the district. “There’s been parts of it that have been starting to peel up and those areas start to become very unsafe; tripping hazards, slipping on it. It’s really not conducive to running very smart. If we could get it resurfaced so that it’s safe, that would be awesome.”
Varsity Softball Coach Geoff Loiacono said that a turf infield would make the high school softball field “playable all the time” because weather conditions wouldn’t affect it.
For more information on the project, visit www.saratogaschools.org/about-us/capital-project/2025-legacy-capital-project/
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The undefeated Spa Catholic varsity baseball team demolished Mechanicville last Thursday 8 to 1, clinching their 25th Wasaren League championship.
Pitcher Brian Selig gave up the lone run and only 5 hits in 6 innings of work, notching 8 strikeouts. At the plate, Selig smacked an RBI double. He was joined by Hunter Fales, Jason Pescetti, and Ryan Gillis, all of whom hit at least one double apiece (Fales managed to earn two).
The victory put the Saints at 12-0 in their conference and 15-0 overall on the season. Although a relatively one-sided affair, Spa Catholic had more trouble the prior day against Mechanicville, battling into extra innings to eke out a 5-4 win that kept their undefeated strike alive. In that game, Ronan Rowe went 4-6 with a double, while Fales added a triple.
Prior to that pair of contests, the Saints have been nearly unstoppable, racking up one dominant W after another (21-0 against Waterford-Halfmoon, 27-0 against Hoosic Valley, 10-0 versus Fonda-Fultonville, and 16-0 against Stillwater).
The Saints have a handful of games remaining on their calendar before the first round of the Section 2 Class C playoffs begin on May 22 at Veterans Memorial Park.
Local lacrosse players present a $16,000 check to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and the Live Like Liv Foundation. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Lacrosse players from both Saratoga Springs and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake honored the memory of Olivia Allen, a former Blue Streak who succumbed to leukemia last year, prior to their game on May 3.
The student-athletes completed 47 passes to draw attention to the fact that 47 kids are diagnosed with cancer each day in the United States. The teams were able to raise $16,000 in support of childhood cancer research, a $6,000 increase from the sum raised last year.
The touching tribute was part of the LaCROSSe Out Cancer Challenge, which supports the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and the Live Like Liv Foundation, the latter of which was founded in memory of Allen.
“Liv’s heroic story is being heard and felt throughout the entire country,” said Coach Jennifer Furze at last year’s event. “It is truly a testament to the beautiful human being she was.”
According to Bonnie Lattimore, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation’s senior director of development and strategic partnerships, cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for kids, but only a small percentage of federal funding for cancer research is devoted to children.
“We try to do anything we can, like partner with Saratoga Springs lacrosse or other organizations, to try to fill that funding gap, and they’ve done a fantastic job,” Lattimore told Saratoga TODAY. Lattimore also said that $50 funds about one hour of research. “This has a huge impact for pediatric cancer,” she said.
Olivia Allen graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 2023 and planned to attend Florida State University to study nursing. She played for the Blue Streaks field hockey and gymnastic teams.
Sovereignty arrives at the Saratoga Race Course, led by his trainer Bill Mott. Image via Mary Eddy/the New York Racing Association (NYRA).
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sovereignty, the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby, has officially arrived at the Saratoga Race Course, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced last week.
The colt’s arrival came just two days after news that his trainer Bill Mott had decided to skip the Preakness Stakes, thus forgoing a Triple Crown attempt, and aim for the Belmont Stakes instead.
Sovereignty was escorted by Mott off a massive “horse van” that looked more spacious than many New York City apartments.
“He came off the van like a tiger,” Mott told NYRA. “He’s had good energy for a horse that just ran a race like that.”
Mott added that he would see how Sovereignty acts once he settles down and then decide upon an exercise routine.
The Derby winner is no stranger to the Spa City. His first-ever race, the Maiden Special Weight, was in Saratoga on Aug. 24 of last year. Though he finished fourth in his debut outing, he quickly rebounded with a second-place finish the following month at Belmont at The Big A, before winning his next two races at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park.
“We feel pretty comfortable here and know our way around here, so that’s a good thing,” Mott said.
At the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty upset the favorite Journalism on a sloppy track in front of a reported crowd of 147,406 spectators. The race was viewed by an average of 17.7 million viewers, according to NBC, which made it the biggest Kentucky Derby television audience since 1989. The all-sources betting handle of more than $234 million also shattered previous records.
Sovereignty’s rider, Junior Alvarado, was invited to throw out the first pitch of a New York Yankees game against the San Diego Padres in the Bronx on May 7. At the ballgame, Alvarado managed to honor the sport of horse racing by tossing a clean strike across home plate into the waiting mitt of Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza, a fellow Venezuelan native.
Although the Belmont field is not yet set, it’s possible that Saratogians could witness a Sovereignty-Journalism rematch on June 7 during the final leg of the Triple Crown.
The new Mark Paine Foundation logo, via the foundation.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Mark Paine Foundation (formerly known as the Mark Paine Memorial Scholarship) announced it would be hosting its first annual free baseball clinic for Saratoga Springs little leaguers on Sunday, May 16 from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. at the Saratoga West Side Little League. The clinic is powered by D-BAT, a baseball and softball training academy in Saratoga.
The Mark Paine Foundation was established in 2024 to honor the life and legacy of Mark Paine, the father of two young children and a former Saratoga High School star athlete who tragically passed away in February 2024. The foundation partners with Saratoga Youth Hockey, Saratoga Little League, and the Saratoga varsity athletic programs to offer grants, college scholarships, free skills clinics, and support for equipment needs.
MILL SPRING, NORTH CAROLINA — The Skidmore College riding team finished 5th in the closely-contested Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship in North Carolina last weekend.
Overall, the Thoroughbreds finished with 33 team points, only 4 shy of first-place Purdue. Heading into the final day of competition at the three-day tournament, Skidmore was in a three-way tie for second place.
Among various individual achievements at the tournament, junior Bevin Dean won the Individual Introductory Equitation, senior Charlotte Lyon won Limit Equitation Over Fences, sophomore Isa Jensen placed third in the Intermediate Equitation Over Fences Team competition, and sophomore Stella Allen earned a third-place finish in the Team Novice Equitation.
The Thoroughbreds have won a total of 9 IHSA National Championships, most recently in 2023.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Academy for Lifelong Learning is offering a 2-session freshwater fishing course on May 30 and June 6, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Knights of Columbus (50 Pine Road in Saratoga Springs). Registration is open to everyone.
The presenter, Captain Jim Mason, is a New York State fishing guide, YouTube fisherman (Jimjam Fishing YouTube channel), and fishing facts writer. He’ll be offering tips and tricks with live demonstrations and hands-on videos.
For more information or to fill out a registration form, visit www.allsaratoga.org.
Photo of Skidmore lacrosse player Mike Aiello via Matt Milless/Skidmore Athletics.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College freshman Mike Aiello has been named the Liberty League Men’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Year, making him the first Thoroughbred recipient of that award since 2009. He also received All-Liberty League Honorable Mention.
Aiello finished the season with a team-high 35 goals and 46 points, ranking fourth in the Liberty League in goals per game (2.33) and second in shots per game (8.93). He also had 10 multi-goal games and scored at least once in each of his first 14 contests.
Other Skidmore lacrosse honorees included David Koffler, who was voted to the All-Liberty League Second Team, and All-Liberty League Honorable Mentions Marty McFadden and Michael Dearborn.
Koffler played in and started all 15 games this season, scoring 14 goals and six assists for a career-best 20 points. He also scooped up 28 ground balls and caused four turnovers. Additionally, he finished with 60 shots (31 shots on goal) and had a game-winning goal against New Paltz.
McFadden finished third in the Liberty League averaging 1.86 caused turnovers per game. He also scored three goals and had an assist for a career-best four points.
Dearborn ranked second in the Liberty League, averaging 1.93 caused turnovers per game. He finished his debut season for Skidmore recording a team-high 29 caused turnovers.
Belmont Stakes logo via the New York Racing Association (NYRA).
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sovereignty, the horse that won this year’s Kentucky Derby, will not compete in the upcoming Preakness Stakes, it was announced on Tuesday. As a result, there will be no opportunity for a Triple Crown winner at the Belmont Stakes, which is being held at the Saratoga Race Course on June 7.
“We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness,” said Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST Racing, the company that operates the Pimlico Race Course, host of the Preakness. “Bill informed us they would point toward the Belmont Stakes. We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision.”
Sovereignty upset Derby favorite Journalism on a sloppy track in front of a reported crowd of 147,406 spectators. The race was viewed by an average of 17.7 million viewers, according to NBC, which made it the biggest Kentucky Derby television audience since 1989. The all-sources betting handle of more than $234 million also shattered previous records.
The decision by Sovereignty’s connections to point towards Belmont rather than Preakness set off contentious online discourse among horse racing fans, some of whom advocated for changing the scheduling of the Triple Crown races to encourage more Triple Crown attempts. Others debated the need for more cooperation among track operators, while others still argued that the Triple Crown would simply have to become less important to the sport.
Despite bailing on the Preakness, Sovereignty is expected to compete at the Belmont Stakes, which is being held for the second year in Saratoga while construction continues on Belmont Park in Long Island.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Shaheem Sanders, one of the top players on the Saratoga Racers basketball team last season, was seriously injured in a recent motor vehicle accident, according to a statement issued by the team last weekend.
An update from Sanders’ mother stated that Sanders successfully underwent surgery, but would have “a long, hard recovery” ahead.
“I can still play basketball, I just have to go through rehab,” Sanders said in a video message posted to his Facebook account.
Sanders was a double-double machine for the Racers in their inaugural ABA season, regularly leading the team in rebounds.
The 2024-25 season was Sanders’ first in the ABA. He previously played for Schenectady High School, Cayuga Community College, and SUNY Morrisville.
