SARATOGA SPRINGS —A new dormitory currently under construction near the Oklahoma Training Track at the Saratoga Race Course will open this spring, according to Patrick McKenna, Vice President of Communications for the New York Racing Association (NYRA).
“At Saratoga Race Course, the first of three new dorms is taking shape on the Oklahoma side and will be open this spring,” McKenna wrote in a Tweet. “In addition, [the NYRA] will be renovating more than 40 backstretch residences in the coming years.”
The plan to build three new dorms at the track was announced last year. The buildings will add 204 beds and are the first housing units built at Saratoga since the early 1960s, according to the NYRA. Each dorm costs around $2 million to build.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — As the Saratoga Springs varsity hockey team prepared to hit the ice for the first game of the season on Tuesday, Head Coach Tim Horst said that the Blue Streaks’ goal this year was to “come together as a unit.”
“We’re really big on team building and culture, and also representing our school the best way possible,” Horst said.
Last season, the team’s juniors and sophomores gained considerable experience playing together consistently. This year, Horst intends to focus on the things his players can control, such as attitude and energy.
The Blue Streaks’ season will be competitive early on, with two non-league games this weekend against Saint Mary’s and Penfield. Both games will be played at the Saratoga Springs Ice Rink on Weibel Ave.
On December 20, Saratoga will play against Shenendehowa at the Clifton Park Arena for “Stick it to Cancer” night. At the event, both teams will raise money to donate to the American Cancer Society.
Coach Horst shared his team’s final roster heading into the season…
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Springs boys cross-country team captured a state championship this year, but still has its sights set on a bigger prize.
At the beginning of summer training, the team’s two primary goals were to win the state championship and qualify for nationals. They accomplished the first goal, but not the second. Last weekend, the Blue Streaks finished third at the Nike Cross Country Regional Qualifier, just one spot away from a trip to the national championship.
The team “believed certainly they were capable of qualifying,” said Coach Shane Zanetti. “We had just beaten the two teams that qualified at states a couple weeks before.”
“I think it was mostly a matter of us just almost going out and being too aggressive to start off the race,” Zanetti said. “We were probably winning at the mile mark; we were at second place at the halfway point, and then we just weren’t able to keep it together through that last mile and finish where we wanted to.”
Despite the disappointment at regional qualifiers, the team is still proud of its season as a whole, especially the six-man tiebreaker victory at states. “The state meet was an awesome, awesome experience and awesome race,” Zanetti said.
The tiebreaker finish supported Zanetti’s belief that every runner is valuable. “We really like to emphasize that everybody has a purpose, from the top guys down to the final runners on our team,” Zanetti said.
Nonetheless, it would be hard to think about the Blue Streaks’ season without mentioning standout sophomore Thomas Isenovski. “From our first couple races of the season, Thomas definitely emerged as a frontrunner,” Zanetti said. “He’s very quiet but you can see that he’s very confident in himself.” At states, Isenovski helped capture the Blue Streaks’ first team title since 2012.
Now, Zanetti and his squad are tasked with developing a strategy that will get them above and beyond the success of 2023. “We talked about the idea of maybe training a little harder through the local meets and building things up a little bit more and not cutting back until we get to the state meet next year,” Zanetti said.
The coach also wondered if the team believed a bit too much in its own abilities. Zanetti said that next season the Blue Streaks might be “a little bit more conservative in developing a race plan, especially for the course that regionals is at.” Zanetti said his team will work on managing emotions and “learning how to kind of keep them in check until you’re really ready to make that big move.”
As the preparation for next year begins, Zanetti indicated that the emphasis will continue to be on the importance of the team over any one individual. “I think there’s a lot of trust and respect between everybody, so we’re very proud of that part of our program,” he said.
GREENWICH — When New York horse racing veteran Glenn DiSanto died in 2017, his son Brendon decided that his father’s legacy should live on.
The elder DiSanto was a horse trainer and breeder for more than thirty years, credited with being one of the first people to use the Oklahoma Training Track at the Saratoga Race Course during the offseason. In 1984, DiSanto purchased Summit View Farm in Greenwich. It was here that he raised his son Brendon, who still lives on the property.
“I currently have three retired horses, all of which my dad trained on the farm,” Brendon said.
Brendon launched the horse syndicate Summit View Racing about a year ago. The venture started with a few friends but has since expanded to “people who are interested in getting into racing at a more affordable cost,” Brendon said. “Our goal is to keep it friendly, fun, and for everyone; keep the legacy of my dad alive essentially.”
Brendon is currently a project manager for Plug Power, but is eager to make a permanent jump into the horse business. “I see this being a full-time business within the next two to three years,” he said. “We want to make money, obviously, but we’re in it for fun.”
Glenn DiSanto won his final race at Belmont Park in 2015. His son hopes more victories will follow, but emphasized that the horses themselves are a top priority. “We want to win and we want to continue to grow,” Brendon said, “but the legacy that [my father] built was horses come first, then it’s the business side of it. I want to keep that point alive as we continue to do this.”
To learn more about Summit View Racing, visit summitviewracing.com.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga police were apparently too hot for the city’s fire department to handle. At the fifth annual Holiday Hockey Classic, the boys in blue beat the firefighters 12-2.
The event benefited the Franklin Community Center’s Holiday Assistance Program, which aims to deliver a Christmas present to every Saratoga child that needs one.
According to firefighter Chris Stewart, this year’s game resulted in more than 800 toys collected and $2,000 raised, surpassing last year’s totals. Attendees packed the Weibel Ice Rink for the event. “We had a standing-room-only crowd,” Stewart said.
The presents and funds were donated to the Franklin Community Center on Monday morning via fire and police vehicles.
“I play Christmas carols over the PA system of the ladder truck,” Stewart said. “A lot of people were out and about and they stopped and waved and were curious why Christmas carols were being played instead of a siren on a fire truck.”
The donated toys gifted to the kids included Barbies, Hot Wheels, coloring books, and board games.
“I can’t thank everyone that donated and attended the game enough,” Stewart said. “This entire event is make or break by how much the community comes together to support it.”
Stewart mentioned that sponsors such as Skidmore Hockey, King’s Tavern, the Adirondack Thunder, and the Bread Basket Bakery were “truly the ones that make this game what it is.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Springs High School cross-country program has added more championships to its record books.
At the NYSPHSAA Class A championships on November 11, the girls’ team captured the team title for the fifth straight year, and senior Emily Bush won the Section 2 girls’ individual title. Alycia Hart finished fourth overall, and Anya Belisle came in seventh.
A week later, the girls won the Federation Cross Country Championships. Bush led the Blue Streaks, followed again by Hart and Belisle.
The boys’ team won the Class A championship in a tiebreaker, marking their first team title since 2012. Thomas Isenovski led the boys Blue Streaks, finishing 17th.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore’s hockey team entered this past weekend with a pair of games against Norwich and New England. At 5-0, Skidmore was having its best start in decades.
But historically, the Thoroughbreds have struggled to beat Norwich at home. Three out of the last four contests between the teams played in Saratoga ended in ties. So the question was, could Skidmore keep its undefeated streak alive?
It turned out that history would repeat itself as the contest against Norwich ended in a tie, leaving Skidmore still undefeated but a tad imperfect.
“[Norwich] play a very defensive brand of hockey,” said Skidmore coach Rob Hutchison. “It came down to finding a way to put a puck in the net in a meaningful moment and we weren’t able to do that, but we had our opportunities.”
The following night, however, the Thoroughbreds beat New England 2-0. Goalie Tate Brandon finished with another shutout, while Everett Wardle and Kevin Urquhart put Skidmore’s two points on the board.
Coach Rob Hutchison credits his squad’s early success this season with player experience and preparation. “We’ve got experience like we’ve never had,” Hutchison said.
The team’s core group of juniors and seniors have played a lot of games together, including championship bouts. “They’ve been able to have those experiences and grow from those experiences,” Hutchison said.
The Thoroughbreds are now 6-0-1 on the year. The team will next compete in the Thanksgiving Invitational this weekend.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga boys’ varsity volleyball third annual DiFusco Family Foundation Trust Scholarship Award was presented to Parker Wilcox by Coach Robert DiFusco.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic boys basketball team is coming off a winning season in a competitive league. According to Coach Shea Bromirski, every game this year will be a rivalry and a challenge.
“I think it’s the best small school basketball league in the state,” Bromirski said, “and if it’s not the best, it’s in the top three.”
Last season was Bromirski’s first as coach of the Saints, and his goal was to have his team “understand me and what I’m about and ultimately what our program was going to be about, like a culture change.”
The Saints finished 12-8 in the regular season and were the third seed in the Class C sectionals. “We tasted some success,” Bromirski said. “I felt like last year we kind of created a little buzz around here because we played really hard and we play a fun style of basketball.”
This season, the roster is bolstered by a handful of new transfer students, as well as five returning players. “We have a really deep team,” Bromirski said.
Returning players include senior Aiden Crowther, and juniors Ryan Gillis, Hunter Fales, Tyler Weygand, and Ronan Rowe.
“This year, I just think that this is gonna be a spot to come and watch a really high level basketball team play every Tuesday and Friday night,” the coach said. “This team is going to be very fun to watch and really play basketball the way I think it’s supposed to be played.”
The season kicks off on Friday, November 24 at 7:30pm against Galway at home.
Coach Bromirski shared his team’s roster for the season…
WILTON — A devastating blaze in Wilton derailed the lives of Skidmore men’s basketball coach Joe Burke and his family. Although no one was hurt, much of the family’s home was destroyed.
The Skidmore community quickly rallied together to show their support. As of November 20, more than $70,000 had been raised for the Burke family on GoFundMe.
To learn more or to donate to the cause, visit www.gofundme.com/f/9kmru-burkes-family.
