SARATOGA SPRINGS —The long-awaited arrival of full capacity horse racing began Thursday, July 15, at the historic Saratoga Racecourse. The meet started as a four-day event in 1863 and is considered to be the oldest organized sporting venue in the country.
Today, the meet covers 40 days of racing, being "dark" on Mondays and Tuesdays until Labor Day weekend. The "SPA" will feature an unheard of 46 graded stakes races with eighteen being G1's. The most notable races include the Whitney, Alabama, Diana, Ballerina and the "mid-summer classic" Travers with a purse of $1,250,000, along with two G1 steeplechase races.
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has let it be known through media outlets that patrons have to be fully vaccinated; if not, there is a small area for those who are not vaccinated in attendance. NYRA expects more than a million spectators to pass through the turnstiles during the upcoming summer days. NYRA also anticipates all forms of wagering to surpass the $700,000,000 mark hit in 2020, both on and off track.
General Admission will be $7 and clubhouse $10-$12, excluding Travers Day. There are many sites to purchase tickets in advance, but GA is always available as a walk-up.
Picnic tables are available at the track for a premium and YES you can bring food and any beverage, but your cooler can only be 12"x18". One can consume on the lawn, far turn, and under the trees enjoying the many TV's and hopefully returning to the windows to "cash" a marginal victory.
