SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The end of the Saratoga meet is usually met with a tinge of sadness. This year, it’s met more with a sigh of relief. The 2023 Saratoga meet will be remembered for 12 equine fatalities – eight racing, four training and the most since 2017. That included two eerily similar ones in nationally televised races. The meet will be remembered for wet weather that forced 65 races off the turf and for curious decisions that led to frustration for bettors. All these factors led to a decrease in business for the meet. All-sources handle for the 2023 Saratoga meet was $799,229,288, down 9 percent from last year’s record total of $878,211,963. While down significantly, it is still the third-highest all-sources handle in Saratoga history. Ontrack handle was $142,918,763, down 6.1 percent from last year’s figure of $152,274,729. Paid admissions, which included the daily counting of 4,695 season passes sold, was 1,105,683, up 2.8 percent from the 2022 figure of 1,075,586. According to NYRA, 10.1 inches of rain fell in Saratoga since July 1. That contributed to 65 scheduled turf races being transferred to the main track. Ultimately, only 140 of the 410 races were run on turf – the fewest turf races run since 2006 when the meet was 35 days. Average field size for the 2023 meet was 7.64 horses per race, down 1.6 percent from 7.76 in 2022. NYRA ran on the turf when it probably shouldn’t have, most notably on Aug. 4, when rains created a yielding course that got chewed up with the running of the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks. The final four races of that card – three scheduled for turf – were canceled. But the impact on the turf course was significant as some, or all races, were taken off the turf 10 of the next 12 racing days. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. The equine fatalities of Maple Leaf Mel, in the Grade 1 Test on Aug. 5, and New York Thunder, in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on the Aug. 26 Travers card, had a lasting impact on the meet. Both horses – undefeated 3-year-olds at the time – were on their way to victories when they suffered catastrophic injuries in front of big, boisterous crowds and by viewers watching nationally on Fox. The other six fatalities happened on the turf courses; five were musculoskeletal, and one was seemingly the result of a cardiovascular collapse. “I think this has been a tough summer up here with the weather and everything else that’s occurred,” said Dave O’Rourke, NYRA’s CEO and president. “And I think it’s been a tough year for the industry in general. As we move forward, and has been our messaging, there’s going to be some very hard looks and specifically at leaning into technology on many fronts here.” O’Rourke said, among other things, NYRA will consider installing a synthetic surface at Saratoga and possibly Aqueduct in the near-future. A synthetic surface is being installed at Belmont Park, though there is a good chance Belmont doesn’t conduct racing again until the spring of 2026. O’Rourke said NYRA would consider a synthetic surface as either a third racing surface, or possibly replacing the dirt track. In addition to considering synthetic surfaces, NYRA is looking into purchasing PET-scan and CT-scan machines – an investment of between $2 million and $3 million that potentially can find issues with horses before they’re allowed to run. “These are things that are being discussed and analyzed right now,” O’Rourke said. NYRA’s handle downturn was most pronounced on Saturdays, when it typically runs its biggest races. All eight Saturdays were down in handle from the corresponding one in 2022, with four of them down by $4 million or more. O’Rourke believes the short fields in many of the graded events early in the meet were a factor. “Some of it would be product,” O’Rourke said. “I’d say early in the meet some of the bigger Grade 1s here and elsewhere struggle . . . The number of marquee races hasn’t reduced. People can avoid each other on the road to the Breeders’ Cup, and it affects the product.” :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. It doesn’t help when you have disgruntled customers. On Aug. 6, a decision to move three turf races in the late pick five to the dirt was announced as the horses were loading into the gate for that wager’s first leg, a dirt race. Those three off-the-turf races were deemed all-win for the purpose of the pick five, resulting in a paltry $25 payout. It didn’t matter if it was NYRA’s fault or that of the stewards, who declined to delay the start of the race to allow bettors to cancel or adjust their tickets. It angered bettors. Three days later, O’Rourke felt compelled to come on NYRA’s simulcast to apologize to bettors. O’Rourke indicated that NYRA may discuss with the New York Gaming Commission changing the rules to be able to offer refunds, which it wanted to do that day. “We can work with the Gaming Commission to smooth out some of the ambiguity that you might find in some of these wagering rules,” O’Rourke said. “There are some gray areas in some of these wagering rules. You don’t really focus on that gray area until it hits you in the face. We’ll take a harder look as we get out of the meet.” There were some superlative performances put forth at the meet. Arcangelo, the Belmont Stakes winner, vaulted to the top of the 3-year-old division with his Travers victory. White Abarrio put himself in the mix for the Breeders’ Cup Classic with a dominant Whitney victory, giving trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. his first Grade 1 victory since returning from a 10-year suspension earlier this year. That win did come at the expense of Cody’s Wish, whose third-place finish in the Whitney ended his six-race win streak. Echo Zulu, the 2-year-old champion filly of 2021, won two graded stakes this meet. Channel Maker, at age 9, won the Grade 2 Bowling Green. Brightwork has become the leader of the 2-year-old filly division with her two graded stakes wins at the meet, including Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinaway. Trainer Gary Contessa, who left New York a few years ago, made a triumphant return with graded stakes victories in the opening-day Grade 3 Schuylerville with 21-1 shot Becky’s Joker and Monday’s Grade 1 Hopeful with 54-1 shot Nutella Fella. Linda Rice won the meet’s first race and last race and tied Chad Brown for leading trainer with 35 wins at the 40-day stand. Irad Ortiz Jr. won his fifth riding title, booting home 62 winners, 25 more than his brother Jose. Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables won 22 races to win the owner’s title. The 22 wins tied a Saratoga meet record set by Ken and Sarah Ramsey in 2013. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.