Saratoga looks to build on record meeting

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After a 2021 meet that set an all-sources handle record of $815 million, welcomed back fans at full capacity, and had six eventual Eclipse champions participate, what can Saratoga do for an encore in 2022?

“That’s a great question,” Dave O’Rourke, NYRA’s president and CEO said.

The answer starts to reveal itself Thursday when the 154th Saratoga meet opens for a 40-day run that lasts through Labor Day. After this opening week, racing will be conducted five days a week (Wednesdays through Sundays) before closing week adds Labor Day Monday. Post time most days will be 1:05 p.m.

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In 2019 and even through COVID restrictions in 2020 – a summer in which fans were not permitted to attend the races – Saratoga handled just more than $700 million. Last year, when Saratoga opened back up to full capacity – paid admissions exceeded 1 million for the sixth time – Saratoga handled $815,508,063.

“We’ve had a really good [meet] the last several years, pre-COVID through COVID we were able to generate a lot of wagering activity,” O’Rourke said. “This year, we want a solid meet. Saratoga is Saratoga no matter how you cut it. We have a few new things to show people; the Post Bar and Paddock Suite will be an interesting add to give a different view into the paddock.”

The first-level paddock bar has been renovated while the second-level paddock suite offers a climate-controlled bar, lounge, and outdoor balcony that is right on top of the horse path leading to the track.

On the track, NYRA has rebuilt the Wilson Chute to offer one-mile dirt races. The primary goal of the chute is to keep field size together in the event turf races carded at 1 1/16 miles are rained off to the main track. In previous years, those races were run at 1 1/8 miles and seven furlongs (for 2-year-olds). Thursday’s $135,000 Wilton Stakes for 3-year-old fillies will be the first race scheduled to be run out of the chute.

Last summer saw Knicks Go win the Whitney en route to Horse of the Year honors while Essential Quality won the Jim Dandy and Travers on his way to the 3-year-old male championship. Malathaat (3-year-old filly champion), Letruska (older female dirt champion), Jackie’s Warrior (sprint champion), and Echo Zulu (2-year-old filly champion) all won here.

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Of that group, Letruska, Jackie’s Warrior, and Malathaat are expected back while the promise of unstarted juveniles developing into stakes winners is annual rite of summer.

Barring any setbacks, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and Preakness winner Early Voting are expected to meet in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on Aug. 27. Epicenter, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up, and Zandon, the Derby third-place finisher and Blue Grass winner, are pointing to the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 30, the traditional Travers prep.

Three weeks prior, on Aug. 6, Life Is Good and Olympiad, among the leaders of the older male dirt division, are expected to meet in the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney. Only Flightline seems to be missing.

The Travers and Whitney anchor big days and are the marquee events of a stakes program that will offer 77 races worth $22.6 million. There are 17 Grade 1 stakes, six of which will offer automatic, fees-paid berths into Breeders’ Cup races at Keeneland in November.

At Belmont, stakes often struggled to fill, with 20 of 29 dirt stakes drawing six horses or fewer – and some running with less – and one not filling at all.

“I’m hopeful they pick up to some degree,” said Keith Doleshel, NYRA’s racing secretary. “It’s a little bit a sign of the times. I don’t think New York’s alone in that. We’d certainly like to have larger fields in stakes. It’s something we as an industry need to try and figure out a way to increase field size in our biggest races. I’m a realist too. It’s going to be difficult to get big fields to line up against some of the star horses in the game.”

Purses in overnight races have increased from $2,000 to $15,000 depending on category. Open-company maiden races are now worth $105,000, a $5,000 increase from last year, while first-level allowance races are up to $115,000, an increase of $12,000 from 2021.

Doleshel said there are some new trainers stabled for the summer at Saratoga, including Jose Camejo, Kent Sweezey, Michelle Hemmingway, Jason Barkley, Jeff Hiles, William Morey, and Matt Shirer.

Also, Joseph O’Brien, from Ireland, has six stalls for the summer for the first time.

The jockey colony is stacked. Flavien Prat moved his tack from California to New York beginning at Belmont and had a solid meet with 33 winners, fourth in the standings. He will be at Saratoga full-time. Tyler Gaffalione is coming in off a monster Churchill Downs meet. Luis Saez will try to defend his 2021 Saratoga title, while brothers Jose and Irad Ortiz Jr. are each looking for their fourth Saratoga crown. The emergence of Dylan Davis and Trevor McCarthy add depth to the room that includes Joel Rosario, Manny Franco, Jose Lezcano, Julien Leparoux, Javier Castellano, and Saratoga’s all-time winningest rider, John Velazquez.