Saratoga summer meet starts on a heater

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The heat is on literally and figuratively as Saratoga is set to begin its elongated 46-day summer meet on Friday.

Racing officials will certainly be monitoring weather forecasts leading up to Friday’s scheduled 11-race card as temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-to-upper 90s with a heat index of between 105 and 110, according to the National Weather Service. When the heat index reaches 105, under New York State Gaming Commission protocols, the track veterinarian is expected to contact the stewards and/or track management and advise them of the presence of dangerous weather conditions.

“The track veterinarian, stewards or judges, horseperson’s organizations, and racetrack management should cancel racing if local conditions are considered dangerous for horses and riders/drivers,” reads the heat protocols issued by the Gaming Commission.

In a world where the forecast is ever-changing, a decision on whether to race or not likely won’t be made until Friday.

This 46-day Saratoga meet– the longest in track history – will cover 10 weeks. A three-day week will be followed by a trio of four-day weeks (Thursday through Sunday) before the regular five-day race weeks (Wednesday through Sunday) begin July 29. The final week will be six days, ending with closing day, Labor Day, Sept. 7.

The extended meet is six days longer than usual due to the continued renovation project at Belmont Park – which will open for live racing on Sept. 18 – and the desire of New York Racing Association officials to hold Grade 1 stakes such as the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks in Saratoga and not at Aqueduct.

Though Saratoga is the premier summer racing venue from a racing and handle perspective, it will face increased competition from elsewhere. Tracks such as Ellis Park in Kentucky and Colonial Downs in Virginia are offering lucrative purses that are attracting horsemen to their facilities. Then there is Kentucky Downs, which offers the most purse money of any track. Kentucky Downs, which typically runs several days after Saratoga has concluded, has scheduled six of its seven days on top of Saratoga. Opening day of the Kentucky Downs meet is Aug. 29, the same day as the Travers, arguably Saratoga’s richest card.

That doesn’t sit well with NYRA president and CEO Dave O’Rourke.

“The scheduling in the sport is getting a little ridiculous,” O’Rourke said. “Let’s all sit down and a) let’s get a pattern, and b) let’s not start throwing stuff on top of each other. Listen, I don’t think the Kentucky Downs [schedule] is completely under their control but they’re opening on Travers Day? From an industry point of view, what league would do that?

“From a media perspective, call me out if you see us doing it and I’ll answer the question because our intention is to try and make space for people,” O’Rourke added. “We do a lot on television, so we try bringing a lot of the other tracks’ races on with ours. This overlapping with each other, I don’t think it’s accretive to our industry’s best interests.”

During the renovation project at Belmont Park, NYRA has raced at Saratoga more than it ever has each of the last three years. It conducted one week of racing during the first week in June to hold the Belmont Stakes and its supporting stakes events. Last year, there were 44 days of racing here, though officials billed the four-day July Fourth Racing Festival as separate from the traditional 40-day meet. This year, the meet will be 46 days.

O’Rourke reiterated that with Belmont Park reopening, Saratoga will return to its traditional 40-day meet in 2027.

“Saratoga was a wonderful release valve for operating and to get really good racing going and get people’s eyes on it,” O’Rourke said. “The Saratoga brand is powerful. Those days we moved up there are going to perform much better than they would down here [at Aqueduct] but we’re looking forward to bringing the Fourth of July back downstate.”

As is typically the case, there should be plenty of star power to go around this summer at Saratoga. The prospect of two Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners running – not against each other – at this meet is real.

Despite being forced to miss the Jim Dandy due to illness, Golden Tempo, the reigning Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner, is targeting the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 29. The Travers card is the traditional highlight of each Saratoga summer.

Sovereignty is the reigning Horse of the Year based on victories in last year’s Derby, Belmont, and Travers Stakes. Though he has been defeated in two starts this year, he is targeting the Grade 1, $1 milllion Whitney on Aug. 8. Sovereignty is back in Saratoga after finishing third in the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. Also in Saratoga, are the two horses who finished in front of him – Magnitude and Baeza – who are also being pointed to the Whitney, as is White Abarrio, the 2023 Whitney winner who finished fourth in the Stephen Foster.

Adding spice to the Whitney is the expected presence of the filly Nitrogen, last year’s 3-year-old filly champion who is 3 for 3 at Saratoga and would taking on males for the first time.

The Travers and Whitney are two of 20 Grade 1 stakes and 73 stakes overall worth more than $23.5 million that will be offered this meet.

Aside from stakes, horses will be running for more money at Saratoga with an average increase of 14 percent. Open maiden special weight races went up 15 percent to $115,000 while first-level allowance events will be offered for $120,000 and second-level allowance races will be offered for $125,000. Purses for New York-bred races also went up significantly where 2-year-old statebred maiden races are now also worth $115,000.

Irad Ortiz Jr., who will begin the meet serving a three-day suspension from last year’s Saratoga meet, will seek a fifth straight meet riding title and eighth overall. His main competition for leading rider figures to come from his brother Jose – a three-time leading rider at Saratoga – as well as Flavien Prat. But the colony is deep and includes the return of Tyler Gaffalione, who rode at Ellis last summer as he was returning from injury.

Manny Franco, the leading rider at four of the last five NYRA meets since last summer at Saratoga heads the list of New York regulars that also includes Kendrick Carmouche, Dylan Davis, Ricardo Santana Jr., and Jose Lezcano. Edgard Zayas, who moved his tack from Florida to New York in April, is set to ride his first full Saratoga meet.

Chad Brown has won or shared the Saratoga training title eight times. Last year, he tied with Todd Pletcher, who has outright won or shared the Saratoga title 14 times. Since 2009, the only other trainer to win or tie for a Saratoga training title is Linda Rice, who won it outright in 2009 and tied with Brown in 2023.

There are a few new or returning trainers on the grounds in 2026. Riley Mott (15 stalls), Lindsay Schultz (10), Robert Medina (10), Lisa Lewis (10), and Jorge Delgado (8) all are expected to have a presence at the entry box this summer.

First post most days is 1:10 p.m., though on Saturdays it will be 12:35 p.m. There is an 11:45 a.m. first post on Whitney Day (Aug. 8).