Weather leaves mark on Saratoga's opening week: All-sources handle down 30 percent

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Mother Nature helped put a dent in the opening week of business at Saratoga’s traditional 40-day meet as all-sources handle was down 30 percent compared to last year’s opening four days, according to figures provided by the New York Racing Association.

With the 3.4 inches of rain falling between Thursday and Saturday prompting NYRA officials to move 13 of the 21 scheduled turf races to the dirt, all-sources handle was $68,418,195 this week, down from the $97,482,818 handled during the opening week of the 2024 meet. Last year, there were 16 races run on turf with the five scheduled for opening day moved to the dirt.

The lack of turf racing this week resulted in only 279 betting interests in 42 races, compared to 357 betting interests in 43 races last year.

Ontrack handle for opening week was $10,624,074, a 23 percent decline from last year’s $13,793,592. Paid attendance was 98,765, a 3.2 percent drop from last year’s 102,028.

Though technically this was opening week of the Saratoga meet, there were four days of racing held here from July 3-6 billed as the July Fourth Racing Festival, dates that were held last year at Aqueduct. All-sources handle for those four days at Saratoga was $83,634,470, a 120 percent increase over the $37,842,226 at Aqueduct.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., the defending leading rider here, recorded three wins Sunday to give him nine for opening week, one more than his brother Jose Ortiz.

Linda Rice won two races on Sunday, giving her four for the meet, one more than Todd Pletcher, George Weaver and Chad Brown. Pletcher, after starting the meet 0 for 11, won three races on Sunday’s card.

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