Keen Ice, ridden by Javier Castellano, upset Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, at the 2015 Travers Stakes. PHOTO: BOB MAYBERGER/CSM/ZUMA PRESS
Of the 237 days when thoroughbred horses compete on the New York Racing Association’s calendar, the 40 days at Saratoga Race Course are among its best attended and most wagered on.
Saturday brings the pinnacle, with the 147th Travers Stakes. Historically a contest for the season’s top 3-year-old colts, the marquee race is also the culmination of a meet that defies the negative trends hitting the world of horse racing.
In the last decade, racing has contracted nationally. The total number of days on which races took place at U.S. tracks in 2015 fell to 4,754 from 6,276 in 2005. according to Equibase, an industry statistics database. Wagering fell to $10.6 billion from $14.5 billion during that period.
Racing fans checked out the horses in the paddock at Saratoga in July. PHOTO: HORSEPHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES
Tracks have closed across the country amid the rise of easier, legal forms of gambling.
Saratoga, a site where racing is more than 150 years old, is an exception.
A midweek crowd can easily clear 20,000 people, as families set up chairs and coolers on seemingly every available square inch of the open-air yard and the clubhouse crowd gathers for cocktails around tiny tables.
Meanwhile, the average daily attendance at New York’s three thoroughbred tracks—Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct—was just 7,412 in 2015.
Saratoga’s late-summer meet, squeezed into a compact 40 days, traditionally draws the season’s well-known runners. Top older horses defend their glory, while emerging 2-year-olds learn the tricks that can earn them a spot on the Kentucky Derby trail.
On the first Saturday of Saratoga’s 2016 meet, Aug. 23, the total amount wagered was $23.4 million. By contrast, the daily total betting on races at New York’s three thoroughbred tracks in 2015 averaged a mere $9.4 million.
For the town of Saratoga Springs, racing is a key economic driver, and Travers weekend brings a lucrative summer peak.
Songbird, with trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, at Saratoga in July. PHOTO: HORSEPHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES
Excited fans crowded the rails and stands at Saratoga Race Course for the 2015 Travers Stakes. PHOTO: SCOTT SERIO/ESW/CSM/ZUMA PRESS
The average cost of a night at the downtown Holiday Inn is $320 during racing season, according to general manager Cindy Hollowood.That is if you can find a room. Booking one of the approximately 2,500 hotel rooms in the town of about 28,000 people can be a challenge.
Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said that long before Airbnb, the rental of homes has been a vibrant market.
“A lot of the folks who own or train horses, or the jockeys, will rent homes for the duration of the summer,” said Mr. Shimkus, whose personal cellphone ring is the traditional “call to post” theme.
And after the race, stores in town are often cleaned out of merchandise.
“The biggest day for retail, outside of Christmas season, is the Sunday after the Travers,” said Mr. Shimkus. “Everyone goes out to buy that dress or hat or Saratoga item they’ve been thinking about.”
Belmont and Aqueduct have tried to replicate Saratoga’s success by stacking more and higher-profile races on Saturdays throughout the year, creating must-see days.
The 2015 Travers Stakes drew big crowds to the Saratoga Race Course. PHOTO: SCOTT SERIO/ESW/CSM/ZUMA PRESS
In 2017, the New York Racing Association will introduce, starting at Belmont, a new technology called VenueNext, which enables guests to use mobile phones for ticket sales, wagering, express delivery of food and drinks, as well as viewing races from various camera angles at the track.
“It converts your phone into a remote-control device to the entire facility,” saidChristopher Kay, president and chief executive of the New York Racing Association.
Technology may bring a day at the track closer to the user experience to be found at more modern sports venues.
But for Saratoga, the past defines the experience, said Mr. Shimkus: “When a community has been doing something for 150 years, chances are they are pretty good at it.”
