Gate A entrance to the race course | |
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Location | Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. |
Owned by | State of New York |
Operated by | New York Racing Association |
The 2022 racing meet is 40 days long, and racing is conducted five days a week (except for the four-day opening weekend and the final week, which...
There is both reserved seating and free-for-all seating at the track. Those who choose to picnic in the unreserved backyard grounds of the track...
Please note that 2022 ticket options have not been announced yet, but general admission usually includes Grandstand and Clubhouse admission pricing...
Reserved seating can be purchased online in advance at Ticketmaster.com , by phone at 1-844-NYRA-TIX or on the day of (subject to availability). S...
Please note that 2022 dining reservation info has not been announced by NYRA yet. We will provide an update when details are released.
There are three Will-Call pick-up stations at the race course: one each for the Clubhouse, Grandstand and Paddock. Visitors can call the Will Call...
A limited number of premium picnic tables can be reserved in the Miller Lite Picnic Paddock for every day of the meet. Those who are up for the 7...
The Oklahoma Training Track, located across the street from the Race Course, typically opens for Spring Training in mid-April. Visitors are welcome...
Please note that 2022 giveaways have not been announced by NYRA yet. Please check back for updates as the 2022 racing season nears.
The 2021 racing meet is 40 days long, with live racing five days a week, from Thursday, July 15 through Labor Day, which is Monday, September 6. Mondays and Tuesdays (with the exception of Labor Day) are called Dark Days, as there's no racing.
There are several giveaway days throughout the Saratoga meet in a typical year. On these days, trackgoers are entitled to a free promotional gift with purchase of general admission while supplies last. Every year, there is a different lineup of giveaway items.
For information prior to the season, call (718) 641-4700 or (516) 488-6000 or visit NYRA.com. For information or questions during the Saratoga Racing Season, call (518) 584-6200.
Saratoga Race Course is accessible by car from Interstate 87 and Interstate 90. You can also travel by air or train. Most flights will arrive at Albany International Airport which is roughly 40 minutes south of Saratoga, however private plane charters and some regional flights can land at the Saratoga County Airport.
There are different dress code policies, depending on where you are enjoying the races at Saratoga Race Course when spectators are allowed to attend. Here's a quick reference guide:
Garden State Parkway north to I-87N (Adirondack Northway)#N#Northway (I-87) to Exit 14 (Saratoga Springs)#N#Keep right and merge onto NY Route 9P (Union Avenue)#N#Follow Union Ave to the Saratoga Race Course
NYS Thruway (I-90) to Exit 28 (Fultonville)#N#Route 30A to Johnstown (becomes Route 29E)#N#Route 29E to Saratoga Springs#N#Right onto Broadway#N#Left onto Spring Street#N#Left onto Union Avenue (9P)#N#Follow Union Ave to the Race Track
Northway (I-87S) to Exit 14 (Saratoga Springs)#N#Keep right and merge onto NY Route 9P (Union Avenue)#N#Follow Union Ave to the race track gates
Mass. Turnpike to NY Thruway (I-90)#N#North to Exit 24 (Albany)#N#Northway (I-87) to Exit 14 (Saratoga Springs)#N#Keep right and merge onto NY Route 9P (Union Ave)#N#Follow Union Avenue to the Saratoga Race Course
US 4W out of Rutland VT#N#Right onto Ann Street (Route 149) in Fort Ann NY#N#149 to the Adirondack Northway (I-87S)#N#Northway (I-87) to Exit 14 (Saratoga Springs)#N#Keep right and merge onto NY Route 9P (Union Avenue)#N#Follow Union Ave to the race track gates
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States . Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actually the fourth oldest racetrack in the US (after 3rd oldest Pleasanton Fairgrounds Racetrack, 2nd oldest Fair Grounds Race Course, and oldest Freehold Raceway ). In 1857 the Empire Race Course was opened on an island in the Hudson River near Albany, but was in operation only a short time.
Saratoga Springs was the site of standardbred racing as early as 1847. On August 3 , 1863 , casino operator and future congressman John Morrissey organized the first thoroughbred race card on the track previously used for harness racing (called Horse Haven that track is no longer used and is near the location of the Oklahoma Training Track). The current course was opened across the street from the old standardbred track the following year. Among those instrumental to the creation of the Saratoga Race Course were John Hunter (later the first chairman of The Jockey Club ), William R. Travers, John Morrissey, and Leonard Jerome. Saratoga Race Course has been in use almost every year since 1864, with only a handful of exceptions. The course was closed in 1896 due to increasing competition among thoroughbred tracks, making the meet at Saratoga not viable that season. Anti-gambling legislation, which had passed in New York, resulted in a cessation in all thoroughbred racing in that state during 1911 and 1912. The track's first parimutuel betting machines were installed in 1940. From 1943 to 1945, racing was curtailed at Saratoga due to travel restrictions during World War II. During those years, the stakes races usually held at Saratoga Race Course were instead contested at Belmont Park .
1⁄8 -mile (9- furlong or 1,811 m) circumference; a 1-mile (8-furlong) turf track, known officially as the Mellon Turf Course in honor of the Mellon family, whose members include prominent thoroughbred owner/breeder Paul Mellon and his father Andrew Mellon, a former United States Treasury Secretary; and.
There is a mineral spring called the Big Red Spring in the picnic grounds where patrons can partake of the water that made Saratoga Springs famous. A gazebo is a prominent feature on the infield, and a stylized version of the gazebo is part of Saratoga Race Course logo.
Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, was beaten in the 2010 Personal Ensign Stakes by Persistently, who closed a length and a half in the final 1/16 mile; American Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner and a 1-5 favorite, was upset in the 2015 Travers Stakes by Keen Ice for his second career loss.
Buried at Clare Court Jogging Track are Fourstardave, Mourjane (IRE), Quick Call and A Phenomenon. Champion filly Go For Wand, who suffered a fatal injury during the stretch run of the 1990 Breeders Cup Distaff, is buried in the Saratoga Race Course infield.