Ticket packages and event schedules for the inaugural Equestricon convention to be held in Saratoga Springs this August have been announced, allowing prospective attendees to better plan for their individual experience.
The “premier horse racing lifestyle event,” scheduled to take place from Sunday-Tuesday, Aug. 13-15, will mostly take place within the Saratoga City Center, with off-site stops including, but not limited to, the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds as well as the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.
Ticket prices range from $25 for daily general admission up to $450 for a value-added V.I.P. experience. There is also a “two day panel pass” option available for $125 covering Monday and Tuesday.
“Affordability was top on our list of priorities when setting the ticket prices,” said Kathryn Sharp, co-founder of the first-of-its-kind event. “We’re really proud of the program we’ve put together and we believe any ticket you purchase offers great value.”
Planning for a multi-day convention is a time-intensive endeavor to say the least, but the founders of Equestricon (Sharp and Justin Nicholson of Ninety North Racing, as well as Dan Tordjman of DanonymousRacing.com and America’s Best Racing) had an exceptionally tough task ahead of them, as none of them had any experience organizing such an event.
“There’s no way we could plan an event of this scale without a deep understanding of and love for the sport of racing,” said Sharp.
While most of the exhibits and panel discussions have been scheduled accordingly, the final product of the total Equestricon experience is a fluid one.
“We continue to look for fun ideas at every event we attend outside of racing. I was at a Rangers [hockey] game this week where they had a really neat virtual reality setup. Now, I’m looking into what we can pull off at Equestricon,” explained Sharp.
The founders really wanted to have an actual Thoroughbred race horse onsite for the duration of the convention, but the logistics as well as the diminishing room left on the floor plan due to the number of exhibitors precluded this from happening.
The initial as well as ongoing interest shown by prospective attendees has exceeded expectations.
“I think if anything surprised us, it’s that an industry that can sometimes be slow to change has embraced this idea so enthusiastically,” said Sharp.
When asked to give a ballpark figure of the number of people she expects to see at the convention, Sharp surmised, “We are hoping to get a few thousand attendees across the two general session days.”
Although Equestricon runs from Sunday through Tuesday, the two general admission ticket dates cover Monday and Tuesday, with add-on experiences available on Sunday.
V.I.P. ticket holders will have access to exhibits, panels, and events on all three days, as well as a Sunday night V.I.P. party complete with premium gift bag.
An in-depth look at the panels, exhibits, and events will be presented in the third part of this five-part series about Equestricon on USRacing.com.
