The future is now at Saratoga Race Course.
Welcome to the Fourth of July racing festival at Saratoga, an inaugural event most figure by 2027 will become the opening week of an extended summer season at the upstate New York track.
With the new Belmont Park on target to host racing again by the fall of 2026, and Aqueduct Racetrack to be closed at the same time, the change has been a long time coming.
Yes, looking ahead is always good, but there’s a whole lot of racing for horseplayers to deal with on this holiday weekend at the Spa.
The $175,000 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies is the Thursday (July 3) feature on an 11-race card. Indy Bay, a winner of three straight, including the Jersey Girl at Saratoga on June 8, is the slight 8-5 favorite over Echo Sound (9-5). Beauty Reigns is 2-1.
Also on the card is the $150,000 Wild Applause Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf. Play With Fire, winner of the Hilltop at Pimlico on May 16 for trainer Chad Brown, is the 9-5 favorite.
On Friday, the Fourth of July, the stakes races are the Suburban (G2) for older horses and the Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies, as well as the Belmont Derby (G1), the Manilla (G3), and the Harvey Pack on the turf.
On Saturday, there’s the Sanford Stakes (G3) for 2-year-olds and the Belmont Oaks (G1) and Kelso (G3) on the turf.
For those who bet on horse racing, a closer look at the Victory Ride and the Wild Applause
Echo Sound may not be the morning-line favorite in the five-filly field, but she'll be a sentimental choice.
“We’ve targeted this race because of the distance, and it’s also a special race to me since I trained Victory Ride,” trainer Rusty Arnold said. “It would be nice to win. You don’t get many chances where you get to run in a race named after something you had. It’s a great opportunity and I can’t wait to give it a try.”
Echo Sound will be ridden by Luis Saez out of post 3 and comes into the race off a two-length victory in the Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) on May 16. Her four wins were all at 6 furlongs; her lone loss came at 6 ½ furlongs when she ran second to Impulse Buy at Churchill Downs on No. 30.
Indy Bay, trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., has won by leading from the start or getting up late as she did in taking the Jersey Girl by a head.
Beauty Reigns, trained by Bill Mott, finished third in the Jersey Girl and won two of six starts. He’s 2-for-3 at 6 ½ furlongs.
$150,000 Wild Applause (1-mile, 3-year-old fillies, turf), post time 5:03 p.m)
Trainer Chad Brown saddles three of the seven 3-year-old fillies entered for the 1-mile turf race – 9-5 favorite Play With Fire, 7-2 second choice Lavender Disaster, and 6-1 Midway Memories.
Brown goes after his sixth win and fourth in a row in the Wild Applause and Play With Fire with Flavien Prat aboard looks tough to beat. She makes her first start for new owners, LSU Stables, after winning two of five starts for the previous connections. Last out, the filly won the Hilltop with a wide rally and leaves from post 6 on Thursday.
“We just purchased her about one month ago, and we are looking forward to big things from her,” Randy Sarf of LSU Stables.
Lavender Disaster gets the services of Irad Ortiz, Jr., in her second start of the year after winning in a 1-mile allowance against older horses at Aqueduct on May 25.
Midway Memories is also cross entered in Sunday’s Boiling Springs Stakes at Monmouth Park. She was second by a nose at 1 mile in March at Tampa Bay Downs.
Classic Q’s two wins in six starts both came at 1 mile. In her last start, the filly trained by Mark Casse weakened in the stretch and ran seventh going 1 1/8 miles on May 31 at Churchill Downs.
“I think the cutback to a mile will help because there will be a little more pace up front. The mile should be right in her wheelhouse.”
