Time for a rabbit’s foot, four-leaf clover, horseshoe, or whatever lucky charm horse racing fans can dig up. For savvy bettors, serious handicapping is in full swing as horseplayers around the world gear up for another stellar summer season at Saratoga Race Course.
Let the races begin!
The 46-day racing season opens Friday, with the traditional feature the $200,000 Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies going 6 furlongs.
Extreme heat is in the weather forecast, and that could force officials to postpone the card.
Of course, the New York Racing Association is billing this as its July 4th Racing Festival as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday, with all kinds of promotions as the good ol’ Spa turns 163 years old.
There’ll be a free Saratoga tumbler for racing fans and Dollar Dog Days on Saturday, July 4. Promotions, live music, and expanded luxury seating aside, Saturday’s card features a pair of Grade 1 races on the turf, the $750,000 Belmont Derby and the $600,000 Belmont Oaks, along with the $500,000 Suburban Stakes (G2) for older horses and the $225,000 Sanford Stakes for 2-year-olds.
The Saratoga season runs from July 3 to September 7, with the town of Saratoga Springs spruced up to welcome the hundreds of thousands of visitors and even more improvements to the iconic track.
Racing’s most prominent meet features 73 stakes races, including 10 Grade 1 events, seven Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In’’ events, and more than $23 million in prize money.
Odds are that wagering is likely to surpass last year’s on-track handle of more than $136 million.
Most of the sport’s star players – equine and human -- are already settled in. Among those assembled are Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo, last year’s Horse of the Year Sovereignty, and champion filly Nitrogen.
Hall of Fame trainers Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, Steve Asmussen, and Mark Casse are in the house (as is Chad Brown), and the elite jockey colony is led by Flavien Prat, Irad Ortiz, Jr., and younger brother Jose Ortiz.
While there are stakes races nearly every day of the meet, there are two blockbuster cards: Whitney Stakes Day on Aug. 8, Travers Stakes Day on Aug. 29
On Aug. 8, the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) could feature the best older horses in the world – recent Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) winner Magnitude, 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, Nitrogen taking on males for the first time, and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Nysos with eight wins and two seconds in 10 career starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
The biggest day of the summer is Aug. 29 – with the $1.25 million Travers headlining a card that includes four more Grade 1 stakes -- the Forego, the H. Allen Jerkens, the Personal Ensign, and the Ballerina. The Forego, H. Allen Jerkense, and Ballerina are Breeders’ Cup “Win, and You’re In races.
Cherie DeVaux, the first female trainer to win the Derby and two Triple Crown races, planned to run Golden Tempo in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) on Aug 1. But the colt missed 10 days of training with an illness, so the Travers should be his next start.
The opening comes less than a week after the final day of racing at Aqueduct, after 132 years, the NYRA-operated downstate track. And, following the Saratoga meet, the redesigned Belmont Park reopens after a three-year, $550 million reconstruction project.
For those looking way ahead, opening day at Belmont is Sept. 18 and will feature Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Forever Young in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).
“Opening weekend at Saratoga Race Course is one of the most anticipated events of the summer in New York, and this year provides a special opportunity to celebrate both the return of the summer racing season and the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding,” NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke said. “We look forward to welcoming back fans to one of America’s most revered sports venues during a festive and family-friendly July 4th holiday weekend.”
After the three-day opening weekend, live racing will be conducted Thursday through Sunday before moving to a five-day race week (Wednesday-Sunday) beginning July 29.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
