Saratoga Race Course
Great late summer thoroughbred racing in Upstate New York By Carl Danbury
Photo courtesy of Hulton Archive | Morgan Collection
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| Sumag.com | July n August 07
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friend of mine makes two trips to Saratoga every summer, and each trip lasts for three to four days. Sometimes his wife or a friend accompanies him, and sometimes he goes alone. His favorite time of the day is when the sun peaks over the horizon or the fog lifts in time to see a stunning thoroughbred completing a morning workout on the main track or the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Race Course. Yes, Chris Tomaso is a devoted horseplayer, but he’s not getting up with the roosters to watch just any horse work out. He arises early at Saratoga because he knows he is likely watching a champion or former champion run. That typically isn’t going to happen too often at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Mass. or Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Ill. Once he returns to his overpriced hotel, he lounges by the pool armed with a cup of coffee, and a copy of the Daily Racing Form or Post Parade Racing program. His cell phone is muted, and his thriving mortgage business seems light years away. “If someone asked me if I want to spend the entire winter in Hawaii or August in Saratoga — I’d probably get divorced as a result but I’m going north of Albany,” Tomaso said. And Tomaso isn’t alone in his zeal. While many other tracks suffer from declining attendance and plummeting average on-track daily wagering, Saratoga has thrived. The 350-acre facility located in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. will host 36 days of live thoroughbred racing from July 25 to Sept. 3 this year. Home to the 138th running of the Travers Stakes (Aug. 25), horse racing has been a part of this landscape since 1863. Visitors have been drawn to the area for the mineral springs in both Ballston Spa and Saratoga Springs for years, and the healing waters beck-
Photo courtesy of Time & Life Pictures | Eileen Darby
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August 07 | SUmag.com |
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