Dust Off Your Wood Racquets: Second Chance Sports Hosting Wood Racquet-Only Day

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Second Chance Sports is having a wood racquet-only day on July 1. The event started in 1990 in Saratoga Springs.

All who play will receive a special Saratoga gift and food all day, with prizes to the winner and runner-ups in all divisions.

A beginner division is included. Games will be doubles

Hop City Maple Teaming Up with Dickinson’s Delight for NYS Maple Weekends

play, with no ad scoring, to help move along play. Funds will go toward disabled sports programs through Second Chance Sports and The Learning League.

There are a limited number of players. Sign up begins this week, and is first come, first serve. The event will be held July 1, with July 8 as a rain date. To sign up, call Bill at 518-226-5888.

NYRA Announces Single Admission Policy at Saratoga Race Course

SARATOGA SPRINGS —

The New York Racing Association, Inc. announced that Saratoga Race Course will feature one admission price for all fans beginning with the 2023 summer meet, thereby eliminating the traditional two-tiered structure of Clubhouse and Grandstand admission. For the first time, a single admission rate will provide fans with access to both the Clubhouse and Grandstand.

Admission will be $7 daily when purchased at least 24-hours in advance, a savings from last season’s Clubhouse price of $10. Admission to Saratoga Race Course on the day of the event will be $10. Admission does not include reserved seating. Since 2019, daily Clubhouse admission has stood at $10 and Grandstand admission at $7.

Fans will be able to purchase their daily admission to Saratoga Race Course beginning Thursday, June 1, at NYRA.com/Saratoga. Season admission passes, which provide admission at a discount for all 40 days of the summer meet, will go on sale in April.

Travers Day general admission will be available for $25 in advance and $30 day-of, while supplies last.

Opening Day of the 2023 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course is Thursday, July 13. Live racing will be conducted five days per week, Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of Opening Week and Closing Week which will conclude on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4. The 154th edition of the Travers will take place on Saturday, Aug. 26 and the 96th renewal of the Whitney will be run on Saturday, Aug. 5.

BALLSTON SPA — Hop City Maple is an up-and-coming sugarhouse that has transformed from a backyard hobby into a fully-fledged maple business. Located in Ballston Spa, Hop City Maple is owned and operated by John and Emilia Medick. The business began ten years ago when John and Emilia decided to tap some trees on their property.

That first winter, they tapped 19 trees and made a few gallons of syrup boiling over an open pan. From then they tapped more trees each winter using buckets for several years and sold their sap to a neighbor. As Emilia put it, “When my husband gets into something, it grows.”

Eventually they began making their own syrup and installed a mainline tubing and vacuum system to collect sap. Last year, they had 520 taps and now offer a variety of products like maple syrup available in three grades, bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup, maple candies, maple cream, maple sugar, and honey.

Selling their products through a farmstand at the bottom of their road, online, and at a few local businesses, their products have been well received, as Emilia said that the business has “blown our expectations so far.”

This year the Medicks plan to tap 600-700 trees and they have set up some “DIY” pumps for more efficiency in collection. Hop City Maple participated in NYS Maple Weekends for the first time last year welcoming many groups of people to the sugarhouse for tree tapping and boiling demonstrations, as well as treats like maple milk.

Hop City will be participating on both weekends again this year on March 18 & 19 and 25 & 26. At this year’s weekends Hop City Maple is teaming up with Dickinson’s Delight, a local food truck, to offer maple crepes and other maple goodies.

Their property was gifted to them after John’s mother passed away. As a way to honor her, they donate some of the proceeds of their business to the charities WellSpring and Mr. Mo Project.

Emilia and John are also grateful to the Upper Hudson Maple Producers Association for welcoming them into the group and for their help in learning more about the science of maple syrup making.

To learn more about Hop City Maple, visit www.hopcitymaple.com or check out the Hop City Facebook page.

This year’s NYS Maple Weekends will be March 18-19 and 25-26. To find a producer near you to visit this maple season, check out the Upper Hudson Maple Producers Association website at www.upperhudsonmaple.com/.

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