Saratoga Race Course's 159th Racing Season

And... THEY'RE OFF

Saratoga Race Course's 159th Racing Season: July 14 - September 5

Don't miss a thing!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NYRA

Noted as one of the “Top 10 Sporting Venues In The World” by Sports Illustrated, Saratoga Race Course is one of horse racing’s most beloved tracks.

With historical ambiance and modern day amenities and style, Saratoga Race Course is the place to find top Thoroughbred horse racing July through Labor Day each year. The 40-day meet draws the top horses, trainers and owners in the world to try their luck at “The Spa."

NEWLY RENOVATED POST BAR AND PADDOCK SUITE TO DEBUT AT SARATOGA RACE COURSE FOR THE 2022 MEET

As part of a continuing series of capital improvements at Saratoga Race Course the Post Bar and Paddock Suite will be a new, permanent two-story structure that will replace and enhance the original Post Bar, a popular single-story, open air gathering spot for racing fans that had been located beneath a temporary canopy.

The second story Paddock Suite will feature a climate-controlled bar, lounge and outdoor balcony with sweeping views of the historic Saratoga paddock where fans can watch the sport’s finest Thoroughbreds parade beneath them. The Paddock Suite will be available to groups and individuals by reservation.

The Paddock Suite will sit above the newly renovated Post Bar, which will remain an open-air structure featuring a central bar and large-scale televisions. The Post Bar, one of the most popular destinations for fans at Saratoga, will continue to be accessible to all guests, ages 21 and over.

"We are thrilled to announce this newest capital improvement project which we anticipate will be very well received by fans attending Saratoga this summer,” said NYRA Vice President, Sales and Hospitality, Kevin Quinn. “The renovated Post Bar and newly constructed Paddock Suite follows on the heels of last year’s additions, the Spa Verandas and Tailgate at the Turn. These improvements are designed to offer our fans the best in modern amenities while preserving the charm and history that sets Saratoga apart as a sports and entertainment venue.”

The second floor Paddock Suite can accommodate as many as 80 guests. Rental packages will be sold to groups on a full or partial basis. Subject to availability, individual reservations will also be accepted.

Rental includes admission, choice of food platters, non-alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea, tax, gratuity and race program. Open bar packages are also available for purchase.

For reservations, contact the NYRA Box Office at 844-NYRA-TIX or email eventsales@nyrainc.com.

The Post Bar and Paddock Suite are located adjacent to Shake Shack, which is operated by Union Square Hospitality Group.

The 2022 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will begin on Thursday, July 14 and conclude on Monday, Sept. 5. Racing is conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of opening week and the final week when the meet concludes on Labor Day.

For more information about Saratoga Race Course visit NYRA.com/Saratoga.

SUMMER STAKES

Photo by SuperSourceMedia.com

Welcome to the Track!

The 40-day summer meet at the historic Saratoga Race Course, will include 77 stakes worth $22.6 million in total purses!

Highlighted by the 153rd renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on August 27 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 6, the 2022 summer meet will open on Thursday, July 14 and continue through Monday, September 5.

With a focus on the New York-bred program and certain categories of stakes races, the 2022 summer meet will feature a purse increase of more than $1.1 million over 2021.

Saratoga Live, the acclaimed television show produced by NYRA in partnership with FOX Sports, will return for its 7th season to provide daily coverage of the summer meet to a nationwide audience on the networks of FOX Sports. In addition to expanded national coverage of Saratoga Live on FS1, FS2 and FOX, regional coverage will air on SNY during select hours throughout the summer.

Following the four-day opening weekend, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays—Sundays, apart from the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day.

Opening Day, Thursday, July 14, kicks off the season with the Grade 3, $175,000 Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies and the inaugural running of the restricted one-mile $135,000 Wilton for sophomore fillies to be contested out of the reconstructed Wilson Chute.

The Wilson Chute, last in use in 1992, was named to honor the contributions of the late Richard T. Wilson, a banker and President of the Saratoga Racing Association for most of the first quarter of the 20th century. The reconstructed Wilson Chute will carefully follow the route of the original chute along the Clubhouse Turn just to the west of the 1863 Club and marks the return of one-mile races on the Saratoga main track.

Opening Weekend continues Friday, July 15, with the Grade 3, $175,000 Forbidden Apple at one mile on turf for older horses, and the $150,000 Coronation Cup at 5 1/2-furlongs on turf for sophomore fillies.

Whitney Day on Saturday, August 6, will feature three Grade 1 events, led by the Whitney at 1 1/8 miles for older horses offering an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 5 at Keeneland.

Whitney Weekend kicks off August 5, with the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame for sophomore turf milers; the Grade 3, $300,000 Troy, which boasts a purse increase of $100,000, for 4-year-olds and up going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf; and the restricted $135,000 Alydar at nine furlongs for older horses.

Whitney weekend concludes on August 7 with three stakes highlighted by the Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, the second leg of the Turf Triple series for sophomore fillies. The August 7 card also includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies, and the restricted $135,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose at one mile on turf for older fillies and mares.

New York-breds will take center stage on Friday, August 26, for New York Showcase Day, featuring six stakes for state-breds worth a combined $1.25 million. The card is headlined by the $250,000 Albany, a nine-furlong test for sophomores. Also featured are five $200,000 stakes including the Fleet Indian for sophomore fillies; the Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital for juvenile sprinters; and the Seeking the Ante for juvenile filly sprinters.

The lucrative New York Showcase Day card also sees two stakes garner a $50,000 purse boost in the $200,000 West Point Handicap presented by Trustco Bank for 3-year-olds and up; and the $200,000 Yaddo Handicap for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

The 153rd edition of the Runhappy Travers is the centerpiece of a blockbuster day of racing on Saturday, August 27. The 2022 Travers Day card will include six stakes, including five Grade 1 events and an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup to the winner of the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer [Turf].

In addition, the Travers Day card will also include the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign at nine-furlongs for older fillies and mares; the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and upward, and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. Rounding out the signature day at the Spa is the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa at 1 1/16-miles for turf fillies and mares.

Runhappy Travers Weekend concludes Sunday, August 28, with a pair of stakes led by the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up that offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint; and the restricted $135,000 Better Talk Now at one mile on turf for sophomores.

The Johnstone Mile, to be run out of the Wilson Chute, is named in honor of the longtime horseman and NYRA employee Bruce Johnstone who passed at age 76 in February 2020 following a lengthy battle against cancer.

Johnstone transitioned from a successful career as a trainer to management at NYRA, where he spent the last 13 years of his career as Manager of Racing Operations.

Saratoga will also pay tribute to the late Suzie O’Cain on Wednesday, July 20 with a 1 1/16-mile turf event for state-bred sophomore fillies. The $125,000 Suzie O’Cain previously ran as the Stillwater.

O’Cain, who passed away in January following a battle with breast cancer, and her husband, Dr. C. Lynwood O’Cain, managed the late Carl Lizza’s Highcliff Farm in Delanson, N.Y. for more than 20 years. O’Cain also served on the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Board of Directors and was co-chairwoman of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders’ (NYTB) Political Action Committee and chairwoman of the NYTB Media Committee.

Closing Weekend of the Saratoga meet will feature a pair of Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events on Saturday, September 3, led by the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup [Classic] at 10 furlongs for 3-year-olds and up. Should a Grade/Group 1 winner start in the 2022 Jockey Club Gold Cup, the purse will be increased to $1.25 million.

Closing Day on Monday, September 5, will feature the Grade 3, $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap along with the prestigious Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs to conclude the 159th Saratoga meeting.

To view the complete stakes schedule for the 2022 summer meet, visit www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/stakes-schedule