“I can't say enough about what the New York Race Track Chaplaincy organization does for the backstretch community,” Pletcher said. “It provides so much more than spiritual help. I look at it like the mayor's office where everyone goes when they need help. On behalf of Tracy and our children, thank you very much for this honor and for your support of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy.”

As is the custom, the Pletchers were presented with a framed racing scene created by equine artist Tom Chapman from the New York Race Track Chaplaincy. In a surprise appearance, Pletcher's mentor, fellow Hall of Famer trainer D. Wayne Lukas, made the presentation.

“God blessed Todd with extraordinary talent and he has shown class, dignity and integrity throughout his career,” Lukas said. “In addition to their own family, Todd and Tracy have also adopted the backstretch family and they are most deserving of this honor.”

The brunch attracted a record crowd of approximately 350 individuals from all segments of the racing industry and included such supporters as Mandy Pope, Jo Ann and Paul Oreffice and Len Green.

Among those in attendance were: Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), NYS Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Agriculture and Markets Elizabeth Wolters, trainer Jena Antonucci and Hall of Famer riders Javier Castellano, Angel Cordero Jr., Edgar Prado, and John Velazquez. Liz Bishop, the longtime television news anchor for the CBS affiliate in Albany, once again served as emcee.

Previous honorees have included Andy Serling, Irad Ortiz Jr., Anne Campbell, Edgar Prado, Michael Dubb, Fay and David Donk, Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Letty and Kiaran McLaughlin, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, Debbie and Terry Finley and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

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That didn't sit well with numerous horseplayers, which didn't go unnoticed by NYRA executives.

That's why NYRA CEO and President Dave O'Rourke appeared Wednesday on the track's Talking Horses segment hosted by Andy Serling and admitted that mistakes were made.

“There is no excuse,” O'Rourke said. “We dropped the ball.”

O'Rourke described what led up to the decision, starting with a breakdown in the fourth race. In a mile-and-three-eighths allowance race on the grass, Ever Summer (Summer Front) broke down and had to be euthanized.

“After the fifth race, the jocks reached out to the racing office and said they wanted to discuss the turf course,” O'Rourke said. “Our initial reaction was to take everything off turf for the rest of the day. We had had an incredible amount of rain since we began the meet, which impacted the meet in several ways. We believe in safety first, so our instinct was to take those races off the turf.”

There was a time lag and the decision on taking the races off the grass was not announced to the betting public until the horses were being loaded into the gate for the sixth.

“They are loading into the gate for the sixth and there was a rush for time,” O'Rourke said. “So, now it's the worst case scenario. We had to make those other races 'all' races. There's no excuses for it.”

When asked why it took so long to get the information out to the public, O'Rourke said: “I can go through the time line over and over, but from the players' perspective, we dropped the ball. I can't make any other excuse for it.”

Prior to the announcement NYRA went to the stewards and asked that the entire Pick 5 pool be refunded and that there be a delay prior to the start of the sixth race so that customers could make decisions regarding other wagers involving the off-the-turf races. Both requests were denied.

“The intention was to refund everything,” O'Rourke said. “That's slightly out of the norm but we felt that it was the right thing to do. We were not able to refund the pools. The stewards ultimately make decisions in terms of what are in the rules and what are not. Once in a while you'll find gaps for strange situations, but we were not able to refund.”

While NYRA may have been well intentioned in its efforts to refund all monies wagered in the Pick 5 pool, as O'Rourke addressed, it was not their decision to make. Under New York racing rules, if a surface change is made after betting has started on a wager then the off-the-turf races are considered 'all races.' It would be up to the New York Gaming Commission to change that rule to allow for NYRA to cancel a wager.

O'Rourke said he will look into seeding some pools at a future date as a way of paying the bettors back.

“I can't fix it after the fact but I can mitigate it going forward,” he said.

O'Rourke also addressed the tragedy that took place in the GI Test S. on Saturday in which Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic), who had the race won, broke down just a few feet before the wire and had to be euthanized.

“What occurred on Saturday, there are hardly words for it,” he said. “There were 43,000 people here and in a moment they were going to see a triumph but it turned into a tragedy. It shook me. It shook the entire racing world. It's nothing that I ever experienced before and hopefully never will again. We will double down on our commitment toward safety. Everything we do is about safety. All our condolences go out to the connections. It's hard to to talk about it now and it's not even a week later. This was a tough weekend.”

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When asked if Saratoga will surpass last year's record when $878 million was bet on the meet, Serling said it all depends on the weather. Only 17 races were taken off the turf last year.

“You don't want to sit around and say we're going to do as well or better than we did last year because weather is going to play a major role in that,” Serling said. “But I don't see anything happening that's going to severely negatively affect us. There are weather situations where it rains a decent amount and it's especially a problem if it happens on Saturdays. But other than that, there's a great interest in Saratoga. It remains a place that people just love to go to. So there's no reason not to be optimistic or hopeful that things will go well. But you don't want to get caught up in that because we're geniuses when the weather's good and we're idiots when the weather's bad. Saratoga is a magical place and it seems to continue to do well regardless of what the environment is.”

One race he will be keeping his eye on is the one for the riding title. Irad Ortiz, Jr. was an easy winner last year, but it was his brother, Jose, who won the title at the Belmont spring meet.

“I think it's a very friendly rivalry between Jose and Irad,” he said. “Irad has won four of the last eight and Jose has won three of them. To suggest it's not likely to come down to these two guys is unlikely. Now, this is the first full summer that Jose has been with agent Steve Rushing. He was with Jimmy Riccio before. I wouldn't count Luis Saez out because he's been riding at Churchill and if some of these Churchill trainers do well that he's riding for I think he will have a chance to win it for the second time. Flavien Prat, Joel Rosario are guys who have a chance. I just don't know that they'll get the same kind of mounts to be able to win a jockey title. They might win a lot of stakes. They might win bigger races, but it's tough to go past the two Ortiz brothers.”

As for the trainers, it appears this will be another year where the race comes down to Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher.

“It's going to probably come down to those two guys, Todd and Chad, and it'll probably hinge really on how many good two year olds they have, how many maiden races they win,” Serling said. “Pletcher is capable and we've seen in the past his winning a boatload of maiden races. If he doesn't, he's not going to compete for the title. But the other thing is that one thing that Todd is exceptionally good at is being prepared for off the turf. Todd is usually in there with somebody and it's something that he usually has an advantage on. Chad's strength is often turf racing. So if we get a lot of rain, they come off the turf, it's going to cost Chad.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, NYRABets.com, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com and West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Bill Finley, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman talked about what was a rocky week for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and whether or not the way it and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) has been dealing with those who had positive tests for banned substances is a case of “guilty until proven innocent.” There was a review of last week's big races, including the win by Reincarnate (Good Magic) in the Los Alamitos Derby. The team also focused on the story of jockey 61-year-old Cindy Murphy. Murphy won the July 8 GIII Iowa Oaks aboard Crypto Mo (Mohaymen), which was both her 2,000th career victory and her first-ever win in a graded stakes race.

Click here for the audio-only version.

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“I'll be honest, I came into this meet concerned [about a drop in business], and I think rightfully so, because our numbers were so spectacular last year when you're up 13% like we were,” Serling said when asked to explain Saratoga's continued growth. “I was shocked how much we were up [opening week]. Saratoga, even as we expanded, always sort of stayed the August place to be. It was a little quieter when the meet started and the last week, especially when you're into September, can get quieter. I'm wondering now if it's starting to matter less and less. This weekend was incredible, huge crowds, the handle numbers were great, the racing was also terrific. We averaged almost 10.5 horses per race on the inner turf. We were up about three-quarters of a horse over last year. So all the stars aligned, the racing was great, and the love for Saratoga keeps growing and growing. And maybe it's that once somebody comes to Saratoga, they never stop coming back. And over the years that's just going to build and build and build.”

The conversation turned to the increasingly redundant racing calendar and the abundance of short fields seen in stakes races.

“It's 100% a problem. To suggest otherwise is to continue, as we love to do in racing, to keep our heads in the sand,” he said. “It's not just a problem in America, but it's a bigger problem in America. The purses shouldn't matter in these big races, because there's so much intrinsic value for stallions and broodmares. But there are too many races. We were trying to fill the Mother Goose, and it pains me to think of that as a race that will go by the wayside, because the winners of that race are a veritable who's who of the greatest horses that have ever raced in that division. But something has to give. I'm not blaming any of these tracks, but there's an Iowa Oaks, there's this Oaks, there's that Oaks. There are races everywhere and it's just giving people too many options. Whether it's the graded stakes committee, the boards, the racing offices, something has to be done, because there are just too many big races with small fields.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers previewed a big weekend of racing, remembered the great Kitten's Joy and called for more meaningful sanctions for Paco Lopez's reckless riding. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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The honoree at this year's brunch will be Andy Serling, the New York Racing Association television analyst and handicapper. Previous honorees for their devotion to the backstretch community include: Anne Campbell, Edgar Prado, Michael Dubb, Fay and David Donk, Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Letty and Kiaran McLaughlin, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, Debbie and Terry Finley, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and  Irad Ortiz, Jr.

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“At every opportunity, Andy goes out of his way to recognize and advocate for the members of the backstretch community and he richly deserves this honor,” said Humberto Chavez, the lead chaplain and executive director for the NY Chaplaincy.

Serling has been offering his handicapping insights on the NYRA circuit as a member of the broadcast team since 2008. The Manhattan resident is a Sr. Racing Analyst on America's Day at the Races, which presents coverage of NYRA racing on the networks of FOX Sports, and as the host of NYRA's daily handicapping show Talking Horses. Serling also hosts the Across the Board podcast, launched in April 2017.

Prior to working in the racing industry, Serling traded options on the floor of the American Stock Exchange when he wasn't spending his days at the track.

“I love this sport and with each passing day, I have a deeper appreciation for the commitment and dedication of backstretch workers,” Serling said. “The New York Race Track Chaplaincy does incredible work for our community and I'm humbled to be honored in this way.”

Previous honorees of the NY Chaplaincy have included Anne Campbell, Edgar Prado, Michael Dubb, Fay and David Donk, Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Letty and Kiaran McLaughlin, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, Debbie and Terry Finley, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and, last year, Irad Ortiz Jr.

The honoree is presented with a print by equine artist Tom Chapman at the brunch, which typically draws approximately 200 supporters of the NY Race Track Chaplaincy.

The NY Race Track Chaplaincy serves the NY backstretch and farming community with children's enrichment, social service, recreational, and educational programming as well as non-denominational religious services.

Additional information may be found at www.rtcany.org.

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“I love this sport and with each passing day, I have a deeper appreciation for the commitment and dedication of backstretch workers,” Serling said. “The New York Race Track Chaplaincy does incredible work for our community and I'm humbled to be honored in this way.”

The NY Chaplaincy serves New York's backstretch community with children's enrichment, social service, recreational, and educational programming, as well as with non-denominational religious services.

“At every opportunity, Andy goes out of his way to recognize and advocate for the members of the backstretch community and he richly deserves this honor,” said Humberto Chavez, the lead chaplain and executive director of the NY Chaplaincy.

Previous honorees have included Anne Campbell, Edgar Prado, Michael Dubb, Fay and David Donk, Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Letty and Kiaran McLaughlin, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, Debbie and Terry Finley, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. The honoree is presented with a print by equine artist Tom Chapman at the brunch. For more information, visit rtcany.org.

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First up on the set as the Green Group Guest of the Week was O'Rourke, who touched on a variety of industry issues, including the moral imperative to institute major drug reform, the way forward on partnering with sports betting outfits and whether closing Aqueduct and/or downsizing Belmont figures into NYRA's long-term plans.

“Five, ten years out, if there's one facility [downstate] it will be Belmont Park,” O'Rourke said. “That's really our hub. That's what we're going to attack this winter in terms of planning. What are our options? There are three. You can knock [Belmont] down and build a smaller building, you can redo it, or, one of the things we did this year was build the Triple Crown room on the second floor. That was, in a sense, an experiment. What would it start to look like if we took sections of this building, and build out rooms that we need for big dates like Belmont Stakes Day, or potential Breeders' Cups? So those answers will start to flow out. What you're looking at is a smaller conditioned footprint at Belmont for 10 months a year, and the ability to expand out for something like the Belmont Stakes or Breeders' Cup.”

Next up was Serling, who has been coming to Saratoga for decades and has recently become a key cog in NYRA and FOX Sports' successful daily broadcast from Saratoga and Belmont. Known to many as an outspoken, opinionated personality, Serling was asked whether or not he gets blowback, personally or professionally, for his style of speaking candidly on air.

“I never get that from NYRA,” he said. “[NYRA Bets President and TV Executive Producer] Tony Allevato and Dave O'Rourke have my back actually. If I said something out of line, Tony might say, 'You might want to tone that down,' but he would be right if he said it. I don't understand this whole notion that I'm this incredibly outspoken person, because I've been betting horses my whole life. Horseplayers are argumentative, that's what we do. Isn't that what we like about racing? That we have differing opinions? We throw them around, we say, 'You're an idiot,' 'I'm an idiot', then they run the race and we're probably both wrong, and you move on and try to learn from it. What do people want? Do they want people who say, 'I like the 4-5 favorite, I don't dislike anybody, they're all beautiful.' I thought that's what people want to do about racing is, argue about it. So I'm not going to change what I do. It seems to be working. I mean, at least they're listening. Love, hate, they're all listening.”

Last but not least on the set was Jose Ortiz, 2017's Eclipse Champion Jockey, currently enjoying a successful meet, sitting second as of this writing in the Saratoga jockey standings. He was asked about how the Puerto Rican jockey school and older Puerto Rican trailblazers have helped him and other young riders successfully transition to America.

“It's huge,” Ortiz said of the Escuela Vocacional Hipica. “Angel [Cordero] and Johnny [Velazquez] set the path for us, and hopefully we're setting the path for the ones coming behind us. And it's good for the school because it works on government funds. So if the government keeps seeing the results like they see now, they're going to keep helping the school, and we need that. We work hard, because I have in the back of my head that everything I do is going to be reflected on the school back home and the kids that look up to us now. You've got to keep that in mind at all times.”

Elsewhere on the milestone Writers' Room, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Spendthrift Farm, Legacy Bloodstock and the 2021 Minnesota Thoroughbred Assoication Yearling Sale, the crew celebrated being back together along with fans at Saratoga, reacted to a huge weekend of turf racing and the unceremonious goodbye some got from Arlington Park, and discussed the suspension of leading trainer Wayne Potts at Monmouth. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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“It's a testament to the generosity of people in horse racing,” said Serling. “And it shows what can happen when a lot of people gather and are ready to have some fun, which affords the opportunity to create real benefit. That's one of the beauties of Saratoga, which lends itself very well to that.”

Sharing the donations: the Saratoga-based aftercare organizations Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation; Old Friends at Cabin Creek; the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, New York Division; and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which serve backstretch communities in New York.

“Kirk Wycoff is one of the greatest mini-golfers I've ever seen,” said Stabile, who serves as a member on the BCCA advisory board. “In this case, it's just fine to be on the short end. There's never a bad time to donate. But given that the BCCA has just opened its Saratoga child care center to go along with the one they operate at Belmont Park, it's great timing.”

Lazzinnaro added, “All are superstar organizations. The people who work there have dedicated their lives to what they do. That's why it's great this worked out.”

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The joke quickly gained traction after Serling received a text from Kirk Wycoff of Three Diamonds Farm. “Make it a foursome – two-on-two. Get the losing team to donate $5,000 to New York-based backstretch charities,” Wycoff suggested.

And with that, the on-air challenge became a reality.

More texts and many more donations proceeded to pour in, including $5,000 from thoroughbred owner Louis Lazzinnaro of Nové Italian Restaurant in Wilton, N.Y., who encouraged some friends to give as well. And by the time the mini-golf game ended on Monday, Aug. 2, it had raised $100,000 for New York-based backstretch organizations.

“It's a testament to the generosity of people in horse racing,” said Serling, half of the Serling/Wycoff mini-golf team which took on Stabile and Lazzinnaro amidst the waterfalls and rotating windmill hazards at Goony Golf in Lake George, N.Y. “And it shows what can happen when a lot of people gather and are ready to have some fun, which affords the opportunity to create real benefit. That's one of the beauties of Saratoga, which lends itself very well to that.”

Sharing the donations will be another foursome – the Saratoga-based aftercare organizations Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Old Friends at Cabin Creek; as well as the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, New York Division, and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which serve backstretch communities in New York.

“The horse racing family is the greatest family in the world,” said Stabile. “While we're competing for the same dollars, we're still a family and when the chips are down, we're there to lift each other up. We're fortunate enough to be able to make our living at the track, so giving a little back to the people and to the horses who keep it going is the least we can do.”

Serling said the unique concept grew thanks to the generosity of Wycoff, Lazzinnaro and a lot of like-minded racing enthusiasts.

“It shows the commitment of people involved in horse racing and the importance of doing something for the workers on the backstretch and the horses, all of whom give so much to us,” he said. “Who would ever have figured that this is where a game of mini-golf would lead?”

Ah yes, the game.

“Kirk Wycoff is one of the greatest mini-golfers I've ever seen,” said Stabile.

Fortified by Wycoff's three holes-in-one, the Serling/Wycoff team defeated Stabile and Lazzinnaro, otherwise known as “Team Nové,” by 15 strokes.

“In this case, it's just fine to be on the short end,” said Stabile. “There's no such thing as a donation that's too small. But raising $100,000 for these great charities? I could never have predicted that – and it comes at an amazing time.”

Stabile refers specifically to the BCCA, where he serves as a member of the advisory board.

“There's never a bad time to donate,” he said. “But given that the BCCA has just opened its Saratoga child care center to go along with the one they operate at Belmont Park, it's great timing.”

Lazzinnaro agreed. “All are superstar organizations,” he said of the donation's recipients. “The people who work there have dedicated their lives to what they do. That's why it's great this worked out.”

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