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Belmont Meet Generates Handle 20 Percent Higher Than In 2019

The New York Racing Association Inc., (NYRA) announced Wednesday that the Belmont Park spring/summer meet generated $632,208,251 in all sources handle, a 20.6 percent increase over the 2019 spring/summer meet and 63.5 percent above the 2020 spring/summer meet, which was abbreviated to just 25 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spring/summer meet, which began on April 22 without spectators in attendance before reopening to a limited number of spectators on May 1, boasted 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purse money.

Average daily handle over the 48 days of racing was $13,171,005, a 20.6 percent increase over 2019. The abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet saw average daily handle of $15,466,198.

2021 marked the return of the Belmont Stakes to its customary spot on the racing calendar and its famed distance of 1 1/2 miles. In 2020, a readjustment to the stakes schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw the “Test of the Champion” run without spectators in attendance and as the opening leg of the Triple Crown series for the first time in history.

The June 5 Belmont Stakes Day card, highlighted by Essential Quality's heart-pounding victory in the 153rd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, generated all-sources handle of $112,725,278; a NYRA record for a non-Triple Crown year.

On-track handle for the 13-race Belmont Stakes Day card, which included eight Grade 1 races among nine total stakes, was $7,532,571.

A total of 454 races were run during the spring/summer meet including 243 on dirt and 211 on the turf. A total of 33 races were taken off the turf due to weather. Average field size over the 454 races was 7.6. This compares to 448 total races run in 2019, including 260 on dirt and 188 on turf. A total of 46 races were taken off the turf due to weather that year. Average field size in 2019 was 7.0.

A total of 248 races were run during the abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet including 128 on dirt and 120 on the turf. A total of five races were taken off the turf due to weather last year. Average field size over the 248 races was 8.6.

Total on-track handle for the 2021 spring/summer meet was $49,343,664.

The 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, which will feature 76 stakes worth $21.5 million in total purses, will open on Thursday and conclude on Monday, September 6.

For additional information, visit NYRA.com.

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Carmen M. Barrera Horsemen’s Lounge Completed At Saratoga

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced the completion of the Carmen M. Barrera Horsemen's Lounge at Saratoga Race Course.

Formerly known as the Saratoga Room, the horsemen's lounge has been renovated and renamed to honor the memory of Carmen M. Barrera, NYRA's longtime director of horsemen's relations who died unexpectedly on August 8, 2019.

Barrera joined NYRA in 1978, the same year that her uncle Laz Barrera campaigned Affirmed to the Triple Crown, and was a valued employee and familiar presence at all NYRA tracks since that time. Her father, Luis, was a trainer as well, campaigning Summing to victory in the 1981 Belmont Stakes. And her cousin, Juan Dominguez is NYRA's racing facilities coordinator.

“NYRA and New York's racing community at large owe Carmen a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our sport,” said Martin Panza, NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Operations. “That she will now have a permanent place at Saratoga Race Course is a fitting honor for someone who cared so deeply for Saratoga.”

Located just off the Porch on the first floor of the clubhouse, the convenient drop-in facility offers assorted beverages and will be open to licensed owners and trainers.

The 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course will feature 76 stakes worth $21.5 million in total purses highlighted by the 152nd renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on August 28 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 7, as the anchors of two of the most prestigious racing days in North America.

Following the four-day Runhappy Opening Weekend from Thursday, July 15 through Sunday, July 18, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day.

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

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TRF, NYRA To Unveil Memorial Marker For Quick Call On July 14

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) will partner with the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) to unveil a memorial marker for popular racehorse Quick Call at Clare Court on Wednesday, July 14 at 11:30 a.m.

The unveiling will include a photo opportunity and brief remarks from NYRA leadership, TRF Executive Director and leadership from the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NY DOCCS). In addition to the current and former TRF Second Chances Farm Manager and Instructors, the current Superintendent of Wallkill and two retired Superintendents will be in attendance with other special invited guests.

Quick Call was humanely euthanized on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at the age of 35 due to the infirmities of old age. Foaled in 1984, Quick Call was the oldest horse in TRF's herd. In his lifetime he was a successful racehorse who earned more than $800,000 and won numerous graded stakes races. Following a remarkable career on the racetrack, he became a riding horse and finally arrived at the TRF in 2001 where he was an equine teacher in the TRF's well known Second Chances Program. He was truly an exceptional horse and served as a shining example of the versatility of the Thoroughbred breed. With 86 starts under his belt, he was a warhorse with a brave, strong heart and mind. He became a “posterhorse” for aftercare, serving as an ambassador for all retired Thoroughbred racehorses.

Immediately following the unveiling, fans and media are invited to join the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation at the Horseshoe Inn Bar and Grill, located at 9 Gridley Street, for a pop-up fan engagement station to share memories and to learn more about Quick Call and TRF's Second Chances program. From 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET, fans can celebrate Quick Call and for a suggested $10 donation will receive a limited-edition Quick Call wristband, a copy of his lifetime past performances and a photo at the “Horse for the Course” selfie station.

About TRF: Founded in 1983, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a national organization devoted to saving Thoroughbred horses no longer able to compete at the racetrack from possible neglect, abuse, and slaughter. As the oldest Thoroughbred rescue in the country, the TRF provides lifelong sanctuary to retired Thoroughbreds throughout their lifetime.

Best known for its pioneering TRF Second Chances program, the organization provides incarcerated individuals with life-changing vocational training through its accredited equine care and stable management program. At eight correctional facilities across the US, including one juvenile justice facility, this program offers second careers to its horses and a second chance at life for program graduates upon release from prison. The TRF Second Chances Program at the Wallkill Correctional Facility provides a home for 40 retired Thoroughbred racehorses and has been changing the lives of returning citizens for nearly forty years.

For more information visit: http://www.trfinc.org/

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Saratoga Merchants Look Forward to Return of Fans

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–Precisely 52 weeks ago, King's Tavern co-owner Jason Fitch valiantly tried to be at least a little bit positive about the prospect of a racing season without spectators across Union Avenue at Saratoga Race Course.

Closed for three months by the COVID-19 lockdown, King's had reopened in mid-June at the partial-capacity limits of the time. While just being able to operate was better than nothing for Fitch and his brothers and partners, Adam and Patrick, he acknowledged it was going to be a difficult summer without the thousands of potential customers visiting the track for the upcoming 40 days.

“Whatever happens, we're definitely going to embrace it,” Fitch said. “It's still going to be Saratoga with the track and the horses still running.”

The Fitch brothers managed to get through the business-crushing stretch with King's and their Saratoga City Tavern and–like dozens of other local merchants–said they were mightily pleased that the track will be filled with fans again when the season gets underway on July 15.

“The mood, compared to last year, is different, 180 degrees,” Fitch said. “Definitely, everyone's excited. Beyond excited.”

When New York's vaccination rate reached 70% on June 15, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that restrictions were being lifted on most businesses in the state. The timing was ideal for the New York Racing Association's biggest meeting and the Capital-Saratoga region that is wedded to the commerce that the racing season at the Spa delivers.

“We're optimistic of what it is going to bring,” Fitch said. “Chatter is that it's going to be the busiest year we've ever had now, not just us, but the whole Saratoga city. So that being said, we're hoping for the best. We're not sure if it's going to be over-the-top busy, which we're hoping because after the last year of COVID and the shutdown and all that stuff, we need it for the bounce-back. It's going to be fun. As of right now, leading up to it, the vibe downtown on Caroline Street is, we're seeing Travers-sized crowds already.”

NYRA president David O'Rourke said that company officials are well aware of the thirst for the Saratoga season.

“It's unprecedented, the enthusiasm,” O'Rourke said. “It's always big, but it's just exponential this year.”

Dave Harmon, who opened his West Side Sports Bar & Grill on Congress Street in 2005, is predicting a blockbuster run in Saratoga. Harmon, with a deep background in photography for racing publications, is well-connected in the sport.

“This summer is going to be off the charts,” he said. “I think it's going to be like the Roaring Twenties,” drawing a comparison to the booming decade following World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic.

“There's so many people and whether it's Pennsylvania, downstate, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, these people haven't seen their friends for over a year, so where are they going to come?” Harmon said. “They're going to come to Saratoga. They missed all last year. They're going through withdrawal from that. What better place to go than Saratoga and that's what's going to happen.”

Sackatoga Stables' operating partner Jack Knowlton has lived and worked in Saratoga Springs for three decades. With a small number of his partners permitted on the grounds last summer, Knowlton accomplished his No. 1 goal at Saratoga, winning the GI Runhappy Travers S., with Tiz the Law (Constitution)'s decisive victory. Knowlton said business is already booming in his adopted hometown.

“The town has been in race mode for the last three, four weeks already,” he said. “All restaurants and hotels are full. It started before the track. People want to get out and do things. I think it's going to be a meet that is going to break every record in the book, for sure.”

The Fitch brothers have operated the five-story Saratoga City Tavern for 16 years. In 2014, they took over King's Tavern, which was only open during the racing season, and have operated it year-round. Last summer, routinely described as one unlike any other in Saratoga history, was especially difficult for people who own small businesses.

“We lost the eight weeks with the track last year,” Fitch said. “Yes, the horses ran, but there were no tourists, the extra influx of people. We were extremely lucky at King's that we have a very loyal, amazing regular customer clientele. They really supported us and without that we would not have made it through that winter. There's no way. We're extremely grateful to have those people who supported us. That was huge for us.”

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