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Saratoga All-Sources Wagering Falls 9% From 2022, Fatalities, Wet Weather Dampen Meet

The New York Racing Association Inc. on Monday announced that the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course generated more than 1.1 million in paid attendance for the first time since 2018, up 2.8% from last year, and nearly $800 million in all-sources handle, a 9% decrease.

Despite one of the wettest summers in history, which forced an unprecedented 65 races off the turf, all-sources handle totaled $799,229,288 with paid attendance continuing its steady climb to 1,105,683. The handle was the third largest in Saratoga's history while this summer also marked the eighth consecutive season with attendance exceeding one million fans.*

“Thanks to the fans who visited Saratoga Race Course over these 40 days, and all those who watched and wagered from home, the popularity of the summer meet continues to exceed all expectations,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “The world-class racing held here each summer is made possible by the owners, trainers, jockeys and backstretch community who collectively dedicate so much to the horses and the sport.

“At the same time, the continued success of Saratoga depends upon our ability to continuously enhance equine safety through science and technology,” added O'Rourke. “In the coming months, NYRA will make significant investments in PET scan imaging to identify pre-existing injuries; finalize the path forward regarding the adoption of synthetic surfaces at each venue; and expand the use of biometric wearable devices. Horses, fans, and the racing community deserve nothing less.”

Plans for the safety enhancements come in the wake of seven catastrophic breakdowns during the meet, including fatal injuries sustained by Maple Leaf Mel in the Test (G1) and New York Thunder in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) as both runners appeared en route to victory.

Throughout the 2023 summer meet, Saratoga and the surrounding communities appeared on the national stage more prominently than ever before thanks to an unprecedented broadcast partnership with FOX Sports. FOX and NYRA debuted a new programming series called FOX SARATOGA SATURDAY which featured live national coverage for six consecutive Saturdays from Saratoga Race Course on FOX, beginning on July 22 and culminating with the Travers on August 26.

Prior to the start of the season, the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency released the findings of an independently commissioned study which attributed $371 million in economic activity and more than 2,900 jobs to the annual Saratoga summer meet. The report found that the overall economic impact generated by Saratoga Race Course has increased by 57 percent since the previous study conducted in 2014.

Saratoga by the numbers (2023 vs. 2022)

Inclement weather forced 65 races off the turf, compared with 16 in 2022, which largely accounted for the nine percent decline in all-sources handle when compared to the record-setting wagering in 2022.

Average daily paid attendance surged past 27,000 for the first time since 2019 to finish at 27,642.

Total paid attendance: 1,105,683 vs. 1,075,586 (+2.8%)

Average daily paid attendance: 27,642

Races off the turf: 65 vs. 16 (+306%)

Races cancelled due to weather (8/4/2023): 4

All-sources handle: $799,229,288 vs. $878,211,963 (-9.0%)

Average daily handle: $19,980,732

Total on-track handle: $142,918,763 vs. $152,274,728 (-6.1%)

Total races: 410 (270 dirt and 140 turf) vs. 417 (218 dirt and 199 turf)

Average field size: 7.64 vs. 7.76 (-1.6%)

Number of timed workouts since Saratoga opened for training in April: 10,738

Live racing resumes on Thursday, September 14 at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet which runs through Sunday, October 29. The 28-day meet offers a total of 44 stakes worth $9.275 million in total purses. The Belmont at the Big A fall meet will include four Grade 1 events and six Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifiers.

*Excludes 2020 when fans were not permitted on track due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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One Stroke Over The Line: Fresu To Sit At Least 16 Days For Repeated HISA Whip Violations

Jockey Antonio Fresu, who has been making a run at Juan Hernandez for the leading rider title at Del Mar, will miss the final three days of the seaside track's summer meet and another 13 race days at Los Alamitos and Santa Anita for repeated violations of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's riding crop rules.

Fresu, a 31-year-old native of Italy who came to Southern California from Dubai in April, was found to violate the six-strike limit on Sanger in the seventh race Aug. 27 and aboard Trouville in the fourth race Aug. 31. In each case, stewards said Fresu went one stroke over the limit.

Fresu was suspended one racing day for each violation, but because he has now been cited five times over a six-month period, the violations triggered two additional seven-day suspensions. Class 3 riding crop violations (1 to 3 strikes over the limit) result in a $250 fine (or 10 percent of jockey's portion of purse, which ever is greater), a minimum one-day suspension, and three points. For multiple violations, accumulation of 11-15 points over a six-month period results in a seven-day suspension; 16-20 points 15 days; 21 or more points, 30 days.

Fresu's 16 days of suspensions run Sept. 8-9-10-15-16-17-22-23-24-29-30 and Oct. 1-6-7-8-9.

Tom Knust, Fresu's agent, said the rider would meet with the stewards on Sunday over another potential violation of the six-strike limit rule from a race on Saturday that could extend his suspension another 16 days. Knust said each violation Fresu received has been for being one strike over the limit.

“He just taps a horse at the top of the stretch, then uses the crop six times down the lane,” Knust said during a Sunday morning interview with Mike Willman on the Thoroughbred Los Angeles radio show. “That puts him at seven. He can't do that tap first.”

Fresu came to Southern California from Dubai at the recommendation of Doug O'Neill assistant trainer Leandro Mora, who has managed a string for O'Neill at Meydan racecourse in recent years. Fresu reached the top 10 during his first full meet at Santa Anita but has excelled at Del Mar, wining 27 races from 150 mounts, with 20 seconds and 19 thirds. That puts him second behind Hernandez, who leads with 33 wins from 137 mounts.

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NYRA ‘Taking A Hard, Internal Look’ At Adding Synthetic Surfaces To Saratoga, Aqueduct

While the New York Racing Association is already planning to install a synthetic surface at Belmont Park, president and CEO Dave O'Rourke told bloodhorse.com that adding synthetic surfaces at both Saratoga and Aqueduct is also on the table.

The spate of catastrophic injuries during racing at this summer's Saratoga meet is prompting the current discussion about synthetics, but it is not the first time the surface has been considered.

“We are taking a hard, internal look at synthetics and what options we have and are studying a synthetic track at Saratoga,” O'Rourke told bloodhorse.com. “This is not a new thing specifically for this management team. (NYRA executive vice president of operations and capital improvements Glen Kozak) and I have been looking at synthetics for 10 years and we are both proponents of it.”

Among the options for Saratoga is replacing the inner turf course with a synthetic surface and widening the outer turf to allow for additional rail placements.

New York Thunder Tragedy Has HISA Planning To Ban Corticosteroid Fetlock Injections Within 30 Days Of Race

Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, told the New York Times this week that the authority is planning to adopt California's rule which bans intra-articular corticosteroid injections in the fetlock joint within 30 days of a race.

The news comes on the heels of a spate of dramatic fatal injuries at New York's Saratoga racetrack, two of which occurred in Grade 1 races before a national television audience. The most recent was New York Thunder in the G1 H. Allen Jerkens.

Entering with four wins from as many career starts, including the Amsterdam (G2) July 29 at the Spa in his most recent start, New York Thunder was the 7-5 favorite. The colt appeared en route to a clear victory but fell near the sixteenths pole, suffering a catastrophic injury to his left front fetlock that led to his euthanasia on the track.

New York Thunder is the third horse under the care of trainer Jorge Delgado to die since July 27, reports the Times.

The son of Nyquist spent two weeks on the vet's list in Kentucky earlier this spring, ran once on synthetic at Woodbine on April 30, winning easily, and was then scratched from the Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard due to an unspecified injury.

On July 14, an intra-articular injection put New York Thunder on the vet's list for two more weeks. Fifteen days later, the colt won the Amsterdam by 7 1/2 lengths.

The 14-day regulation between a joint injection and a race is controlled by HISA, which took over anti-doping and medication rules in the sport on May 22. Prior to that date, the state of California's 30-day rule for steroidal fetlock injections was in place.

Prior to California's rule being implemented, the state saw 83 catastrophic injuries to fetlock joints in 20 months. After the rule, there were 24 over the following 19 months.

“Fourteen days is a step backward,” California Horse Racing Board chairman Dr. Greg Ferraro told The Times. “If you put any athlete in significant training, the health of joint disintegrates, you can't slow it down, but you can speed it up by putting corticosteroid in the fetlock. You inject to run. That culture needs to be eliminated.”