A paean to Saratoga

Classy and racetrack are two words that you don’t normally associate with one another. But there was a time when, if you were going to Saratoga, you would put on your seersucker sport-jacket, don your wide brim hat and dig out your gloves.

What made Saratoga so special, you may ask? Opened in 1863, Saratoga is the oldest thoroughbred racetrack in the United States. The Travers, the jewel in Saratoga’s racing crown, is the oldest stakes race for thoroughbreds in the United States. So it’s got a lot of history on its side.

Brevity is the soul of charm…the meet at Saratoga happens once a year, in the heart of the summer. At its founding, the meet only lasted 4 days. It was gradually extended and lasted 4 weeks for decades. In the 1990’s the meet was extended an extra week and currently runs 6 weeks, ending on Labor Day weekend. But it is still like a summer vacation, packed full anticipation and over before you realize it happened.

The story tells itself. Mention the Kentucky Derby and everyone knows Churchill Downs. Mention the “graveyard of favorites” and you can only mean Saratoga because so many famous racehorses met defeat here. Man O’War suffered his only loss at Saratoga, Secretariat was beaten there after winning the Triple Crown, and Gallant Fox lost to a 100-1 shot named Jim Dandy in the Travers. Of note, Jim Dandy is now the name of a Grade II stakes race at Saratoga.

It’s a playground for the horse degenerate. For horse people, Saratoga is the place where you hope to see Triple Crown potential foreshadowed in the Hopeful and the Spinaway stakes. The finest 3 year olds in the world will usually make at least a pit-stop at this meet. “So what’s next, the Travers?” is the inevitable question asked of every Belmont Stakes winner. The Whitney is one of the stepping stones for the Breeders Cup fall classic racing series; win it and you’re in it. And the over 3 crowd is not to be ignored at Saratoga, with the Woodward, the Sword Dancer and the Vanderbilt stakes races all for 3 year olds and up. You would be hard pressed to find a Horse of the Year who did not race at least one time at Saratoga.

It’s a playground for the jet set. For people watchers, there is nothing like Saratoga. Aside from members of the Saudi royal family, old money and the professionally rich, as you cue up to place your bet, you may be rubbing elbows with various members of organized crime (whom I shall not name), tabloid bon-vivants such as Marla Maples, the TV actresses Susan Lucci, sports notables like Bill Parcels, rock and roll musicians like Rod Stewart. I once met David Cassidy, who owns racehorses and is way shorter than I ever imagined. My personal wish would be to run into any one of the Top Gear presenters (Stig included). Fortunately, no Kardashian has ever been spotted here…let’s hope it remains that way.

Go right to the source and ask the horse. It used to be that before each race, horses were walked on the grounds behind the race track. Grooms would stop traffic to cross Union Avenue and lead their horses around a tree until it was time to head to the paddock to saddle up. Under the trees, you could get so near to the horse, you might feel his hot breath on you. You could see the nervous foam between the hind legs; get an up close and personal look at the hooves. You could look into the eyes of the magnificent beast and discern all the secrets of the universe…or at least if he was is going to win. They don’t do that anymore, but the horses still stop traffic to cross Union Avenue and must walk among the common folk to get to the paddock. At the very least, you risk stepping into horse pie. At worst, a security guard will yell at you to get out of the way. After all, the horse is probably worth more than you will ever make in a lifetime. You should also mind the jockeys who must navigate the hoi-polloi while travelling from the scale to the jockeys lounge. Saratoga pulls back the curtain just enough so you can catch a glimpse of backstage magic, but then lets it fall, before you can lose the sense of mystery.

But there’s more to Saratoga than the race track. Saratoga Springs is located in upstate New York, near the site of the crucial Revolutionary War battle of Saratoga. The town of Saratoga Springs is famous for its mineral spas and springs in addition to its stunning examples of high Victorian architecture. These are best exemplified by the Adelphi Hotel and Congress Park, where you can sample the mineral water gratis. Interested yet?

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is housed in the heart of Spa State Park and is the summer home of the New York City Ballet Company and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is also home to the National Museum of Dance. SPAC’s “Lawn” as it is affectionately known, is one of the finest locations on the planet to hear a musical performance. Saratoga is also home to the Yaddo Gardens, a free public garden located on the grounds of the Yaddo Artists Community. This garden is notable for its rose garden and rock garden that are in continual bloom from about June to September. It’s a cultural hub away from the hustle and bustle of “that city”, some 225 miles south.

The town proper has a main street Broadway Avenue, where most of the shops and restaurants are located. You will find all the hallmarks of hegemony here, Starbucks, Talbots, Dunkin Donuts. There are also a number local establishments that feature live music year round. Wonder what Lisa Loeb is doing has been doing since the ‘90’s? In July, she performed at the Universal Preservation Hall. Jazz and Scotch enthusiasts will love 9 Maple Ave.; hep cats old and young will gather at the oldest coffee house in the United States, Café Lena, where you can still hear the echoes of Pete Seeger, Emmylou Harris, and Ani DiFranco who have all played there. Sure you can patronize the bars with horsey-themed names - some are quite respectable. For a more subdued experience, there’s Gaffney’s. If you’re looking to create some personal folklore, there’s the Tin N’Lint, Desperate Annie’s or the Parting Glass.

Mostly Saratoga is the place that provided some rare opportunities for my father and me to bond. It was at Saratoga where he introduced me to the dubious art of parimutual wagering. Placing that first wager, I had my first lesson in risk taking – sometimes you have to extend yourself without being assured of any payoff. It was with him that I learned how a discreet and generous tip could open closed doors; that not all gossip is idle and small talk can lead to big opportunities; that everyone, from the fellow selling newspapers to the guy with the Steward’s pin on his lapel, is worth getting to know; that people remember small gestures of good will and repay you when you least expect it; that you should be wary of anyone who seem too eager to give you a “hot tip”; and that sometimes losing means you need a new strategy, but walking away is also a strategy. Most important, he taught me an underlying optimism that anyone who plays horses has to cling to – on any given day, any given horse can win any given race. You just have to put yourself in a place where it can happen...like Saratoga.