With the New York Racing Association preparing to return Saratoga Race Course In two weeks, the Saratoga Springs area will still be basking in the glow of four highly successful days of horse racing in the upstate New York oasis.
While final business figures have not been reported, Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said the local business community had a hugely successful week as the Belmont Stakes (G1) was held for the first time. first at Saratoga and the four-day horse racing festival from June 6 to 9 created a buzz that was rare, even by Spa’s high standards.
“There was an incredible amount of excitement and activity around town,” Shimkus said. “They said there were 50,000 people at the Belmont track (on June 8), but it was definitely more than 50,000. It was the largest crowd I’ve ever seen at Saratoga, and the excitement everywhere was the highest since the American Pharoah Travers (in 2015). There were businesses saying they had record sales on Friday. It was a huge success for us for four days. There were very few things to adjust for next year, and when you only have to adjust after a first-time event like this, it’s great.”
For NYRA, the past four days have been a blessing. Aside from the limited crowd of 50,000 on Belmont Stakes Day, the total amount of money wagered over the four days was $197.4 million, up $60 million from the last four-day festival in 2022. Thursday and Friday of Belmont Week, in particular, saw a combined $29 million handled, jumping to $56.7 million at Spa.
The numbers downtown were also bright and cheerful, fueled in many cases by inflated prices, which is hardly unusual at a major event.
“I’ve heard from retailers and restaurants that if they stay open late they do really well, but not all of them want to do that,” Shimkus said. “Fridays are important because a lot of people come into town on Thursday and they go out the next night. Some of our restaurants say they’ve broken all-time sales records on Friday. But you have to stay open late. If you close at 9 or 10 p.m., which is typically a popular closing time at that time of year, you don’t get as much traffic. Then on Sundays, downtown is really busy, like Travers Week. People come downtown and shop and eat before they leave town.
Shimkus said he believes the economic impact of the horse racing festival will exceed the $50 million forecast.
“We said this before, it would have an economic impact of up to $50 million across the region. It is based on real math by doing an economic impact study on the roadmap done two years ago, estimating the 40-day meeting took place.” the impact is $370 million,” he said. “So we think four days of racing, which is 10%, is $37 million. However, we know attendance will be very high and hotel prices will also be higher. We feel that the people who come to this meeting will spend a lot more money than usual.”
The start of the 2024 Belmont Stakes before a packed grandstand and horse racing track at Saratoga Race Course
In particular, hotel room prices are sky-high. The popular Adelphi Hotel offers a total price of a little more than $14,000 for a three-night stay. As a result, there are many empty rooms around town, but the economics appear to favor those providing accommodation.
“Hotels aren’t sold out, but 80% occupancy at a really high level is higher revenue than any other time of the year. I don’t know if that strategy will be the same next year but it is first year. I think the level of excitement will help shape the threshold for next year,” Shimkus said, noting that the 2025 Belmont Stakes will also be held at Saratoga while Belmont Park will close until 2026 at the earliest to build a new facility and new track.
An unmistakable sign of how the festival is attracting visitors is the free concert on June 5th in the city centre featuring Blues Traveler. The huge crowd is estimated at 15,000-25,000, including those listening on the side streets.
“Blues Traveler said when they got on stage they were shocked by the number of people in attendance and they played much longer than their contract required because they were having so much fun,” Shimkus said. “The people there were having a blast.”
Another sign of the festive atmosphere is Shimkus’ report that alcohol sales were up 80% compared to the same week last June.
Perhaps the most promising aspect of the late spring week at Spa will be its impact on the 40-day summer competition that begins on July 11.
“We want to have concerts and other events to showcase the community, and we see the Festival as a way to promote the summer meet,” Shimkus said. “The money we spend at the Festival is usually the money we would have spent at the summer meet. Our goal is to get people to come to Saratoga this summer.”
Shimkus said there were many new visitors to the area and racetrack, based on unscientific but reasonable sampling.
“We know there are a lot of newcomers because the most common questions we are concerned about are where to park and where is the shuttle,” he said. “We quickly realized that people didn’t understand that they could park on people’s lawns near the track, because they had never been here before.”
Overall, the business community is certainly looking forward to next year’s second Belmont Stakes at Spa.
“There were positive stories about Saratoga and the race within a day of each other in the New York Times and the New York Post, and I don’t think those two publications have ever run the same story about anything,” Shimkus said. “That shows the festival has been a success in every way.”
