Like another record in 40 days Racecourse Saratoga The meeting ended on September 5, many of the more than one million visitors to the Victorian oasis certainly had an appropriate question to ask.
Will build at Belmont Park encourage the New York Racing Association to extend the 2023 season in Saratoga?
“We are looking at the same schedule for 2023. There has been no conversation on our part about changing the structure of the meeting,” said NYRA CEO and President Dave O’Rourke. “Is it hot? I would say no. Forty days has worked well. Five days a week has worked well. Traditionally over the past few years, we’ve met with the Chamber of Commerce here to pick up some numbers. feedback and we’ll do it again in the fall. There’s always talk of dark days and you hear rumors about other days, but it’s an annual rumor.”
While the rumors may not be accurate, they show the boundless love of fans who spent all or part of the 40 days between mid-July and Labor Day at the Spa, watching the race run out. in its most vibrant context.
David O’Rourke
As Bill Parcells, who is now enjoying life as a horse owner while spending his summers in Saratoga, said during his years as a Hall of Fame NFL coach, “You are what the record is. yours speaks for you”, and Saratoga’s record in 2022 speaks volumes for itself.
The 2022 all-source processing amount spiked to $878,211,963, breaking the record of $815,508,063 set in 2021 when it appeared to deviate from the $702.5 million figure. during the pandemic/no fan following in 2020 and $705.3 million in 2019. As evidenced by the 7.7% increase this year, the 2021 total is quite legit and reflects the level the meeting’s skyrocketing popularity among the betting public.
The final attendance figure of 1,075,586 people marked the seventh consecutive year, total attendance topping one million people (excluding the 2020 meeting).
While pitch size was a concern in the meeting, it remained essentially at 7.7 per race after averaging 7.65 last year.
“Statistically it’s a safe encounter and we’ve tried new things like Post Bar and Paddock Suite and it works great,” says O’Rourke. “There’s a feeling that we’re back to normal and we’ve gotten through the pandemic. We’re seeing that people are now focused on the experience and we have a welcome here for the summer that is unmatched. on the East Coast.”
The stars also appear. Eight of the horses in the most recent National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top 10 poll ran once or twice at the meeting, a group that included Life is good , The epicenter , Nest , Jackie’s Warrior , Malathaat , Olympiad , Jack Christopher and Claire .
Life is good after winning Whitney Stakes
However, even Spa is not immune to the influence of a national trend regarding small sectors to stake, as 23 of the 73 holdings (excluding the bell tower) have five or more startups. down. Two dirty piles were canceled due to lack of entry.
“You hope to get the best horses and we were able to do that, but the quantity part is the part where people are struggling. Quality is very important, but we need to do it. to be able to maximize the races,” said Frank Gabriel Jr., senior vice president of racing operations for NYRA. “It’s hard to get people to compete with the best four or five horses in the division. That’s a concern across North America, and we’ll continue to work on it.”
Weather is often key to a successful Spa stay, and Mother Nature has been quite cooperative in 2022. Although the Labor Day finale took place in rainy conditions, only 16 races made it to the pitch. meeting. Forty-five races were moved to the main track last year.
“When you limit the number of races off the pitch, it gives you good continuity and keeps the flow going for 40 days of meetings,” says Gabriel. “We’re happy with the races we’ve done. We have good subsidized races and fill the best we can with the stakes. We have a good program with contests. race claim. It’s not uncommon to have a field of seven horses with most of the horses required.”
Frank Gabriel Jr.
Perhaps the most important factor in the meetup’s incredible success over the past few years has been the 2016 launch of the TV show Saratoga Live. From the meeting’s part-time coverage on regional networks, the show has become a must-have for racing fans and now offers in-depth coverage of the meeting, Show each race on the national FOX Sports networks (FS1 and FS2).
It’s certainly no coincidence that in 2014, Saratoga’s all-source revenue was just $571.1 million, and as TV coverage exploded, that number jumped to over $300 million, up more than 50%.
“A lot of the credit for our success at Saratoga goes to the television team and our partners at FOX Sports,” said O’Rourke. “Now that we’ve been on the show for several years, it has engaged us in the sports scene on a national level and brought us to a broader level for national sports fans.”
Fans watching races in Saratoga
Tony Allevato, chief revenue officer of NYRA and president of NYRA Bets, said TV ratings on the FOX network increased by about 12%, and the August 27 launch of Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) reached a worthy audience. counting more than a million people. viewers on FOX’s broadcast channel.
Allevato said: “The Travers on FOX had 1.2 million viewers, the highest TV number in three years for horse racing excluding Triple Crown races and a Breeders’ Cup day. “It shows how attractive people are to the sport.”
The NYRA made a huge financial investment in the production of its own TV show, but the skyrocketing bet numbers reflect the wisdom of that decision.
“From a television point of view, we are very pleased with our relationship with FOX. It was a difficult decision to leave TVG and sign an exclusive contract with FOX, but FOX has done a great job. We’re starting to see the impact of the commitment they’ve made to equestrianism,” said Allevato. “Eric Donovan, our TV executive, has done a fantastic job with the talent and production team. They’re committed to a great job and it pays off with a great show. We made a change this year to show more of Saratoga as a town and as a destination and Saratoga racetrack as a team list entry, and it seems to have worked out.”
While Travers Day generated a near-sold-out crowd of 49,672 (with a record of all Travers sources of $55.5 million), overall attendance was driven by numbers. volume increased in the middle of the week.
O’Rourke said: “From the start of the meeting, attendance was overwhelming. “We’ve seen more than an overall balance of attendance midweek, even though Saturday is always the big day. . Even this last week, when you see history drop after Travers, we’ve been busy. The city and downtown are busy too and it’s great to see us as an entertainment product and we’re in tune with how we’re impacting the central business district. So far, every indication I see is that the town has been doing very well this year.”
New additions to this meet up include the renovated Post Bar and the new Paddock Suite, with a refurbished ground floor bar and upstairs area for group events and the Wilson building. Chute for one-mile dirt road races.
Looking ahead, there will indeed be more changes. With the Verandas Spa at the final turn proving to be one of the track’s most popular new areas, the concept will extend to the turn-by-turn club area near the 1863 Club and Wilson Chute.
“Customers seem to enjoy the additions, and we’ve received a lot of positive feedback. Spa Verandas is probably one of our most successful items that we’ve added to our inventory. and we’re going to add a patio near the slide,” said O’Rourke. “Over the next three to five years, we’ll be looking at the franchise areas in the stands and improving them, just like we did with the addition of Carnegie Deli, which is already pretty popular. We’re going to solve it. Decide on the Jim Dandy bar in the club and shine the building.”
However, the changes won’t include more dates, which, according to the proverb, kill the golden goose, may be the best option for the NYRA and Saratoga in an age of extraordinary growth.
Horses leaving the gate in Saratoga
