Every year when Saratoga Race Track As the doors open for another festive racing season, there will be comments about how quickly time has passed.
Comments will be along the lines of familiarity like “It seems like we were here just yesterday.”
Even though it’s been 10 months since the last Labor Day card of last year.
This year, however, those words will have a different meaning.
That sentence would be something like “We were just here, weren’t we?”
Instead of the usual 10-month absence to make hearts yearn for Spa, the summer tournament will begin on July 11, four and a half weeks since crowds last flocked to the beloved racetrack in upstate New York.
Just last month, the four-day Belmont Stakes Festival from June 6-9 brought the allure of the Triple Crown to Spa and sparked interest in the 40-day summer tournament.
It also caused the New York Racing Association to convert from Aqueduct Racetrack Getting to Spa is easier than ever as most of the equipment to host the meet remains in the north and all facilities are brought out of winter hibernation to support the crowds attending the four-day race in June, which includes the Belmont Stakes (G1).
“We didn’t have to put the entire front-end operation in storage like you would at the end of a summer meet. So it was all about refreshing and making some small tweaks to make it feel like Saratoga,” said Andrew Offerman, NYRA’s senior vice president of racing and operations. “People saw some different things during Belmont week, but now we’re going to get back to the traditional Saratoga look and feel.”
A worker puts the finishing touches on the apron dining area at Saratoga Race Course, a day before the opening of the 2024 summer meet.
While Offerman has worked for NYRA at previous Saratoga races, this will be his first time at the helm of the racing department when he replaces Frank Gabriel in February.
The 38-year-old Minnesota native said it was helpful to take a crash course to instruct the unit while on assignment in Saratoga during a brief stay in June.
“Going through it in that capacity helped. Even though it was only four days, it made me more comfortable with some of the specific procedures and processes of Saratoga. It started my thought process about Saratoga in March instead of months later,” Offerman said. “For me, it’s an honor and a privilege to be in this position. It’s one of the most special places in racing, where you feel and appreciate the history of the sport. To be a small part of that is a lot to process.”
While the June festivities gave trainers an excuse to travel to Saratoga earlier than usual to prepare for the summer meet, Offerman said it had a negative impact on racing when it resumed at Aqueduct. The July 6 card, headlined by the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T), had just 67 starters compared to about 100 in the past. Four graded stakes drew 23 starters.
“That helps the Belmont Stakes festival when you look at the attendance that week. But the challenges we saw last week in the entry round and the quality of racing over the last seven to 10 days were probably influenced by people who traveled north to target the Saratoga race,” Offerman said.
On the betting front, as of 5:30 p.m. July 10, NYRA and TVG/FanDuel have contract agreement not yet reachedThis will prevent the bookmaker from accepting bets on Saratoga. Betting will be available through all other NYRA outlets, including NYRA Bets, and the Saratoga race can be viewed nationwide via “Saratoga Live” on FOX Sports channels.
The 40-day tournament will feature 71 races, including 19 Grade 1 races including two Grade 1 hurdles, worth $20.75 million and highlighted by the 155th Travers Stakes (G1) on August 24, which could play a key role in deciding the 3-year-old stallion title.
Trainer Danny Gargan with 2-year-old mare Complexion, a favorite for the opening day Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
A year ago, Chad Brown and Linda Rice shared the coaching title in dramatic fashion as Rice won the final race of the competition to tie the game 35-35.
For Brown, it was his third straight Spa title and he voiced concerns about the grass racing at the event, saying NYRA should be careful about the number and type of races it hosts at its two grass tracks.
“We’ll see what happens. A lot of it will depend on the weather and the races that are held. It seems like there’s been a lot of cheaper racing on grass over the last few years. I hope NYRA moves away from that and focuses on quality at Saratoga and they focus on preserving the tracks for better, higher-class racing,” said the six-time Spa training champion. “I think having too many lower-level races is going to devalue the competition a little bit. It’s a slow trend that I don’t think is in the best interests of their top competition. There should be a minimum standard of quality at this competition.”
Offerman said the 2024 meet will be similar to last year in terms of races and other key areas.
“This year’s meet will be pretty similar to what people saw last year. Frank Gabriel did a lot of work on the Saratoga stakes schedule in the summer before he left. There were some small changes to the overnight prize money that we made to round out the numbers. I think it will be a similar experience to last year,” Offerman said.
One change involves the draw dates for races. For this competition, NYRA will use a six-day draw format for most days.
The schedule calls for draws on Thursday for Wednesday, Friday for Thursday, Saturday for Friday, Sunday for Saturday and Wednesday for Sunday.
“I’ve been talking to our vet team in general about our admissions schedule in terms of some of the changes to the pre-admission exams and some of the screenings that they’re doing. They’re really supportive of the extra time. That’s the main driver,” Offerman said. “But I’ve also looked at all the Mid-Atlantic tracks this time of year and looked at areas like Delaware and Maryland and they’ve shortened it by six or seven days. I’ve talked to (Secretary of State for Racing Keith Doleshel) and I know there’s been some hesitation in the past. But I asked, ‘Are you seeing an impact from people who are admitting somewhere else that’s six or seven days away and waiting for us, who don’t know what to do because they have to make a decision in another jurisdiction?’ He said yes. So I said if that was the case then it could serve to improve horse welfare and make it a schedule that fits in with the rest of the region. So it made sense to try it for Saratoga and see how it worked.”
Offerman said that process will be reviewed before a decision is made to expand the format to Aqueduct.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Offerman said. “Some people have raised concerns about the impact on scratching and trying to mark grass races. I want to see it succeed. I think it makes sense. But I don’t want to be stuck if there are unintended consequences.”
As he looked forward to Thursday, Offerman said he could feel the excitement building, even if the wait was only 4 1/2 weeks instead of 10 months.
“The thing I’m most excited about is the energy it brings. Obviously the racing is exciting in its own right, but the energy it brings to the sport is what I’m most looking forward to; being able to hang in there for 40 days. It brings excitement to the industry and a change in attitude that’s appreciated. It’s been a long time down south at Aqueduct and there’s a lot going on with the Belmont build-up. So I think the opportunity to go north and come back to Saratoga where things are very familiar will be good for everyone.”
