Still a major draw
New York Racing Association has a good handle on season
Race course does well even without fans in the stands.
Saratoga Springs Why move horses, trainers and staff 170 miles north if fans can’t see the races in person?
Some wondered that when word came that the pandemic would close Saratoga Race Course to the public. Why not just run the races at Belmont Park, where the New York Racing Association ran its spring/summer meet? Skeptics soon had their answer. Even closed to the public, the historic track, now in its 152nd season, could outdraw Belmont in attracting the bettors who produce the daily handle that is critical to NYRA’S success.
During the first four days of racing, Saratoga drew $80 million in handle, nearly double the $41 million Belmont had handled in its last four days.
The $80,325,660 that was bet from all sources — from tribal betting parlors to Vegas casinos, and online wagering sites including NYRA Bets — was also up 9.4 percent from the previous year’s first four days of the meet, when fans were at the track.
“The handle numbers are pretty consistent,” Dave O’rourke, NYRA’S president and CEO, said Thursday. “Historically we see increases from Belmont to Saratoga.”
Observers attribute Saratoga’s drawing power in part to its long
history. And while the city over decades has seen the arrival of cultural attractions including the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, it was horse racing that paid the bills and kept the lights on in the lean years of the mid-20th century.
The New York Racing Association was formed in the late 1950s to operate Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct. Following a Chapter 11 reorganization, it incorporated in 2008 as a not-for-profit. Since then, its goal has been to grow the thoroughbred racing industry in the state.
The handles, or value of bets placed, fund NYRA’S operations, maintenance, improvements and marketing of the thoroughbred industry.
Handles fund the purses, the rewards horse owners receive for winning races. Bigger handles allow richer purses, which in turn draw more of the top thoroughbreds as well as the bettors and spectators who show up to cheer them on.
Except this summer there’s been no cheering at Saratoga from the historic grandstands. Only silence.
Even the trophy presentations in the winner’s circle seem surreal. Only two or maybe three people are in the circle, masked and 6 feet apart. For post-race interviews, a long boom with a microphone at the end catches and amplifies what jockeys for trainers have to say. And then it’s on to the next race.
So NYRA is doing everything it can to stay in front and center of the residents and vacationers who populate Saratoga in summer.
Picnic tables normally in the backyard at the race course are in the city’s front yard at Congress Park, their NYRA logo clearly visible.
Nationwide, TV programming highlights various businesses and attractions during the broadcasts.
Fox Sports is covering every race from Saratoga, airing on FS2 nationally and MSG Networks regionally. Additional coverage is carried on FS1 and the Travers is being carried on the Fox network.
NYRA is also working with the local Saratoga County animal shelter to find homes for dogs, with virtual adoption clinics with the racing association picking up the adoption fees the animal shelter normally charges.
One of the bigger successes of this meet was the unveiling of NYRA Bets Gift Cards available at 150 Stewart’s Shops throughout the Capital Region. The
$50 cards can be used to top off bettors’ NYRA Bets accounts, or purchased by someone to use as a gift to someone who enjoys horse racing.
So far, NYRA and Stewart’s have sold more than 1,200 of the cards.
“We were hopeful that these would be popular, but the cards exceeded our expectations,” said Tony Allevato, chief revenue officer and president of NYRA Bets.
With most of the Saratoga meet still to go, Allevato expects the market for the cards to continue. Whitney Day, Travers
Day and the Kentucky Derby are still to come.
They cards will retain their value even when the Saratoga meet ends.
Saratoga-branded face masks are also a popular item, with 2,600 packs of three sold so far. Proceeds benefit nonprofits.
NYRA has been moving online in recent years, with NYRA Bets and all its features an important building block. TV coverage, and coverage by NYRA’S Youtube channel, have given fans an easy way to view the races. NYRA doesn’t divulge how many fans have registered with NYRA Bets.
“We can say we have year-to-year triple digit (percentage) growth,” Allevato said.
“On-track has the highest margin” for NYRA, O’rourke said. “This year we have no on-track handle. That’s why we’re so focused on pushing the brand.”
NYRA says it and other tracks in the state are responsible for 19,000 jobs and $3 billion in annual economic impact, supporting hundreds of small businesses, from local shops and restaurants to area hotels around its tracks.
That’s why the seasonal move to Saratoga Springs, with the additional handles it provided, was so critical, particularly this summer when the pandemic has affected travel and prevented crowds from visiting the race course in person.
“The first week was great here,” O’rourke said. “But we’re facing more competition,” including Major League Baseball that will draw the attention of bettors. “It’s a 40-day meet,” O’rourke added.
“It’s important for us to do well.”