Saratoga expects quick business pace this season
Despite challenges of staffing, booming summer is forecast
In her 27 years of operating Putnam Market, Cathy Hamilton has never been as busy as when the city prepares for track season.
Some of the rush can be attributed to the sizzling trajectory of the city’s role in a fast-growing county. But there are other factors, too, say business owners, including visitors continuing to shake off the rust of pandemic-induced ennui.
“There’s a tremendous amount of optimism in the city and county,” Discover Saratoga President Darryl Leggieri said. “We’re seeing more traffic than pre-pandemic levels.”
Opening day at Saratoga Race Course is Thursday.
Interviews with a half-dozen downtown businesses revealed a sense of optimism based on early favorable readings of the historic tea leaves.
Downtown retail foot traffic has been strong for the past month, said Marianne M. Barker, co-owner of Impressions, a gift shop.
“We’re seeing (visitors) earlier this year,” Barker said, who also pointed at boosted traffic to Saratoga Race Course’s training track.
Yet at the same time, many businesses continue to struggle with adequate staffing levels.
Barker joked that she’s been contacting every former employee who had worked for the Broadway business in the past three decades and asking if they’d be willing to pick up a shift.
“It’s a struggle for all of us,” she said.
During the first pandemic summer, jockeys ran horses, but fans were barred from attending, putting a dent in the local economy. But business came back with a boom last year, when more than one million horse racing fans returned to Saratoga Race Course and set an all-time betting record, according to the New York Racing Association.
This year’s meet will feature 40 days of racing. The season concludes Sept. 5.
In the meantime, Impressions has trimmed hours, closing an hour earlier than usual.
Local restaurants, too, have
“We’re seeing (visitors) earlier this year.”
— Marianne M. Barker co-owner of Impressions
been tinkering with hours as they attempt to bounce back, Leggieri said. Not all have returned to sevenday operations.
Hamilton said Putnam Market is adjusting, but found it strange that next-to-zero students have applied to work this year.
The deli and sandwich shop is carefully calibrating operations for the surge in business, she said. Everything needs to be in its right place.
“You’ve got to have everything ready to go when customers start walking in,” Hamilton said. “We try to build into our business sprint capacity.”
Adelphi Hotel General Manager Helen Watson acknowledged staffing levels have improved over last year, when she had to resort to cleaning rooms herself.
“It was dire,” Watson said.
Leggieri said guests shouldn’t see any impact on service levels this summer, citing conversations with multiple hotel bosses. But people should still be patient, he said.
Hotels are already exceeding last year’s revenue per available room, a performance metric utilized in the hospitality industry, he said.
Historically high gas prices also haven’t dinged visitations, Leggieri said.
“We’re seeing gas prices are not a deterrent right now.”
The annual meet carries a $240 million economic impact, according to NYRA, with 2,000 jobs directly connected to Saratoga Race Course.
“The summer meet is as popular as any point in its history,” said Patrick McKenna, a NYRA spokesman. “That’s reflected in record-breaking wagering numbers and annual attendance of 1 million-plus since 2016.”
Despite the sunny forecast by businesses, one question mark remains: the impact of mobile betting on track revenues on this year’s meet, the latest in a summer tradition that began in 1863.
Within six weeks after online wagering took effect Jan. 8, gambling buffs cast out nearly $2 billion in wagers, with the state vacuuming up nearly $71 million in revenue.
NYRA said it felt confident that the new dynamic wouldn’t take a bite out of its numbers. With three meets since legalization, the course has seen minimal impact, McKenna said.
“Saratoga Race Course stands alone. That’s why we’ve seen such incredibly strong enthusiasm in the actual racing product,” McKenna said. “People are betting when they see an interesting race with large fields and the possibility of big payouts. The reality is that Saratoga stands apart.”