SPA TREATMENT
Saratoga brings out the stars for 148th meeting
It’s called the Graveyard of Champions for a reason. The Saratoga meet always has been for the bravest of the brave and boldest of the bold, a test even the most seasoned trainers and decorated runners fail more often than they pass.
Even a once-in-a-generation talent can run into trouble at the Spa, as American Pharoah did in last year’s Travers Stakes — where he lost for the first time since his career debut and had an eight-race winning streak snapped.
There will be no runners of that caliber when the 148th annual meeti n g opens Friday — of course, how could anyone match the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years? — but Saratoga never is lacking for star power. With 37 graded stakes on the schedule, including 18 Grade 1s, top runners from across the country will flood Saratoga Springs in search of prestige, purses and points toward the Breeders’ Cup.
With so much to do and so little time — the meet runs through Labor Day, Sept. 5 — the highstakes action kicks off right away with a pair of Grade 1 races on opening weekend, including the Coaching Club American Oaks on Sunday.
The undefeated, reigning juvenile filly champion Songbird will highlight the Coaching Club American field, and her presence alone was enough for the New York Racing Association to raise the purse for the 99th running of the event from $300,000 to $500,000.
“The New York Racing Association is committed to featuring the best horses at each of our racetracks,” NYRA president and CEO Chris Kay said in a statement, in which he also lauded Saratoga fans as the “most passionate racing fans in the world.”
All three of this year’s Triple Crown race winners are expected to run at the Spa, including Preakness champ Exaggerator and Belmont victor Creator, who already are on the grounds and pointing to the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 30.
Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, who suffered his first career defeat with a third-place finish in the Preakness, may take a more circuitous route to his rematch with Exaggerator. For now, trainer Doug O’Neill is t argeting t he Haskell Invitational on July 31 at Monmouth Park in New Jersey for Nyquist’s next race.
However, the lure of the Travers, Saratoga’s premier race, is expected to bring Nyquist back around to the Spa. That was the path American Pharoah took last year, winning the Haskell before his shocking upset in the Travers.
Assuming all goes well in the Jim Dandy, Exaggerator and Creator should return for the Travers, setting up a showdown of three Triple Crown champions that should thrill fans and please NYRA racing officials with an eye on the bottom line.
More and more in recent years, major meetings such as those at Churchill Downs and Santa Anita Park have organized their stakes schedules around event days, designed to bring out spectators and bettors in droves. Saratoga joined the fray last year by adding the Personal Ensign and Forego stakes to the Travers card, making for a blockbuster day of racing on which more than $51 million was wagered.
“We just came off a year in which we crushed the old record,” vice president of racing operations Martin Panza said in a release on the NYRA website. “We are the only race meet in the country running six days a week. … The day-to-day racing should be good, and the stars will be out on the weekends.”
Though the 2015 Saratoga meet broke records for both handle ($656 million) and paid attendance (1,065,625), it did so in a year with the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, which raised the sport’s profile in nearly all quarters. The rising tide of American Pharoah’s achievement raised ships all around the country, and records fell wherever the champion went.
The challenge for officials will be matching that enthusiasm in a year without the same kind of automatic draw. In that interest, NYRA announced two major shake-ups this year. In June, officials unveiled a multiyear national broadcasting agreement with FOX Sports, and to coincide with the opening of the Saratoga meet, NYRA Bets will open its advanced-deposit wagering service to customers across the country, where before it had been limited to New York residents.
Both initiatives are part of a concerted effort to broaden the scope of the Spa meet beyond the northeast and encourage fan participation from around the nation.
“We look forward to providing horseplayers across the country with access to the industry’s finest racing,” Kay said in a statement.
So as much as Saratoga always has provided a test for would-be champion horses ahead of the Breeders’ Cup, this year’s meet will be as much a test for NYRA officials and the enduring popularity of the sport itself.