$4 for a cup to pour beer into outrageous

This letter hopes to point out to you that the wonderful Saratoga Race Course has finally exceeded its high ranking for its past marketing mistakes and errors, in its attempt to aggravate and abuse its paying customers who attend the horse races in person. Yesterday, July 31, the Saratoga Race Course did something so ignorant and self serving that it was the first time the tactic was ever attempted at a U.S. sports site in the history of sports in America.

Your fiefdom yesterday practiced a new marketing strategy at the concession stands to gouge the on track Saratoga patrons by deciding to charge them $5 for a Coors 12oz. beer, while refusing to provide a 3-cent cup to pour the beer into. The server told me, “I can give you a cup, but only if you pay an additional charge of $4 (for the 3-cent cup).

I was told by the two servers (station 511), “we no longer provide ‘courtesy’ cups with a purchased beer. The rule is pay an additional $4 and then you can get a plastic cup.”

The servers told me to drink the beer out of the can and there is no extra charge. A 12-oz. beer with a plastic cup costs $5 plus $4 for a $9 total. One guy told his 85-yearold mother to drink the beer out of the can. He wouldn’t pay extra for the cup and the can was too heavy for the old lady to lift, so they didn’t buy the beer.

I then went to customer service (for the second time in a week) to report the incident. The first time no one ever got back to me regarding the three specific examples of abuse by Saratoga management that I cited for them. People told me talking to “hospitality and guest services” in Saratoga is the same as talking to Niagara Falls. In case you never tried it, the track hospitality phone number is 1-844-697-2238.

Mr. Kay, when do you think you might start charging your “guests” $4 for using the race track bathrooms? That is an excellent idea, for your guests in that situation are not in a position to refuse to pay the tab.

Keep coming up with ways to screw all your race track patrons as often as possible and maybe they’ll hire you back, with a big bonus, as head honcho at Toys are Us.

— Alan Hirsch Saratoga Springs