A Spa season like no other
For first time in 152 seasons at Saratoga, no fans will be allowed due to coronavirus
As we barrel toward the opening of the Saratoga meet — and we are only 53 days away from July 16 — one thing we know is this:
The 152nd summer of thoroughbred horse racing is going to be like none other in the storied history of the most popular meet in the country. And it is not going to be remembered for which horse won the Travers or which trainer, jockey and owner won the most races.
The 40-day meet is scheduled to run in its entirety at Saratoga with one giant difference from years past. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, mass gatherings have been banned by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. When
Saratoga opens, there will be no spectators allowed.
The New York Racing Association will begin racing at Belmont
Park on June 3. Following that abbreviated 25-day meet, attention will shift to Saratoga.
In 39 days last summer, Saratoga averaged just more than 27,000 fans per day.
NYRA has to prepare for putting on the show with no spectators on the grounds. Whether or not owners will be allowed in to watch their horses is yet to be determined. NYRA officials still hold out hope that as time goes on, perhaps spectators would be given access but that is still a ways away.
“During the races, it is still going to feel like Saratoga,” NYRA president and CEO Dave O’rourke said. “It’s going to be different with no fans. It will obviously be quieter and there will be sadness mixed with joy. We have joy because we will be able to run the races but it will be something we will never want to repeat.”
Racing without spectators isn’t the only question surrounding this meet. NYRA is still two, maybe three weeks away from announcing the stakes schedule for the meet. Last year, there were 76 stakes races (18 Grade I) worth $20.8 million. When the stakes schedule does come out,expectittolookalot different than normal.
O’rourke said the Travers Stakes for 3-year-olds, normally the centerpiece of the meet and run on the final
Saturday of the meet will likely be moved to earlier in the meet. That’s because the Kentucky Derby, the biggest race of the season for 3-year-olds, was postponed until September 5 because of the pandemic. That would be a week after the normal running of the Travers.
And then there is the question of why run the meet upstate at all if there will be no spectators. The annual move from Belmont to Saratoga brings more than 1,000 horses and at least 800 backstretch workers.
O’rourke said NYRA has been in contact with Saratoga County health officials and anyone coming north for the meet would be tested before leaving. And once in Saratoga, those coming to the track from off-site would be tested daily.
“Obviously, it would be easier if we stayed at Belmont,” trainer Mark Casse said. “If you ask me what I would prefer to do, I would probably say stay at Belmont, but we are just happy to be racing again. I would go to Saratoga.”
Mike Repole has won the Travers and Alabama at Saratoga and has been the leading owner at the
Spa three times. He said he had his doubts two and a half months ago on whether a spectator-less Saratoga could work. Now, after seeing how racing had done all right without fans at places like Gulfstream and Churchill Downs, he has changed his mind.
“I feel bad for the Saratoga community and the surrounding area that relies on the meet,” said Repole, who won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic with Vino Rosso. “There is nothing I like more than being up there with friends and family and going to Nove for dinner and having big celebrations at Prime. I feel bad for the restaurants and the shops, but, at the end of the day, going up to Saratoga and letting (horsemen) have a livelihood, is better than not racing at all.”
Last year, the all-source handle on Saratoga was a record $705,343,949. On track, the handle was
$146,618,750.
NYRA officials say the handle on Saratoga races will be bigger if the races are held at the upstate track as opposed to running the Saratoga meet at Belmont and Aqueduct downstate. With Resorts World casino at Aqueduct also closed because of the pandemic, NYRA loses between 35 and 40 percent of purse money. The handle will have to support the purses.
“(NYRA) has worked very hard to get that Saratoga brand,” said John Hendrickson, widower of Marylou Whitney and president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
“It takes a lifetime to build and a second to lose. Saratoga is the best racetrack in America, if not the world. We need to protect it.”
Betting on racing at Saratoga will likely bring in more betting money than it would if the same races were being held downstate. The Saratoga brand is that powerful.
“Saratoga has a name product,” longtime trainer James Bond said. “You go anywhere in the world, people know Saratoga. You will get significant wagering at Saratoga and it will be enough to soften the blow and the purse structure heading into the fall. It’s the only chance for New York racing to have a chance for survival.”