28 Track Tips, Tricks and Hacks
How to have a better day at the Spa. Plus: A Bobby Flay update, Miracle on Ice at Saratoga and more.
When Theodore Roosevelt said something along the lines of “nothing worth having comes easy,” he probably wasn’t referring to a day at Saratoga Race Course. (Well, maybe he was—the 26th president did come to the Spa City for a convention shortly after the 1910 racing season.) Nonetheless, the sentiment rings true when it comes to going to the track. When done right, a day at the races is well worth it. But doing it right? That takes effort, money or a bit of insider knowledge only Saratoga’s most seasoned track veterans possess. While we can’t help you with the first two, we can share some tips, tricks and hacks for making your track experience easier, cheaper and—well—better.
Let’s Talk Logistics
Save the Day: If you’re buying general admission tickets, they’re only $7 if you purchase them online more than a day in advance and $10 at the door. For Travers Day, they’re $25 in advance and $30 day of.
Cash is King, Kind of: If you’re paying to get in at the gate, bring cash; you have to purchase tickets at will call if you’re paying with card. If you want a program, though, bring a card—you can’t buy one with cash. Logical, right?
Table It: If you don’t have an assigned seat, you’ll probably want a picnic table. If you don’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn to reserve your own, you can hire “Canopy Kid” Griffen Miller, an enterprising Niskayuna sophomore, to set up your afternoon hangout for you.
Cart Before the Horse: If you don’t have a picnic table reserved, you’ll probably want to bring your own chairs. Pack them in a beach cart (you can strap your stuff down with bungee cords) for easy rolling.
The Long Game: Never count out that you’ll want to go to Siro’s, Kings Tavern or The Horseshoe after the track. “The post-track party peer pressure is always strong,” one Saratogian says. See the Food for Thought and Appropriate Attire sections for how to full send efficiently and effectively.
Bored Member: Pass time between races by reading Saratoga Living After Hours. We’d recommend our Celeb Shot features on painter Nick Martinez, Mac Truck owner Dom Tesoriero and Shoeshiner Bobby Wilson.
Food for Thought
Breakfast of Champions: Skip the official track breakfast and bring your own between 7-9:30am (it’ll be cheaper and probably better). You can sit in a box while you eat and watch the horses’ morning workouts.
Cooler Than You: If you’re packing your own food, and there is at least a 1 percent chance you’ll find yourself wanting to go right from the track to the ’Shoe, bring a styrofoam cooler (aka a “one-way cooler”) you can abandon. Yeah, it’s bad for the environment, but it’ll be good for future you.
Stock Up: Make the most of racing season by eating foods you can only eat in Saratoga during racing season. Namely, Shake Shack milkshakes and Carnegie Deli sammies. But also the weirdly good chips and dip served in the box area.
Outside the Box: Get cheaper eats than you’ll find inside the track gates at the Trackside Grill off Nelson and on the backside—we hear the burgers are amazing.
Drink Up
Water Works: For the love of God, bring your own water into the track. If you don’t, you’ll have to pay $5. Forgot your reusable bottle? Buy a plastic one for a buck from the kids hawking them outside the gates.
Smuggle Bugs: Bringing your own booze into the track is legal (at least in the picnic area) but a flask still feels like it should be hidden. Don’t have a flask? Pack your punch of choice into whatever plastic vessel you have lying around. We’ve even seen rosé sipped out of a bear-shaped honey container. (And did you know that S’well makes a 750 ml bottle that holds exactly one bottle of rosé or white wine? And it’s guaranteed to keep your vino chilled all day long.)
Local Motive: Want free drinks? Head to the Taste NY Pavilion any day but Wednesday for free samples of a variety of homegrown craft beverages.
Road Soda: Have a beer in your hand after the last race? Don’t leave it behind—no one will stop you if you walk out with it.
Dango’s Tango: This is a pretty advanced move for those who go to the track knowing full well they’ll be out past midnight. If you have any plans to go to Dango’s, Uber there before 9pm when the cover is only $10. Get your hand stamped, go to Bailey’s for a couple of hours, and then come back and skip the line when the cover is $20 and you are actually drunk enough to actually enjoy Dango’s.
Appropriate Attire
Hair Pinned: We get it—you want to wear your hair down. Save yourself the time and effort by putting it in an updo from the get-go: We all know it’ll end up that way anyway.
Golf is Good: If you’re going to the second floor of the Clubhouse and want to wear a blazer, we can’t help you. Otherwise, guys, we’d suggest light shorts and a polo. “My dad used to wear thick cargo shorts and would still sweat” one Saratogian says. “So I bought him the 2021 Nike golf line.”
Who’s Shoes: Wear. Flat. Shoes. If you must wear heels? Bring. Flat. Shoes.
Getting There
Valet Dance: Like at a concert, it’s hard to get close to the track without paying big bucks. (Mind you, big bucks are, like, $25.) Luckily, you’ve got some options, such as valet parking, which is only about $10 more expensive than trackside parking.
Check Your Blind Spot: If you don’t mind a walk, park for free on Cottage Street. One Saratogian who lives there says that it’s a blind spot when it comes to people looking for track parking.
The Late Bird Gets the Worm: If you show up later in the day (4pm-ish or later), chances are you’ll find close street parking, or will get a discounted rate at one of the many parking areas. You also might not have to pay to get in the track itself.
Ride or Die: Even easier? Uber. Or take the free CDTA trolley from downtown.
Bet on It
Move Your Feet, Lose Your Seat: Make sure you don’t lose your seat—download the NYRA Bets app so you don’t ever have to get up.
Special Occasion: Pick up a copy of The Saratoga Special, a free publication with all the entries and picks to help with your betting, available around the track grounds.
Minutes to Win it: Do you know how to always know how long you have to place your next bet? Look for the letters MTP (Minutes to Post) on the screens around the track.
Budget, baby: While there’s no surefire way to win at the track, one expert bettor has a bit of advice. “Don't bet the same dollar amount on all 10 races,” he says. “You are better off betting $2 on nine races for some action and excitement. In the race where you have the most confidence, let it ride with the remainder of your budget.”
Bettor Than Nothing: If you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to betting, consider a show pool with friends. “Everyone’s rooting for the same race,” one Saratogian says. “It’s fun for people who don’t really bet to get them in the group.”
Forget Me Not: You’d think this last one, which comes to us from yet another Saratoga racing fan, goes without saying, but alas, it does not: “Make sure you hit ‘collect f***ing voucher’ on the machine.”
—Natalie
Quote of the Week
“My car is sleeping here.”
—Overheard in the Horseshoe parking lot
Cold Case
The mega-popular true crime podcast “My Favorite Murder” has covered a Capital Region “hometown” murder—their way of saying when the crime they’re covering is (yup) from your own hometown. The Suzanne Lyall case has stumped investigators since the college student disappeared from the Crossgates Mall in 1998. The podcast’s shtick is bringing some lightness and “humor” to a dark topic to make it more palatable and get the information out there—the hosts had never heard of Saratoga Springs, and there’s a weird satisfaction hearing the big shots from L.A. mispronounce “Albany” and “Ballston Spa,” stumble over “Oneonta,” and become very stilted saying Stewart’s “convenience shop.” You’ll also swell with pride when they give much deserved credit to the local podcast “Upstate Unsolved” and “True Crime Bulls**t,” which is hosted by Josh Hallmark, talented amateur investigator of serial killer Israel Keyes whom Saratoga Living brought to town during a true crime event in 2021. Most of all, we thank “My Favorite Murder” hosts Karen and Georgia for continuing to get the word out in the hopes that this cold case will be solved. Ladies, stay sexy (listen to the end to get that one), and Suzanne, we WILL find you…
It’s a Miracle
Today isn’t just Alabama Day at Saratoga Race Course. It’s also the 40th running of the Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes. In honor of that occasion, Mark Johnson and John Harrington, two members of the 1980 Miracle on Ice hockey team—which pulled off said miracle in Lake Placid—will be at the track for a meet-and-greet with fans from 2:15-3pm at the Jockey Silks Porch. The pair will be helping raise funds for Monument to a Miracle, an initiative whose mission it is to build a statue in Lake Placid commemorating the 1980 hockey team. You can support the cause by purchasing a Northway Brewing Miracle on Ice Golden Ale in the Taste NY Pavilion, or by bidding on Miracle memorabilia in this online auction.
Flay Away
Earlier this year, we were in talks with celebrity chef Bobby Flay, who purchased a home in Saratoga in 2021, to put him on the cover of Saratoga Living. Seemingly out of the blue, he backed out (sad), without giving much of a reason. Well, we might’ve finally gotten a reason: His Fifth Avenue home is now on the market for a whopping $3.2 million—$1.5 million more than what he bought it for two years ago.
From the Mag
Who Knew Blue Canoe: The Story Behind Saratoga Race Course’s Infield Oddity
Styling Summer at Encounter Boutique
ICYMI
On Wednesday, we looked back at this summer’s top soirées with party pics from some of the area’s premier photographers.