Opening Weekend Report

What's new, what's hot and what to do at the track this year.

Reading the new issue of Saratoga Living in the Clubhouse boxes at the track on opening day.

The 2023 Saratoga racing season came in with a bang—literally. Shortly after the last race of opening day, a contingent of track-goers made the short pilgrimage across Union Ave to the holy ground that is Kings Tavern during the Saratoga Race Course season. And while the heavens did open, it wasn’t to bless the throngs of tipsy track-goers. Instead, a storm ensued, with thunder crashing, lightning striking and rain flooding the street so that when cars drove by, water literally splashed into the open windows of the street-side bar. When the customers nearest to the window began to close the windows, so a friend who was there told me, the rest of the bar-goers booed until they were forced to reopen them and endure the wrath of Mother Nature.

Luckily, the rest of opening weekend was fairly dry, and while attendees—including many men dressed in Old Smoke Clothing shirts and former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells—were thrilled to be back at good old Saratoga Race Course, there were plenty of new features to check out at the track.