Ride Along: The 3rd Racecall Experience
SLAH tags along with the Backstretch Employee Service Team for a whirlwind day at the races—including an open-to-the-public rooftop experience.
Yes, it’s challenging to straddle a horse hurdling at 40 miles per hour around a dirt-covered track. But even the most talented jockeys would admire the feats accomplished on a daily basis by Backstretch Employee Service Team (BEST) Saratoga Program Director Nancy Underwood and Program Assistant Sheriza Serravento, which include lugging a giant suitcase full of Chandon around a series of narrow, metal grating catwalks on the roof of the Saratoga Race Course Grandstand—in stilettos.
Of course, sparkling wine–related rooftop exploits (keep reading—that part is open to the public) are just one small piece of the crucial work Nancy and Sheriza do. BEST provides healthcare and wellness services to those who care for the horses, many of whom are migrant workers. In addition to operating a healthcare clinic that assists backstretch workers with everything from shoulder injuries and diabetes to substance abuse issues and life insurance applications, BEST also hosts events for the workers and their families, such as a bingo night Nancy and Sheriza were planning the day we met them.
“They say Saratoga is like a vacation for them,” Nancy says. “They’re working seven days a week, but it’s such a party and they’re so welcome here. And we have the most comprehensive services across the country.”
But before they could get across Union Ave to the bingo pavilion, the women had their daily racetrack duties—a whirlwind two hours they were nice enough to let us tag along for.
After misinterpreting Sheriza’s instructions to meet them at BEST’s HQ and begging an unsuspecting NYRA employee to help us, Nancy and Sheriza picked us up on a golf cart at the track’s service entrance. We zipped all the way around the back of the track, pausing for horses to pass and waving to various workers. (Nancy and Sheriza say they’re nice to everyone.) Quite a few male track workers have crushes on the impeccably dressed executives: “I must have died and gone to heaven!” exclaimed one as we whizzed by. If you reserve tickets to the (awesome!) experience for a day on which you’re already at the track—100% of the proceeds goes straight to BEST—you’ll be given an easy meeting place, promise.
We parked outside the 1863 Club, and rode the clubhouse elevator all the way up to the Turf Terrace, where we found a rare air-conditioned cubicle to cool off in. (If you were in Saratoga two Wednesdays ago, you know how hot it was.) There, we met up with that day’s ticket-holders, who had met at the aforementioned easy meeting place: horse owner Avram Freedberg, his wife and their two friends, who had signed up for the official “Third Racecall” experience, which brings racing fans “on the roof and in the booth” with track announcer John Imbriale for the third race of the day. (It’s $100 per person, and again, all proceeds go directly to BEST, hence why it’s hosted by Nancy and Sheriza.)
Shortly before the third race, the eight of us stepped out onto the catwalk and climbed a staircase leading to the roof ridge of the Grandstand. We crested the roof (the best view of the track will make your heart stop), and descended to a small platform with a mini bar serving up delightfully refreshing Chandon Garden Spritzes.
It was there we met John, who replaced Larry Collmus as announcer in 2020. He affably answered all of our questions, including the most basic: “How do you do it?” (Old-fashioned colored markers to mark the colors of the jockeys’ silks and memorization, mostly.) “If a horse has blinkers, I’ll make a note of that—white blinkers, red blinkers, whatever the case may be,” he told us. “Anything to distinguish one from the other in case there are similar silks. But a lot of it is familiarity, because you see the horses on a regular basis. The harder ones for me are the 2-year-old maiden races where you’ve never seen the horses.” It was mid-heatwave, but John didn’t mind one bit: “I won’t complain about the heat because I hate the snow.”
At the sound of the bugle, we followed John to the announcer’s booth. “Post time in a minute!” John announced into his headset. One jockey tumbled and waited patiently to climb back aboard. “It must be a comfortable feeling after a horse dumps you to get right back on,” John deadpanned. When the horses were at last ready, we were politely told to keep quiet: “All right, we’re going to go now, so please stand by.” (Sheriza was more blunt: ”Make sure your phones are on vibrate or silent.”)
Not only was there a rare white horse running, which caused a lot of commotion, but the race turned out to be an excitedly close one, with the favorite, Izamalibumoon, and the New York-bred Aunt Virginia neck and neck at the finish line. “Photo finish!” John exclaimed. “It was too close to call; a photo in race 3.” Maybe this is common knowledge, but we were learning for the first time that a photograph is indeed printed out for examination.
“What a thrill,” someone said.
While we waited, John did some humble-bragging about Saratoga. “Down in Belmont we don’t get this many people at the races in a week,” he said. “Here, it’s 90 degrees on a Wednesday, and right before the second race there was a bunch of people on the apron; the backyard is pretty good. It’s an everyday occurrence. It’s fascinating—it really is.”
Nancy told the group what it was like to care for the backstretch workers, down to the dental and vision care that are available to all. “We are so grateful to be able to do this,” she said. One ticket-holder asked about the ratio of men to women. “Men and women do not cohabitate on the backstretch,” she said. “Down in Belmont, you have more families because they live off-property. Here, because they’re more migrant, they’re constantly coming in and leaving, coming in and leaving…We’ll serve between 1,500 and 2,000 people. But even if they’re married, they don’t live together on the backside. The exercise riders from the larger outfits might rent places together off property, but they are all eligible to services from us. We serve everyone.”
That concluded the 3rd Racecall Experience, but Nancy and Sheriza extended an invite to stick around for Race 5, when BEST names the “Best Turned Out” groom. After grabbing the Chandon display (the bar actually folds into a suitcase) and carrying it off the rooftop, Nancy and Sheriza led us to the first floor of the clubhouse, which was somewhat of a racing world town square; we saw buglers Tony and Carson Gambaro, “America’s Day at the Races” host Acacia Clement, trainer Christophe Clement, trainer Richard Schosberg and Tom Bellhouse of West Point Thoroughbreds, as well as plenty of “regular” people. “Saratoga is one of the only places where the rich and poor actually converse,” Nancy said.
After the 4th race, we made our way to the sweltering paddock, where an unassuming (we were SWORN to secrecy) worker assessed the outfits of the grooms to name the one that was the “Best Turned Out” (in other words, the best groomed groom). We got the inside scoop on how JP from the Joe Sharp barn was picked: exclusively for his bright-greenish yellow baseball cap. When the horses made their way to the starting gate, we were told to run. (“RUN!” was repeated, when we didn’t get with the program fast enough.) So we sprinted (yes, Nancy still in stilettos) to the winner’s circle, where a call on the straight-to-John Bat phone was made. He announced JP was the winner, and we posed for a photo with the groom, trying not to look at ourselves on the big screens. In the matter of one minute, we were done, and alas, we couldn’t stick around for the race itself—we had an event of our own to get to, a party honoring jockey John Velazquez.
When we got back to the golf cart, a NYRA employee stopped us to chat about a certain backstretch worker BEST had been working with. “OK, go back to your air conditioned office,” the NYRA woman said. After we drove away, Sheriza, who oversees special events like that evening’s al fresco bingo game, turned to me. “If only she knew what we were going to do now.” Curious? Their afternoons can get quite busy. “Every dollar earned from this event goes directly to the care of the backstretch workers,” she said. “So it might be for at Uber to get to a medical appointment or a prescription, or we have a primary care facility right on property. So we’re paying for doctors and nurses for the workers to see at no cost. They come in at the times that are best for them. Most get up by 4 in the morning, they’re done at 10:30 or 11. So our busiest times at the clinic are 10:30 to 3, when they go back to feed the horses. That’s when most of our services are happening, transporting people to appointments, including dental and vision. We’re at all three NYRA tracks, but Saratoga is ‘our’ track, so we’re here all year, which is lovely.”
Since Nancy and Sheriza usually stay for the 5th race after presenting the Best Turned Out award, their timing was off during our departure and we found ourselves headed straight for the Thoroughbreds that had just run. Not good. We reversed in the golf cart, at an impressive speed, may we add, and at long last we made it back to our car.
Hats off to you, ladies. We were exhausted after one day, and cannot imagine doing it seven days a week for the entirety of the season. In heels. And with a smile.
—Natalie & Abby
Time’s Running Out!
The voting for Saratoga Living’s A2Z survey closes tomorrow. That means you have two more chances to cast your votes for your favorite Spa City businesses! Vote here. (Once you submit your votes for categories A-E, you’ll be redirected to categories F-J and so on.)
On the Scene
Yesterday, SLAH was on the scene of the first of three NYRA giveaway days at the track. (The next two are August 19 and September 2.) The line at the Marylou Whitney Entrance around 10:40am (20 minutes before the gates opened) was a mix of longtime giveaway-getters, who clued me in on how to hack the system to get more than one of whatever they’re giving away (but swore me to secrecy), and unsuspecting regular track-goers. “I’m glad I got here early,” someone ahead of me in line said. “I didn’t even know there was a giveaway.”
For those who’ve never experienced a giveaway before: Upon entry to the track, you receive a blue ticket, which you bring to a tent by the Big Red Spring and trade in for whatever the day’s commodity is—yesterday a whole team of NYRA staff was slinging fold-up picnic blankets while Account Executive Zach Richards directed the masses from atop a large mulch mound. “To tell you the truth it’s a little chintzy,” one woman in line who asked to be identified as “ML” said about the blanket. (She had clearly done her research ahead of time.) “What they really should come up with is a sun shade for the car.” Hear that, NYRA?
In line I spotted giveaways from past years—cooler bags, hats and a 2016 long-sleeve shirt that Amsterdam resident Wayne had a family member turn into a short-sleeve shirt. “You can’t be wearing long sleeves out here,” he said, brow glistening in the late-morning sun. “I’ve got everything—coolers, cups, T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats…” The general consensus, though, is that the Saratoga umbrellas that have been given away in the past are the hottest ticket item; one hooks right on your belt loop, according to Wayne, while another opens up in the opposite direction, so when it’s folded up the outside isn’t wet. This year’s September 2 giveaway is a mini NYRA Bets umbrella.
When I finally got to the gate, my gatekeeper failed to give me a blue ticket, and when I got to the tent and realized this, I spotted ML and a friend carrying about five blankets each. “Do we have extra?” her friend asked, thinking they could spare one of the 10 for the ticket-less giveaway newbie. ML ignored her. “Go back to the gate,” she said to me, hugging the day’s haul tightly to her chest.
Save the Date
This upcoming week you have two opportunities to see jockeys strut their stuff off the track. Tomorrow, it’s Riders Up jockey karaoke put on by the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund at Vapor. And on Thursday, the riders take on the trainers in the 13th annual Charity Basketball Game, hosted by the New York Race Track Chaplaincy at Saratoga Rec Center.
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we tested readers’ knowledge of Saratoga trainer saddle cloths in a towel-tastic edition of Game Time.
And on Tuesday, we stepped away from the track and recapped last weekend’s NipperFest Music Festival in Schenectady’s Central Park.