Who Sits Where at Saratoga Race Course
The Bone Zone, the birthplace of the Seventh Race Shake and 20 more beloved spots around the track.
Forget horoscopes, personality tests and Buzzfeed quizzes—the true test of who you are as a person is where you choose to sit at Saratoga Race Course. Do you prefer hobnobbing with the rich and possibly famous in the 1863 Club, or would you rather pay your $10 day-of general admission fee and not only BYOB, but also BYOC (bring your own chair)? No matter the spot you choose—whether it’s a catered hospitality suite or a literal pile of mulch—there’s an argument that can be made for why it’s the best. But don’t take my word for it.
Location: Literally anywhere
Who sits there: Men without a plan
Why it’s the best: No preparation required
Our first seating category isn’t even a seat at all—it’s wherever you can find open ground. The men (and, let’s be honest, it’s usually men) who hang out here most likely failed to plan ahead and secure an actual spot to sit. They may be in town for a bachelor party and post up in prime people-watching territory (top left), be rugby teammates trying to convince themselves that standing all day isn’t that bad (top right), want a drink with a view of the paddock (bottom right), or have settled for the first table in the shade they could find (bottom left). “We didn’t even have to pay for it!” one such man without a plan said of his foursome’s measly high-top table strewn with High Noon empties. Not pictured: the men without a plan who sit on the red chairs affixed to the ground all throughout the track. “Red chair people are terrifying,” one longtime track-goer told me.
Location: The trackside apron
Who sits there: People who aren’t afraid to sweat through their shirt
Why it’s the best: You’re in the thick of the excitement
Officially termed the trackside apron, the green benches that line the rail in front of the grandstand aren’t just for looks—people actually choose to sit there, direct sunlight and all. “I want to experience the races first-hand,” bench veteran Rachael, pictured here with friends Annie, Victoria and Stefan, told me. “The people who run in at 7am just to watch them on a screen? I can do that at home.” This particular group came prepared with a cooler that doubles as a table and a basket full of the necessities—chips, coozies and a pen. They’re sitting down in this photo, but when a race is happening, you bet they’re standing on the benches. “You feel the rush standing up there,” Stefan said. “I consider it a different atmosphere.”
Location: The Backyard
Who sits there: Regulars
Why it’s the best: It’s practically free
A whole other story could be written about who sits where in the backyard specifically, from those who bring their folding chairs and sit as close to the betting windows as possible, to the families who go big with pasta salads, pop-up tents and picnic blankets. The Michele family (pictured on the left) falls into the latter group. On a recent Friday, three generations of Micheles set up their betting “office” in the table-less area next to the paddock that they lovingly refer to as the grassy knoll. “When you’re in the grassy knoll, you know every inch of where the sun rises and sets,” patriarch Mark told me. (When they nabbed the spot first thing in the morning, it was in the sun, but Mark knew that come afternoon it’d be perfectly shaded.) Just out of the frame of this photo is baby Julep, whose name tells you all you need to know about the Michele family.
Across the backyard is The Bone Zone (at right), the home base of Kevin “Bones” Bockelmann and friends. (You may remember them from this year’s opening day line.) Bones, whose name comes from his propensity for spoking bones, aka joints, comes to the track nearly every day, and knows seemingly everyone. He sets up in the same spot every day so people know where to find him. “He wanted to kick my ass 25 years ago,” Bones’ friend Steve said of an altercation the two had at the track back before they knew one another. “Now I’m coming up to stay at his house for four nights.”
Location: Surfside Tailgate at the Turn
Who sits there: People who don’t care to actually watch the races
Why it’s the best: It comes with a trackside parking spot
Those uninterested in waking up at the crack of dawn to ensure they get a coveted picnic table do have the option to reserve them in certain sections of the backyard or at the Surfside Tailgate at the Turn, a trackside offering that allows guests to pull their car right up to fenced-in picnic areas complete with shade-giving umbrellas. (Forget lugging chairs and coolers all around the track!) On Thursday, the Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living teams (at left) were joined in the section by a few Saratoga Living Insiders (center) for a day at the races. And while we didn’t see much racing—some of the shorter races don’t even go by the turn—we did get to know our neighbors: employees of the canned vodka iced tea brand Surfside, including the brand’s co-founder, Bryan Quigley (second from right).
Location: The Grandstand/Clubhouse
Who sits there: People who actually know how to bet
Why it’s the best: You’re surrounded by fellow racing fans who’ve been sitting in the same seats for decades
If watching the races from a prime vantage point is at the top of your list of track-day desires, the best bang for your buck is the Grandstand/Clubhouse seating area. (The two areas were separated before NYRA opened the Clubhouse to general admission ticket holders.) Not only are there giant fans circulating air—”the best improvement NYRA’s made in 30 years,” per a regular named Andy—but depending on where you sit, you’ll also have the best view of the best part of each race. “The finish line is right there,” another man named Ronny said, pointing down the stretch. “But most of the races are won or lost here at the 16th pole.”
It’s in those hallowed reserved seats where you’ll find some of horse racing’s most dedicated fans, who pull out iPads to watch past performances between races and binoculars when the horses enter the starting gate. You’ll also find Howard, seen here, who after the seventh race of the day ceremoniously pulls out a tumbler to shake up a batch of martinis. The 30-year-old tradition is affectionately known as the Seventh Race Shake, and its practitioners own a 3-year-old horse of the same name.
Location: The Clubhouse
Who sits there: The hungry
Why it’s the best: You have three different restaurant options
While GA ticket holders now have access to the Clubhouse, you have to have a reservation to dine at one of its three restaurants, all of which have their own merits and customer bases. On the first floor is The Porch, where Breakfast at the Track is hosted. Come midday, it’s a bustling Who’s Who of Saratoga. “The Porch is one of the most social places to be,” indefatigable social butterfly Dave Wojeski, pictured at the far left, told me. That being said, even within The Porch, you have options. “I like the back row when I want to talk to people,” Dave continued, “and the front when I don’t want to talk to people.”
One floor above The Porch, you’ll find the Club Terrace, where Bostonians Jack and Bobby (center) have been holding court for some 40 odd years. The pair, who actually met at the track, sit at the same long table every weekend and welcome a rotating cast of their buddies throughout the meet. “Our picture is actually hanging in the Louvre of Saratoga—Siro’s,” Bobby told me. I asked their waiter, Noah, if anyone other groups ever sit at that table on the weekends. “No,” he said. “I would never let anyone else take it.”
Go up yet another flight of stairs and you’ll find The Turf Terrace, the lower levels’ bougier older sibling. Spanning the third and fourth floors, The Turf Terrace has a stricter dress code—no jeans, shorts, sneakers or flip-flops allowed. That’s exactly why some customers like it. “It’s more adulting upstairs,” said Cheryl, who’s pictured above at the far right. And while her group of friends has already been to the Turf Terrace twice this year (Belmont and opening weekend), Noah (the waiter) told me that you don’t see as many of the same faces up there as you do on the second floor. “It’s more expensive,” he said, “so there aren’t a ton of regulars.”
Location: The Fourstardave Sports Bar
Who sits there: The casual racing fan
Why it’s the best: It offers the best of both worlds
Another pay-per-table dining option is the Fourstardave Sports Bar. (GA ticket holders can walk up to the bar for a drink, but you need a reservation to actually sit at one of the tables.) “It’s the best of all the worlds,” said Kelly, pictured on the right, who comes to Saratoga for a week every July and September and hosts friends and family who stop in town for a few days. “It’s covered, there are TVs, it’s 10 steps to the track where you can watch the horses, and they take good care of you—especially the waiter Mike.”
Location: Group Hospitality Sections
Who sits there: Corporate employees
Why it’s the best: Chances are, your company’s paying for it
There’s a whole subset of Saratoga Race Course patrons who are there not because they necessarily chose to be, but because their company told them to be. You’ll find them in group hospitality areas of all sizes, ranging from the 20-person Surfside Party Deck above Papa Rosso Pizza (at right) to the Mionetto Easy Goer (at left), which can host up to 700 guests. For medium-sized corporate gatherings, check out the Stella Artois Spa Verandas (center) or the Paddock Suite; word on the street is that if the latter isn’t booked, you can purchase last-minute tables in Saratoga’s “treehouse.” (The same is true of the Party Deck.) If you have a say in where your boss books your day at the races, suggest the Spa Verandas. “We absolutely love it,” said Julie (second from left in group photo), who was there on business on Thursday. “We’re on the rail, there’s an under-cover area and an outside area, and it’s more casual.”
Location: The Cutwater Stretch
Who sits there: People who like space
Why it’s the best: In-box TVs
A few years ago, NYRA added an alternative to its traditional box seating all the way down at the other end of the Grandstand. The new boxes, dubbed The Cutwater Stretch, are far roomier and come in one- and two-level varieties. (They’re where Renee Walrath and Joyce White were sitting the day they found themselves in the winner’s circle with MLB All-Star Jayson Werth.) Presiding over the double-deckers is modern-day Queen of Saratoga Kim McConchie (at right), who visits her box pretty much every day of racing season, either alone or with a gaggle of friends. “I can spread out,” Kim said of why she signed a second three-year contract for her box. “This is where the horses are coming around the turn. I can’t see the finish line, so I just look at the screen.”
While Kim has rights to her box all season long, another area of The Stretch is available for daily rentals. On Thursday, a group of old college buddies were huddled around a small table in their rental box playing the card game Pitch in between races. “We only see each other once a year,” one of the guys said. “So we have to gamble as much as possible. We’re going to throw dice in the corner later.”
Location: The Boxes
Who sits there: People who don’t like space
Why it’s the best: You’re right near the finish line
Though the regular boxes are definitely a tighter squeeze than the Cutwater Stretch boxes, there’s a certain amount of pomp and circumstance associated with sitting there. If you’re in a box, everyone assumes you must be a somebody, even if you’re just somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody. Barstool President Dave Portnoy sits there, so, the thinking goes, if you’re sitting next to him, you must be a big shot too, right? Of course, people come across box seats in a variety of ways, whether they reserve one for the whole season or a day, are part of a company or organization that gets one, or are gifted tickets. In the case of the well-dressed ladies (shoutout Encounter Boutique, Hatsational and deJonghe Original Jewelry) and gentleman above, it was option C: They’re Skidmore alumni who got the college’s box for the day as a thank you for their contributions. “Saratoga gives a lot to us,” Susan (center) told me, “so we like to give back.”
Location: The 1863 Club
Who sits there: Out of towners
Why it’s the best: Two words—air conditioning
If sweating through your jacket isn’t really your thing, the 1863 Club is for you. The first floor is the party floor, waitress Laura told me. When you reserve a table, you get access to an all-you-can-eat buffet and table service drinks. And while there are season table holders such as the Solevo family, they’re not the norm. “None of these people are regulars,” Laura said.
The second floor also has restaurant-style seating—but a less rowdy crowd—plus a 70-guest hospitality suite. (When events such as the Tribute to Transforming Lives fashion show take over the first floor, season ticket holders are relocated upstairs.) But the third floor is where the big bucks are. Already this season, Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo and Red Rocker Sammy Hagar have spent time in the third-floor luxury suites, which are also said to be where Sheikh Mohammed posts up.
Location: The Backstretch
Who sits there: Horsemen and women
Why it’s the best: You’re sure to get a front-row spot on the rail
There are people who own horses and then there are horse owners—the people who have made the breeding, care or training of horses their career. Those people, many of whom are local or at least spend every summer in Saratoga, tend to congregate on the backstretch, away from all the crowds. “We like the experience here better just because it’s quiet,” Schuylerville Thoroughbred Farm owner John told me. “The best part is seeing stuff that you can’t see on the front side”—namely, the post parade, in which the horses walk around before entering the starting gate. And while you won’t find any bottles of Dom Perignon or all-you-can-eat buffets all the way over there, the backstretch does boast The Morning Line, a restaurant that serves the many men and women who care for the horses. When my friend told John that he was interested in learning how horse farms work, John didn’t skip a beat: “If you’re really that interested,” he said, “you can come help us muck stalls every day.”
—Natalie
Did I miss your favorite spot to sit? Drop it in the comments!
Quote of the Week
“I was down in Jamaica, and I was the best-dressed guy on the nude beach.”
—Overheard at the Club Terrace
Rowing the Distance
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics kicked off only yesterday, but by the time you read this, two Saratogians representing team USA will have already competed. They are rowers Kristi Wagner and Lauren O’Connor, who train at the Spa City’s own ARION Rowing under coach Eric Catalano and participated in this morning’s women’s double and quadruple sculls heats. Visit the Olympics website for results and a schedule of upcoming rowing events.
On the Market
This week, Roohan Realty announced that Saratoga City Tavern, the five-floor bar on the corner of Caroline Street and Maple Ave., was on the market for $4.9 million, $300,000 more than its across-the-street neighbor Gaffney’s. And, yes, as was the case when Gaffney’s was listed for sale, Saratogians have already started calling on Dave Portnoy to buy it.
Red Rockin’ Around Town
Singer Sammy Hagar caused a bit of a stir when he came to town for his Monday night show at SPAC. It all started last week, when the former Van Halen member told the Times Union that he was hoping to meet the state trooper who pulled him over on the Northway when he was heading to Lake Placid some four decades ago. It was the speeding ticket he got then that inspired his career-altering hit song “I Can’t Drive 55.” Alas, after some investigation by the Association of Former New York State Troopers, it was determined that the cop that gave him the ticket is most likely deceased.
While he couldn’t meet the man who helped inspire the song, Sammy made the most of his time in the Spa City, checking out Saratoga Race Course last weekend; sharing the stage with Pat Monahan, the lead singer of Train, which performed with REO Speedwagon on Tuesday; and pushing his tequila brand on anyone and everyone. Not only did he give some out to fans in the pit at the show, but he was also seen promoting it at The Adelphi.
Just Dance
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A significantly less famous performer has also been hanging around these parts recently. His name is Steven, and he’s a 22-year-old University of Iowa grad who’s made it his mission to not only visit but dance in every county in the US. His county count is up over 2,000, and this week he added Albany, Fulton, Montgomery and Schenectady counties to his list, posting videos of himself dancing in each of them. He even checked out VIA Port Rotterdam.
Tour de Toga
In case you missed it, Capital City Cycle Co. is now offering its roof-covered, 14-passenger, pedal-powered vehicle brew tours in the Spa City. The company, which has been operating Schenectady and Troy for years, found its way to Saratoga this past May, and since then has been bringing bar-hoppers from Allerdice Ace Hardware to Kraverie, West Side Stadium, DIVE and back again. The stops aren’t set in stone; when I ran into a tour on Thursday, the participants (who despite being on stop No. 1 were already a little tipsy) had made the executive decision to move to The Local when they found out Kraverie only served beer and wine.
ICYMI
Jessica Leonard: Painting the Winner’s Circle
Heavenly Spirits at The Hereafter