NYRA Outlines Plans for 2013 Saratoga Meet

NYRA Outlines Plans for 2013 Saratoga Meet Jun 24, 2013 19:03:17 GMT -5

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Post by Evelyn on Jun 24, 2013 19:03:17 GMT -5

NYRA Outlines Plans for 2013 Saratoga Meet
By Teresa Genaro,

High quality racing, customer service, and history were the subjects of a New York Racing Association media event June 24 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at which the organization's executives detailed plans for this summer's race meet.

Emceed by Eric Wing, NYRA's director of communications and media relations, Monday's event featured presentations by David O'Rourke, vice president of corporate development and one of NYRA's three interim managers; Stephen Travers, vice president of hospitality, guest services, and group sales; P.J. Campo, vice president and director of racing; and Rodnell Workman, vice president and chief marketing officer.

While this summer's meet will be the 145th in Saratoga, both the town and the track are celebrating the sesquicentennial of racing in Saratoga Springs, commemorating the first meet in 1863. That meet took place on the grounds of what is now the Oklahoma training track; racing moved across the street to the current site in 1864.

The Saratoga meet opens Friday, July 19 and runs through Monday, Sept. 2, with Tuesdays dark.

Many of NYRA's summer initiatives will offer a historical spin on familiar themes. This summer's giveaway T-shirt, on Sunday, July 28, will sport the official Saratoga 150 logo; on Sunday, Aug. 18, the track will give away replica models of Saratoga Race Course. Other giveaways include a Fourstardave bobblehead on Sunday, Aug. 11, honoring the horse who won a race at Saratoga annually from 1987 to 1994, and on Sunday, Sept. 1, the giveaway is a Saratoga beer stein emblazoned with some of the most popular horses ever to have raced at Saratoga. Giveaways are free with paid admission while supplies last.

Among this summer's racing highlights is the possibility of seeing Orb, Oxbow, and Palace Malice in the $1 million Travers Stakes (gr. I) on Aug. 24. Should all three run in the 144th edition of the race, it will be the first time since 1991 that the winners of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, all grade I stakes for 3-year-olds, would meet in Saratoga's signature race. Campo said that he expects all three horses to train at Saratoga this summer.

Competing with Travers Day for top billing at this year's meet will be Aug. 3, the day of the $750,000 Whitney Invitational Handicap (gr. I) and the 150th anniversary of the first day of the first Thoroughbred meeting in Saratoga. Free with paid admission will be a commemorative 150th anniversary poster while supplies last, and the day will feature the first in a series of five $15,000 win-wager opportunities, courtesy of Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, a special advisor to NYRA's board.

Among the possible starters in the Whitney, according to Campo, is Fort Larned, winner of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) and 2013 Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (gr. I). Campo said that he thought Horse of the Year Wise Dan was a possibility to run either in the Whitney or to try to repeat in the Fourstardave (gr. IIT) on Aug. 10.

Among other stakes highlights are the Diana Stakes (gr. IT) and Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II), each worth $600,000, on July 27; the Alabama Stakes (gr. I) and Sword Dancer Invitational (gr. IT) on Aug. 17, each also worth $600,000; and on closing weekend, the $750,000 Woodward (gr. I), $300,000 Spinaway Stakes (gr. I), and the $300,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful, restored to grade I status after a year as a grade II event.

Altogether, the meet will offer 53 listed and graded stakes races, 18 of them grade I, worth $14.95 million.

Among the customer service initiatives this summer are guided walking tours of the track, offering a historical overview of the track's highlights, landscape, and architecture. Tours will be offered multiple times each day except for Tuesdays and Travers Day. The cost will be $3 per person or $10 for a family of four.

It was also announced that at this point there are no new security measures in place for the Saratoga meeting, and that patrons will be able to bring in coolers as they have in the past. Coolers were among the many items prohibited at this year's Belmont Stakes, in the wake of heightened security following the Boston Marathon bombings.

For the first time this year, patrons will be able to park at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway on Nelson Avenue and take a free shuttle bus to the track, in an effort to alleviate the frustration customers have often felt due to the limited parking around Saratoga Race Course. Shuttle buses will run twice each hour.

Handicappers in search of prize money and a spot in the 2014 DRF/NTRA handicapping tournament in Las Vegas can compete in the $200,000 tournament at Saratoga on Aug. 7-8.

NBC's "Summer in Saratoga" series will continue this summer with seven Saturday broadcasts, beginning on July 27 and ending on Aug. 31. In response to local community's concerns, NYRA has eliminated all but one twilight racing card; that will take place on Friday, Aug. 30 with a post time of 2:30 pm.

The Saratoga meet opens Friday, July 19 and runs through Monday, Sept. 2, with Tuesdays dark. Post time is 1 p.m. (EDT) daily, with the exception of the Aug. 30 twilight card and closing day, when first post will be 12:30 p.m.

Read more on BloodHorse.com: www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/79065/nyra-outlines-plans-for-2013-saratoga-meet#ixzz2XBJvD2io

NYRA Outlines Plans for 2013 Saratoga Meet Jun 25, 2013 7:43:31 GMT -5

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Post by Evelyn on Jun 25, 2013 7:43:31 GMT -5

Saratoga to celebrate its 150th anniversary on Aug. 3
By Matt Hegarty

Saratoga Race Course will officially celebrate its 150th anniversary on Saturday, Aug. 3, the track’s operator, the New York Racing Association, announced Monday during a press conference designed to drum up publicity for the summer meet that starts July 19.

The 150th-anniversary celebration will take place on the same day as the Whitney Handicap. Buddy Valastro, a celebrity chef who is known as the “Cake Boss,” will present a cake to mark the anniversary during the day’s races, and all fans will receive a commemorative poster with each paid admission.

Also on Aug. 3, and for the next four Saturday cards, the track will conduct a lottery that will give the winner a $15,000 win bet on the track’s featured race. The money for the promotional wagers is being provided by Marylou Whitney and her husband, John Hendrickson, who is a special adviser to the NYRA board.

Although many of the details of the Saratoga meet have already been announced, NYRA holds a press conference roughly four weeks prior to the track’s opening in order to generate coverage for what is already one of the most popular racing events on the U.S. calendar. The meet will run from July 19 to Sept. 2, with 40 total live racing days, running six days a week.

NYRA also announced the dates for its Sunday giveaways, which often attract large crowds. On July 28, the track will give away a short-sleeve T-shirt branded with the Saratoga logo. On Aug. 11, the giveaway will be a bobblehead doll in the likeness of Fourstardave, the horse who won at least one race at Saratoga from 1987-1994. On Aug. 18, a Saratoga Race Course “replica model” will be the giveaway item, and on Sept. 1, it will be a beer stein decorated with images of “some of the most legendary Thoroughbreds to have competed” at the track, NYRA said.

Saratoga also is planning on a number of promotions during the meet. On Aug. 4, the track will honor Funny Cide, a New York-bred who won the 2003 Kentucky Derby. The always-popular “Battle of the Brews” is scheduled for Aug. 23. The track’s only twilight card is scheduled for Aug. 30, with first post of 2:30 p.m.

A $200,000 handicapping contest with a $100,000 top prize is scheduled for Aug. 7-8. The entry fee is $1,000, and the top four finishers will receive berths in the 2014 National Handicapping Championship. Daily Racing Form is a sponsor of the NHC.

DRF