Saratoga Happenings
by Dick Healy
There may be some great places to go on vacation as August draws to a close,
but few destinations can beat the variety of activity and atmosphere offered
in Saratoga Springs during Travers Week.
So with this in mind, here’s some tips to
make your Saratoga stay memorable.
This Thursday, August 26, at the famous
Race Course, they’ll be holding the first-ever San Gennaro Day fashioned
after the annual Italian New York City street festival celebrating Italian
culture and heritage with traditional Italian foods, music and dance, games
and entertainment.
If you’re a Jump Jockey fan, you’ll be
able to obtain autographs in honor of the running of the Grade 1, $100,000
New York Writers Cup Handicap race.
In the backyard area the Annual Battle of
the Brews festival will be held, wherein 20 of the regions best
microbreweries will partake.
The entry fee is $25 and proceeds will go
to benefit the American Red Cross Adirondack Saratoga Chapter.
On Friday, Travers Eve, from 7 to 10 p. m.
you can head downtown where the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and NYRA is
hosting the inaugural “Travers Eve Party” complete with strolling
entertainment. Saratoga retailers will be giving away commemorative Travers
Stakes items, including, according to officials,” Horse-shaped “Track Bandz”
for kids and special Saratoga Race Course Mardi Gras beads for adults.
Of course the 141st running for
3-year-olds of the $1 million 1 ¼ mile (G1) Travers Stakes on Saturday,
followed by the (G1) 7-furlongs $250,000 King’s Bishop race for 3-year-olds;
along with the (G1) Ballerina $250,000,the $200,000 Ballston Spa (G1) and
the (G111) $100,000 Victory Ride combines more prestigious thoroughbred
racing in one day that most fans will ever witness.
Another Saratoga feature includes a number of noted equine artists that sell
their paintings and photographs with the Race Course grounds.
One I highly recommend is Sharon Crute who
this season has her paintings on display in a booth just a short walk after
you enter the main track gate off Union Avenue. Crute, who lives with her
husband in Ocala, Florida, has been bringing her art to Saratoga for eight
years.
The first special post time on Travers Day
is 11:35 a. m. The Travers Stakes will be the 12th racer of the day and is
set to start 5:45 p. m. It will nationally and internationally televised.
