You can always expect to see unique offerings at
Saratoga Race Course. If you're at the track Friday, Aug 26, former world
heavyweight boxing champion, Joe Frazier, will be there conducting a free
autograph signing session from 11:30 a. m. to 12:30 p. m. at the Jockey
Silks Room, located a short distance from the track's main entrance.
According to NYRA contact, Dan Silver, the Frazier's appearance coincides
with the 40th anniversary of one of the most memorable fights in boxing
history, Ali vs. Frazier.
The second race of the day, the Ali/Frazier 40th
Anniversary Race, will feature a tape from the " Fight of the Century"
played on the infield video board leading up to the commemorative race, and
will be followed by Joe Frazier presenting a trophy to the winner in the
famed Race Course winner circle.
Part of season's celebration, the second annual Travers
Eve Party, ( Open free to the general public) takes place on Saratoga's
Broadway. It's an opportunity to meet favorite jockeys during the evening's
autograph session, enjoy live and dance, and a chance to pick up special
Saratoga Race Course. -themed giveaways at local businesses.
While in Saratoga, you may want to pay a visit to the
Lyrical Ballad Bookstore on Phila Street - just off Broadway - where you'll
find rare old books and prints. The owner tells that Albany author William
Kennedy, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his 1983 book, Ironweed, along
with Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient, stopped by the
bookstore recently. An original hardcover of Kennedy's earlier book, The Ink
Truck, signed, is on sale there for $300.
The Saratoga race season runs through Labor Day weekend.
