Thursday, July 15
Contact: Dan Silver
Mark Bardack or Caitlin Merrill
Ed Lewi Associates
(518) 383-6183
Hats Off to Saratoga Festival, coaching club american oaks Headline
Opening Week Events at Saratoga Race Course
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – From a hat contest to a historic showcase of racing in years gone by, the thoroughbreds will receive a warm welcome as they take to the track for opening weekend of the 142nd season at Saratoga Race Course.
FRIDAY, JULY 23: OPENING DAY CELEBRATION
A new tradition will be born as Opening Day at Saratoga – an unofficial holiday in the Capital Region – moves to Friday, July 23 and marks the beginning of Saratoga Race Course's extended 40-day racing season. Free grandstand admission and a $2 reduced clubhouse admission will be offered to track patrons throughout the day. Gates open at 11 a.m. with first post scheduled for 1 p.m.
The traditional Opening Day race, the Grade 3, $100,000 Schuylerville Stakes for juvenile fillies, will launch the 40-day celebration of world class thoroughbred racing.
Opening Day will also welcome the debut of exciting new culinary offerings at Saratoga Race Course, namely the addition of Danny Meyer's celebrated restaurants Blue Smoke and Shake Shack, as well as the unveiling of the newly designed Paddock Bar. Operated by Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) and Union Square Events, track guests will enjoy pulled pork sandwiches and Kansas City spareribs at Blue Smoke, ShackBurgers, hot dogs and frozen custard at Shake Shack and a collection of innovative and classic cocktails, beer and wine at The Paddock Bar.
The opening weekend celebration will continue in downtown Saratoga Friday night with the start of the traditional, three-day "Hats off to Saratoga" festival. As fans make their way towards Broadway, nearly a dozen musical groups will perform for free at popular downtown locations from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday's musical performances will feature a mix of classic rock and funk from Bluz House Rockers; blues with George Fletcher's Bourbon Renewal; the fiery, soulful Indie-pop band Sirsy; 50s and 60s tunes with Slick Fitty; acapella with Saratoga's own Racing City Chorus; pop favorites from Party of Three; melodic Latin guitar and salsa from Incendio; 80s new wave and pop covers from Disposable Culture; and timeless jazz standards from the Sonny Daye Trio.
SATURDAY, JULY 24: A CELEBRATION OF TRADITION AND HISTORY WITH COACHING CLUB AMERICAN OAKS
Saratoga will commemorate the 94th running of the Grade 1 Betfair TVG Coaching Club American Oaks with a day-long celebration of coaching on Saturday, July 24. Formerly run at 1¼ miles at the close of the Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet, the historic Betfair TVG Coaching Club American Oaks for three-year-old fillies will be staged at the Spa for the first time this year at the new distance of nine furlongs.
In recognition of the new home of the race, the historic Coaching Club will display two antique horse-drawn coaches at Saratoga Race Course on Friday and Saturday: one near the fountain at the Clubhouse entrance and the other in the Grandstand Backyard area, both attended by Coaching Club members. Before the first race on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Coaching Club president Louis G. Piancone will lead one of the historic horse-drawn road coaches down the Saratoga stretch, followed by a parade of Coaching Club members.
The Coaching Club American Oaks was run for the first time in 1917 and named to honor the Coaching Club, which then required its members to be able to drive a coach and four horses with a single group of reins, called "four-in-hand." The original race conditions of the Coaching Club were set by August Belmont II to emulate the Epsom Oaks (now known as the Investec Oaks) run at Epsom Downs in England.
The $250,000 Coaching Club American Oaks is the second leg of the Betfair TVG Triple Tiara, positioned between the Betfair TVG Acorn and the Betfair TVG Alabama. If a filly is able to win all three prestigious Grade 1 races, Betfair TVG will present her owners with a $50,000 bonus to go to the charity of their choice. At the conclusion of the three races, Betfair TVG will also donate $10,000 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation on behalf of NYRA. The presentation will be made on Fabulous Fillies Day on Friday, August 20.
Additionally, NYRA will offer the first of three guaranteed wagers during the 2010 Saratoga Meet on Saturday: a $500,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4. This marks the second consecutive year that NYRA has offered a $500,000 guarantee on the Saturday Late Pick 4, a $1 minimum wager in which the bettor must correctly pick the winners of four consecutive races. The $500,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 will be offered each Saturday throughout the 2010 meet, with the exception of Travers Day on Saturday, August 28 when it will be supplanted by a $1 Million Guaranteed All-Graded Stakes Late Pick 4 featuring the Grade 1 Travers and the Grade 1 King's Bishop.
Saturday culminates with day two of the "Hats Off" music festival in downtown Saratoga and another four hours of free performances, from 7 to 11 p.m., by many of the area's most popular bands. In addition to several returning performances from Friday night, Saturday night will include 60s and 70s classics from rock and pop band Joe's Boys; southern blues from the Chris O'Leary Band; and melodies from the all women's acapella group Saratoga Soundtrack Chorus.
SUNDAY, JULY 25: MILLINERY MAYHEM AT THE 19TH ANNUAL HAT CONTEST
The chapeau-centric weekend continues with a Saratoga classic - the 19th annual Saratoga Hat Contest – on Sunday, July 25. This memorable millinery event is comprised of three categories: Uniquely Saratoga, Fashionably Saratoga and Kreative Kids.
Registration begins at noon under the Grandstand. Hats will be judged after the second, third and fourth races on the track apron, in front of the Grandstand, with the contestants vying for a variety of prizes including a $500 betting voucher, Clubhouse lunch for two, and Saratoga Race Course merchandise.
Additionally, the first 10,000 fans through the turnstiles on Sunday can pick up a Saratoga Winnings coupon book with paid admission. Distributed by the New York Racing Association in partnership with the Saratoga Downtown Business Association, the coupon books contain valuable offers and discounts to more than two-dozen Saratoga merchants.
Sunday afternoon will also include the running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Sanford for two-year-olds at six furlongs.
MONDAY, JULY 26: JOCKEY AUTOGRAPH BOOK GIVEAWAY
Racing fans will have their pen ready for the return of the popular Jockey Autograph Book on Monday, July 26. The first 3,500 patrons through the gates, with paid admission, will receive the collector's book, in which fans can gather the signatures of their favorite jockeys and Saratoga Race Course icons.
This year's book features the top 12 jockeys from 2009, eight additional jockeys representing the NYRA colony and fan-favorite Sam the Bugler with photos, graphics, statistics and room for autographs. Sponsored by Price Chopper, the autograph books will be available each Monday (excluding Labor Day).
Monday also marks the first Dunkin' Donuts Day at Saratoga Race Course. In celebration of the new partnership between NYRA and America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, Dunkin' Donuts will have a race named in its honor on Monday. Throughout the 2010 meet, Dunkin' Donuts customers and racing fans will receive a number of extra perks on Mondays. All fans who present their Dunkin' Donuts rechargeable card at the track admission gates on Mondays will receive $2 off the price of grandstand admission. Additionally, Dunkin' Donuts will have racing fans on the lookout for more than just the day's best bets each Monday when three Post Parade program books sold on track will feature a commemorative Dunkin' Donuts 60th birthday sticker on the Dunkin' Donuts advertisement. The lucky program book recipients will each receive a Dunkin' Donuts gift card worth $60 in honor of Dunkin's 60th birthday. The re-chargeable gift cards are redeemable at all participating Dunkin' Donuts locations in the Capital Region.
The 142nd season at Saratoga Race Course begins Friday, July 23 and runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 6. Post time is 1 p.m. with the exception of Party at the Spa on Friday, July 30, and Friday, September 3, when post time is 2:30 p.m. and on Travers Day, Saturday, August 28, with a special first post time of 11:35 a.m. There is no racing on Tuesdays at Saratoga.
For up-to-date information on Saratoga's Hats Off festival and other special events, please visit www.nyra.com/saratogaevents.shtml.
-30-
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Mark Bardack or Caitlin Merrill
Ed Lewi Associates • 6 Chelsea Place • Clifton Park, NY 12065
ELA Main Office: (518) 383-6183 • FAX (518) 383-6755 (Mon. – Fri., 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Saratoga Race Course Office: (518) 584-6200, x 4233, or 4739 (Wed. – Mon., 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Weekend Numbers: M. Bardack Cell (518) 867-7943, or C. Merrill Cell (603) 674-0576
