**This is a press release forwarded on behalf of the Saratoga 150 Committee **
For Immediate Release:
TO CELEBRATE 150 YEARS OF THOROUGHBRED RACING IN
celebrate the birth of Thoroughbred racing, with technology and activities that
could never have been imagined when
Organized by
celebration will extend from May through September 2013, and will offer more
than 100 events for area residents and visitors to the region, as well as special
Win, Place and Show medallions for
of Fame; a walking tour operated from a smart phone; old-fashioned events like
Cakewalks, ice cream socials, Summer Sunday Strolls and a porch contest; a
promotion providing $15,000 in cash that a lucky fan will put on Saturday’s
featured stakes race; a flag-strewn Broadway; a pops concert; and the
re-opening of the Oklahoma Track in 2013 for public viewing of morning
workouts.
Wait. Wait has put together a team of Founding Members and volunteer
experts in their respective fields to serve on a steering committee and to chair
various subcommittees. The Adirondack Trust Company was the first Founding Member of
Honorary Chairs of Saratoga 150 are Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson. World-
renowned philanthropist, horse owner/breeder and Saratogian, Marylou was active in the
community’s last tribute to the Spa’s equine history during the Centennial Celebration in 1963.
Her husband John Hendrickson has spearheaded several projects that will be featured
by
entrance of Saratoga Race Course. Additionally, Hendrickson conceptualized the idea of a
committee to develop a countdown of the best races in the history of
between races on the in-field screens, and he is underwriting an unusual fan promotion for the
sesquicentennial year – a lucky fan, on five Saturdays of the 2013 meeting, will have an
opportunity to lay down $15,000 cash on the featured race of the day, beginning with Whitney
Day, which is also the official 150th anniversary date – August 3, 2013. The promotion is
pending appropriate
Wait and former Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Joseph
The Adirondack Trust Company, The
College, Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, DeCrescente
Distributing Company, and Ron and Michele Riggi. Each Founding Member has contributed an
initial $25,000. Sponsorships are available, and the levels and benefits are detailed on
the Saratoga150.com website. Sponsorship inquiries should be directed to
info@saratoga150.com.
The
photo and video informational segments, and an interactive feature to read and share personal
memories called “Your Stories”. The public will be invited to assist with the collection of
photos, film, information and memorabilia through the website, and during a special
150 collection event, to be announced soon.
The new website includes a timeline showcasing more than 350 highlights from
Saratoga Race Course and
continuously-changing calendar of 150th events. In addition, visitors can easily share content
from the 150th site via social media. Short videos on the website, to date, are narrated by
internationally renowned Track Announcer Tom Durkin. Tom’s narrative introduces visitors to
Saratoga Race Course, covering facilities and services during the annual meeting. Hall of Fame
Trainer Nick Zito takes visitors through A Day In The Life Of A Horse, and Hall of Famer Jerry
Bailey creatively depicts the activities of a jockey from dawn until dusk. Handicapper Trotter
Furlong welcomes visitors to the world of betting and handicapping.
More than 65
Those that have established specific themes and plans are listed on the website, and this
calendar --as well as the entire website -- will continuously be updated as events and
information are added.
The National Museum of Racing and the
offer extensive exhibits commemorating
artifacts-dominated exhibit on the horses and farms that have played key roles in the history of
the track. The
who come for racing, and the roles each has played in the city’s history. Other museums
participating in
the
The Ulysses S. Grant Cottage is hosting an old-fashioned event and honoring Grant’s
great great grandson who will come to
last four Saturdays in June, encompassing the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the French
and Indian War and the Civil War. Meetings are currently being held in
Armed Forces Public Affairs Office in charge of engagements to book music and drill teams in
June, 2013.
The celebration’s major kickoff event, now in the preliminary planning stage, is
scheduled for Sunday evening, May 26, 2013, (Memorial Day weekend) on the grounds of the
Spa State Park/Saratoga Performing
spanning a wide range of tastes, an old-fashioned picnic supper, youth dance groups,
storytellers, walk-around entertainment like stilt walkers and clowns, and a variety of family
activities and contests; concluding with a spectacular
with medallion lapel pins will be admitted free.
During the week of the actual anniversary, Saratoga Race Course will be the scene of a
Bettors Ball to be held on Monday evening, July 29, 2013. Dance bands will offer music from
five different decades – from the 1940’s swing era, up through music of the 1980’s. The $5
admission will benefit backstretch workers, and those with Friends medallion lapel pins will
receive free admission.
Beginning next week, the new Saratoga 150 Friends lapel pins and benefits will be
offered through the website and the $15 medallions may be purchased at all Adirondack Trust
Company banking locations. Those who choose to be a Friend in the Win category could have
an opportunity to attend each of the Triple Crown events, with tickets, hotel accommodations
and airfare for two. Additionally, the Win category will provide Friends with two
commemorative crimson and gold lapel medallions; two admissions to the track on specified
dates; two double-sided static window/door promotional decals; two admissions to the Bettors
Ball; two official poster-art t-shirts; one official polo shirt; listing in the official program; and
two-for-one admission to
and will increase to $200 late this Summer. Place category Friends are priced at $50 and Show
lapel pins are $15.
An educational component of the celebration will involve students from
Districts. High school students are creating a tour of historical sites, that can be done on
one’s own, through the use of a smart phone app. The Middle School Video Production Club
will be assisting in the coordination of
undertake a project entitled “This Day in History” where they will provide information to the
Saratogian, to be used on the front page, daily. A QR code would then allow readers to link to
more detailed information and photos. An elementary school component will also be offered.
A myriad of promotional elements will be utilized by
vans will be wrapped with
downtown stores will decorate for the celebration. Beverage containers will commemorate the
milestone, and an official program will be published. Advertising materials will include posters,
banners, billboards, monthly calendars, corporate mail inserts, trade media advertising, and the
The first race was held on August 3, 1863, at the Horse Haven track on the
side of
before a crowd of about 5,000. The track was built in 1947, and used as a trotting track until
the start of Thoroughbred racing 16 years later.
Businesses, not-for-profit organizations and individuals requesting information on
sponsorships, event hosting or general information may contact
website, www.Saratoga150.com.
Music reminiscent of Saratoga Race Course, then and now, was provided at the
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For further media information:
Ed Lewi,
(518) 587-5868;
edlewi@aol.com
