Saratoga's 2016 race meet opens on July 15, approximately seven months hence,
but I must admit that some of the usual anticipation is absent for me. This has
nothing to do with the much discussed monetization/modernization of the
venerable facility, or the fact that Saratoga racing is more and more an
extension of the downstate product, where the quality races are dominated by
short priced runners from two or three barns (call it "TAPstock" or
"Chadapalooza").

My tempered enthusiasm has more to do with the fact that I find that a trip to
the Spa no longer serves as an "escape" or a needed change of pace from a
hectic and harried urban existence, living in a cultural backwater and
commuting to work in the middle of the world's largest tourist trap.

I find myself online investigating transportation and lodging alternatives in
Fort Erie, Ontario and Franklin, Kentucky, planning my equine themed summer
escape.

Again this has nothing to do with Chris Kay and his overcompensated cadre of
minions wanting to transform the Saratoga facility into a theme park, but
rather that the City of Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County have been the
fastest growing city and county in the state (based on population growth
between the 1970 Census and the 2010 Census). Further growth is anticipated. A
new Embassy Suites popped up near Congress Park. Reliable (though eccentric)
local sources, the old guys I call Bartles and James, proprietors of a produce
stand/nursery on the south side of Rte 9, have told me that two more lodging
facilities are planned along Rte 9, I would imagine on the property once
occupied by a succession of failed restaurants and on the property where now
sits an abandoned driving range/miniature golf course (a weed choked miniature
golf course presents some fascinating photographic opportunities).

The challenge for 21st Century Saratoga is to make itself into a viable
destination eight or nine months out of the year rather than four or five, and
without sounding like a Chamber of Commerce sound bite, there are numerous
attractions in the area not related to thoroughbred racing which will make this
possible. More restaurants, more nightspots, and, for better or worse the
almost inevitable expansion of the thoroughbred race meet to at least eight
weeks.

SARATOGA LOST

I have an acquaintance who has told me, pointedly, never to begin a sentence
with the words "Back in the 1970s...". Said acquaintance is more or less my age
and the words "back in the 1970s" (usually uttered wistfully) probably make him
feel ancient. Keeping this in mind, let me say that the Saratoga of 40 or so
years ago featured a real sense of racetrack community. With the limited number
of restaurants and watering holes, it was possible and probable that racing
fans would run into trainers, owners, jockeys, grooms, hustlers and touts over
dinner or drinks, or shopping at a local market. I recall seeing John Piesen of
the [i]New York Post[/i] at breakfast, head in hands staring into his coffee
after having no published winners for three straight days. I remember a night
long drinking adventure in a dive bar with a couple of good ole boys from
Kentucky who turned out to be members of the family who owned Golden Chance
Farm, which campaigned decent stakes runners such as Dust Commander and Run
Dusty Run. I will never forget seeing a prominent jockey devouring a huge meal
at Lillian's, one of the few upscale restaurants in Saratoga at the time, and
then "flipping" the meal in the parking lot a few minutes later.

This sense of community was strengthened by the fact that back in, sorry, 40
years ago, the only way to experience Saratoga racing was to be in Saratoga (or
in a cramped and depressing downstate OTB). The community was privileged to be
watching and wagering on four weeks of racing which was, at the time, far
superior to any racing in North America.

It is highly unlikely that Saratoga racing will ever return to the lofty perch
it occupied in the mid 20th Century. Racing has become decentralized in that
there are graded stakes with big purses run all over the country now. I have
always held the opinion, oft stated here, that the diverse geographical nature
of the trainer colony made Saratoga racing strong and unique. Trainers from
California, the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic region, Canada and Europe and jump
(not jump up) trainers all joined New York regulars upstate. Now, with the
aforementioned decentralization of racing and the unnecessary and politically
driven proliferation of New York bred racing, it is highly unlikely that the
trainer diversity which made Saratoga unique will ever return.

Am I abandoning or boycotting Saratoga? Never. I would never forgo the
opportunity to renew old acquaintances, to visit the old haunts, to hear the
echoes of and see in the shadows great moments of the past, moments which will
always be connected to my (possibly misspent) youth. The words "bucolic" or
"rustic" will probably never be applied to the Saratoga of the 21st Century,
and it is likely that the new Saratoga will feature traffic jams and crowds,
overpriced and overrated restaurants, and uncomfortable lodgings (there is no
place like home).[sup]*[/sup]

From a horseplayer's point of view, Living Room Downs provides a very viable
alternative to a trip upstate. Extensive coverage of the meet is available on
the internet, including Frank D's regular communiques. HD TV is a big
improvement, and there are far fewer distractions than at the Spa.

Is Fort Erie or Kentucky Downs the new Saratoga? Nyet, but it is likely that
either one might provide a peaceful week of "Escape from New York" that
Saratoga once, but no longer, could be counted on to provide.

------------
* Tried AirBNB for the first time this past summer. Rented a decent room in a
beautiful old house off the main drag. There was a small framed picture on the
dresser in the room I rented. When I looked closely at the framed photo, I was
surprised (terrified?) that my host had somehow found and downloaded a picture
of me when I was about 10 years old; that picture and I spent a few sleepless
hours staring at each other.