Saratoga Springs Prepares for its Moment in the Winner’s Circle

The buzz around Saratoga Springs, New York, started about a year ago and now the excitement is reaching a fever pitch.

The city with a population of around 30,000 will host the biggest sporting event in its history this weekend when the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown, takes place at Saratoga Race Course.

It was a little over a year ago the New York Racing Association gained approval from the New York State Senate to utilize a $455 million loan to build new thoroughbred racing facilities at Belmont Park, the home of the Belmont Stakes. That construction at Belmont Park meant that the 2024 and 2025 Belmont Stakes would need to find a different temporary venue.

The most recent time a Belmont Stakes wasn’t at Belmont Park was when it was held at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, from 1963–1967, the last time Belmont Park was under construction.

“I think it was just a mutual conversation, sitting around a meeting table one day and discovering that there could be an opportunity,”  said Darryl Leggieri, president of Discover Saratoga. “We thank the NYRA for considering us and we don’t take that lightly. We look forward to doing a great job for them because we’re also hosting in 2025. It’s something that is really important to our destination. And it’s great that the NYRA is giving us this chance to shine.”

Because of the smaller size of Saratoga’s track, the race is scheduled to be run at 1.25 miles, shorter than the usual distance of 1.5 miles. The prize purse has been increased from $1.5 million to $2 million and Saratoga Springs is ready for a party.

Saratoga in the Spotlight

Saratoga Springs sits north of the state capital in Albany and 200 miles north of Belmont Park. The city loves its horse racing, as each year it hosts the Travers Stakes — one of the top non-Triple Crown races in the world.

But as big as the Travers is, it’s not the Belmont Stakes. And with the prestige of a Triple Crown race, that brings a lot of tourists.

“We really see this as a great opportunity to put an international spotlight on not just Saratoga Springs, but the entire county and region,” Leggieri said. “We’ve been excited for months, but now you can see the energy. You can feel it downtown. The shops are being decorated and our businesses in downtown really embraced it. There are so many things to do throughout the county and we just can’t wait to share our destination with the world.”

It’s hard to put a price tag on the impact that hosting the Belmont Stakes will have for Saratoga Springs. Leggieri estimates the event will pull in about $50 million in estimated economic impact, a substantial amount for a city of 30,000 people.

“We see this year’s (race) as a historic chance to showcase the city and the county as a major event destination for sports and otherwise,” Leggieri said. “We want to make sure our visitors have a great time and we ultimately want them to come back. We want them to bring their friends, their families and visit us again. We want them to potentially invest in a business, or even move here. We just feel like there’s a lot at stake and we want to put our best foot forward.”

The city has gone into full horse racing mode, as the shops in the Broadway District downtown are adorned with Belmont Stakes and general horse racing décor. There are people in inflatable horse costumes walking around taking pictures with tourists.

“This is a big opportunity for all of our local businesses and they don’t take this for granted,” Leggieri said. “They have been staffing up for months and have been ordering extra supplies. They’re ready to roll out the red carpet for everyone coming to our destination.”

Path to the Winner’s Circle

There are 14 horse races taking place Saturday at Saratoga, starting at 10:45 a.m. ET, with the Belmont Stakes as the 12th race of the day. But there is plenty going on behind the scenes.

The “Belmont on Broadway” activation highlights the activations. The six-day event kicked off with the “Embrace the Belmont” experience at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on June 4. The next day, Blues Traveler put on a free concert at Saratoga City Center. June 6 includes the Belmont Stakes Artist Festival and Belmont Gala at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. There’s also a concert series across the city on June 7.

“We’re trying to do a lot of fun stuff,” Leggieri said. “Obviously, we want them to go and experience the track, but we curated a list of other things that are happening in our community, because having opportunities like that really shows our commitment to the event, to the festival and we want it to be memorable.”

Providing plenty of entertainment for fans who come to town is more important in a city such as Saratoga Springs, as Saratoga Race Course will only be able to hold about half of what Belmont Park (100,000-plus capacity) typically does for this event.

“They always cap the track attendance at 50,000 and we expect the numbers to be at that capacity,” Leggieri said. “So we want to make sure that there are other events going on — different types of watch parties happening that day so that people can go to a restaurant, go to a bar and make sure that they can see the races. So even if you can’t get into the venue, you’re still going to have a good time.”

While it may not be able to accommodate as many fans, Saratoga Race Course makes up for it with charm and historical significance. The venue is the oldest continuously running racecourse in the United States, as it opened its doors on August 3, 1863.

“It’s a beautiful, historic venue and we’re very lucky and proud to have it here,” Leggieri said. “The Travers is the highlight of our summer meet and that’s pretty special. But this is different because it’s the third leg of the Triple Crown and it’s never been held here before. Horse racing is always a great time in Saratoga Springs and the community certainly loves it.”

The 2024 Travers Stakes will take place August 24, giving the Saratoga Springs region two huge events within three months. The summer series of horse racing at Saratoga is a main catalyst for the city drawing over a million visitors per year and this time around that number is going to be inflated.

“There will be more people coming to Saratoga who have never been here before because of the Belmont,” Leggieri said. “And that’s why it’s important to really put our best foot forward to make sure everybody wants to come back.”

Another aspect that makes this Belmont a bigger deal than norman is the winner of the Kentucky Derby (Mystik Dan) and the winner of the Preakness Stakes (Seize The Grey) will both be battling in a loaded field of talent. While there’s no possibility of a Triple Crown winner, the race should be elite.

Leggieri is picking Mystik Dan to enter the winner’s circle at Saratoga but no matter how the race shakes out, the people of Saratoga Springs will be the winners.

“There are a lot of folks who have been working very hard on making this week happen, from city officials to nonprofit organizations to private organizations, with NYRA of course included in that,” Leggieri said. “We’ve been working so hard on this and being able to see that winning horse in the winner’s circle is going to mean the culmination of a lot of hard work. I think our locals are going to be very proud of the job we did on the international stage. I think it’s going to be great.”