A Quiet Start for Saratoga's 157th Season

It had all the markings of opening day at Saratoga Race Course.

The tall, green trees lining the track. The red and white color scheme around the facility. The old, wooden box seat area. The infield canoe painted in the green and gold colors of owner Will Farish, saluting Code of Honor's victory a year ago in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1). Picnic tables in the backyard. A cool breeze from the mountains.

Horses were on the racetrack for the first race, approaching a starting gate positioned at the finish line so it would be directly in front of the grandstand and clubhouse. 

The sound of a bell. Five horses breaking in unison from their stalls. Track announcer John Imbriale loudly and enthusiastically proclaiming, "They're off at Saratoga!"

And then reality set in. In an instant, it became a Twilight Zone in the Adirondacks.

Perhaps it was not "the middle ground between light and shadow" or the "dimension of imagination," to quote Rod Serling, but the 157th opening day at the Spa surely produced the strangest array of sights and sounds in the long and storied history of the fabled Victorian Era racetrack.

"It's a different vibe, but we have to play with what we have," New York Racing Association CEO and president Dave O'Rourke said. "Hopefully, people are enjoying watching us and it's a nice distraction."

What viewers saw July 16 on television or at gatherings in front of big screens at restaurants around Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was simply the standard operating practice at the recent Belmont Park spring/summer meeting due to COVID-19 restrictions and protocols. Yet it was something quite new to the historic racetrack.

Like it was at Belmont Park from June 3 through July 12, there was only essential personnel on the grounds for the first of 40 days at the Spa. No spectators to let out the ear-rattling cheer that typically greets the opening of the starting gate for that eagerly awaited first race of the meet.

"It's awful," said NYRA's placing judge, Sonny Taylor, who has worked for NYRA since 1964. "I've been coming to Saratoga for 56 years and there has never been anything like this. It's so quiet, it's like an off day."

For trainer Linda Rice, whose stable endured 80 days of inactivity when NYRA tracks were closed due to the pandemic from mid-March until the start of June, it did not take long for her to see how the quiet and emptiness of Belmont Park had taken hold at the Spa.

"When I walked into the paddock today and saw the empty grandstand and no one around to share the excitement and energy that we all love, that was really strange," said Rice, who won that opening race with Drawing Away Stable's Grit and Glory.

The situation will change July 17 when a limited number of licensed owners running horses on that day's card will be allowed on the grounds. Due to the New York State Gaming Commission waiting until midday July 15 to approve owners on the grounds with no advance warning, there was not time to safely coordinate admitting people for opening day.

"There will be a little more ambiance tomorrow," O'Rourke said, "but it will be a small fraction of what you usually see. You can't replace the energy this place has when it's full."

Due to the restrictions, Ed Boden, who founded Drawing Away Stable, watched his 4-year-old Malibu Moon  gelding win that $29,100 claimer from his Long Island home while looking forward to an opportunity to be on hand at some point during the meet.

"I did my own cheering. You still hope the horse gets to the wire in time, but there's nothing like being at Saratoga," Boden said. "To get into the winner's circle at Saratoga is invaluable. Partners love that, but they will have to make due with a picture of Linda and the horse."

As much as Boden lamented not being at the Spa after missing so many racing days earlier in the year, he was happy simply to see horses running around the track.

"It would have been nice to be there, which most of our partners would have been, but the main thing is that we're racing. You don't want to see any problems, so I'm fine with them limiting people," Boden said. "The main thing is that the horses are running and everything is going fine on the racetrack."

The quiet did not bother apprentice jockey Luis Cardenas, who rode Grit and Glory, in the least. A year ago at this time, the 23-year-old rider was home in New Jersey, recovering from an injury and watching the Saratoga races on television. For him to be victorious in his first race at the Spa, his heart was pumping loudly enough to mimic any and all crowd noises.

"It's a dream come true," the seven-pound apprentice said about the victory that was just the 17th of his career. "It's a check mark on the bucket list. It's a little awkward only hearing the other jockeys, but to win my first race at Saratoga means a lot to me. It's a perfect way to start."

Of course, for some the essential horsemen who shuffled in and out of a facility that had the feel of library, it didn't matter if there was 1 or 100,000 people on hand. A case in point was trainer Timothy Hamm, who along with Siena Farm owns Dayoutoftheoffice, an Into Mischief  filly who won the Lasix-free $100,000 Schuylerville Stakes (G3) for 2-year-old fillies.

"We've won graded stakes, but not at Saratoga. It's great, couldn't be better. I wish there was 100,000 people here, but it's still awesome," Hamm said. "It doesn't take anything out of it for me. There probably would have a bigger party downtown tonight if it was filled with people, but other than that, it's great."

For trainer Chad Brown it was a day of mixed emotions. He delighted in the victory by Paul P. Pompa Jr.'s Country Grammer in the $100,000 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds that gave him a candidate for the Aug. 8 Travers in the son of Tonalist . Yet after growing up in nearby Mechanicville and spending his youthful days at the racetrack, there was dismay in seeing Saratoga in such a shuttered state.

"It's been a tough day, walking around. I never thought I'd see that," said the 41-year-old three-time training champ at the Spa. "It's really nice to win this race, but it's a bittersweet day with this beautiful place empty where I grew up. We'll try to get through the meet and hold out hope it will open up more as the meet goes on, but there are no guarantees about that. We'll do the best we can and we're thankful they are running here and hopefully it's the only year we'll have to do it."

It was surely tough, and yet early in the card, there was a reminder that racing had indeed returned to Saratoga and that perhaps at some point, even if it's a year away, we may once again see the mesmerizing Saratoga that has become a summer oasis brimming with fans having a glorious day at the races.

The words came from O'Rourke as the wind picked up and he looked up at gray clouds above.

"The only thing that seems normal," he said, "is that we could get a shower."