ESPN's SportsCenter to Visit Saratoga July 25
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ESPN's SportsCenter will originate from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on Saturday, July 25 for Hats Off to Saratoga, the festival celebrating opening weekend at the Saratoga Race Course.
Sara Walsh will anchor from the paddock area (9 a.m.-noon ET, ESPN) as horses return to their stalls following their morning workouts, and fans begin to gather for afternoon racing. Joining her in Saratoga will be reporters Jeannine Edwards and Kenny Mayne.
Saturday's stop in Saratoga Springs will share the 9 a.m.-noon slot with a SportsCenter telecast of that afternoon's WNBA All-Star Game (3:30 p.m., ABC). The split telecast will conclude the "SportsCenter on the Road Summer Series" of six events over five weekends. The live, three-hour telecasts featured anchors hosting from sets located at event sites, as well as regular SportsCenter news, highlights and analysis.
Highlights of Saturday's SportsCenter from Saratoga:
• An on set appearance by seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher
• Interviews and scene-setting shots from around the historic track
• An appearance by Sam Grossman, the New York Racing Association bugler
• A piece by Kenny Mayne on surviving the stormy 2008 Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga
• A piece by Jeannine Edwards on the quirkiness of Saratoga
• A piece on the history of the track by Joe Tessitore, who told ESPN.com: "Having grown up in the area, spending so many August days at the track, I have always been intrigued by Saratoga's past... From every seam of its 143-year-old wooden slats, Saratoga racetrack is full of character."
"Saratoga is my favorite of all tracks," said Edwards, who began her equine career at the Spa as a 16-year old hot walker. "That first summer I worked for LeRoy Jolley who at the time trained Genuine Risk (filly who had just won the Kentucky Derby, gr. I) and Jaklin Klugman (third in the Derby). Jaklin Klugman was owned by (actor) Jack Klugman, and he came to the barn every morning. It was a great time to be in the Jolley barn. I thought 'This is just the neatest thing ever'."