This month, The New York Racing Association announced that the upcoming summer schedule at Saratoga Race Course will feature more racing days than any previous summer. While the extended season could very well give local businesses a boost, some owners have doubts.
Doreen Kamen’s yarn and craft shop is steps from where the stage will be when the Belmont week of racing kicks of with a free concert on June 3.
While that concert will help launch the longest summer season in Saratoga Race Course history, Kamen isn’t sure that will necessarily translate to increased business. She says during the first upstate Belmont Stakes in 2024, she saw almost no business. While things improved last summer, she’s unsure what to expect this time around.
“I hope that now that it’s the third year the Belmont folks are here, they will start to feel a little more comfortable shopping here, not just eating and drinking and going back to their hotel room. So, I hope it’ll make them a little more consumer oriented,” said Kamen.
Kamen is a bit more concerned about the ballooned 46-day regular meet.
“The longer track season — it’s wearing on some. I think it’s worse for the people, the residents. We don’t see our locals during the track season, so that’s tough, but I’m always optimistic. I think anytime you can introduce this city to a new batch of people it’s always good for us,” said Kamen.
Kamen’s uncertainty matches what several business owners and residents are feeling after news that Saratoga’s racing season will stretch to 51 days in 2026 — two days more than last year’s record-setting season.
A longer season could be a boon to local business, as president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce Todd Shimkus predicts:
“My guess is that the hotels and restaurants and retailers will enjoy having race fans here every single weekend in July and August,” said Todd Shimkus.
But some locals are less sure.
A little way up the road from Kamen’s shop, Jason Planitizer runs Off-Track Records.
“What I find that happens is when Belmont is happening and there’s all this fan fare about it, the people that live here, the residents don’t come into town because they think it’s going to be a madhouse. It’s the exact opposite. It’s quiet out there until the concert happens or the Belmont on Broadway thing, 5 or 6 o’clock people start showing up. It’s dead in town until then,” said Planitizer.
Shimkus tells WAMC city and county leaders are thinking up ways to attract shoppers downtown throughout the Belmont weekend.
“The new facility at Belmont Park is going to open in September of 2026 so the last chance to see a Triple Crown race in Saratoga at the oldest sporting venue in the United States is going to be in 2026. Then, the reality is that they’ve built the schedule around weekends. Weekends have always been strong for our community for racing, the more challenging days are mid-week,” said Shimkus.
A longer track meet also means more strain on local law enforcement. Saratoga Springs’ Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll says collaborating with regional law enforcement agencies can lighten the load, but there are just some things you can’t work around.
“You know, every year, it depends, we have police and firefighters that take retirement— they exercise their right to retire, of course. And we’ll have to back-fill those positions and train those folks as well. That sometimes can make it challenging because we’ll have additional, newer police and fire fighters but, again, I think we can handle anything that’s thrown at us,” said Coll.
Races at The Spa will run from July 3rd through Labor Day next year. The 2026 meet will again feature a July 4th Racing Festival as well as a five-day Belmont Stakes Festival. Saratoga is hosting the Triple Crown’s <<third>> leg for the third year while Belmont Park undergoes a $500 million renovation.
NYRA says this will be the last upstate Belmont, and a 40-day meet is planned for 2027.
