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NYRA Prepares To Launch 2015 Saratoga Meet

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The New York Racing Association (NYRA) hopes to continue to operate the Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct tracks.

It's one month until the meet at Saratoga Race Course and New York's horse racing organizers are preparing for a new season. In its first board meeting since April and American Pharoah's Triple Crown win at Belmont, the NYRA board is hoping improvements at the Spa will provide for an excellent racing season. 

The New York Racing Association is gearing up for a busy summer. Fresh off American Pharoah's historic win at Belmont, observers are seeing a new energy around horse racing. The board tasked with turning around the beleaguered NYRA is hoping new improvements will draw more visitors to the 40-day meet that begins July 24th.

Before the NYRA board Wednesday, President and CEO Chris Kay highlighted some of the major improvements that will be in place by opening day. The lower carousel dining area will be transformed into a sports bar with 40 televisions and paid seating.

"This year, our focus is to provide new attractions, if you will, to bring even more fans to the historic race course," said Kay.

Second will be the "Tom Durkin Replay Center" where fans can watch the legendary retired announcer's most famous calls.

Third will feature the opening of a "Walk of Fame" featuring plaques and memorabilia of inductees, including prominent owners like Saratoga's own Marylou Whitney.

In an effort begun last year, NYRA is continuing to showcase event days. NYRA is promoting a "supercharged" Travers weekend. Again, Chris Kay.

"In keeping with our philosophy in supporting these big must-see event days, we've enhanced the Travers Card to include the Sword Dancer, whose purse has been increased to $1 million, Personal Ensign, which will feature enhanced purse of $750,000, Forego previously run on closing weekend which will carry a larger purse of $750,000, as well as the traditional Travers Day offerings of the Ballerina, King's Bishop, and Ballston Spa."

August 8th will be the Whitney Festival, featuring the $1.25 million Whitney Handicap. The meet, which runs through Labor Day, will have what NYRA’s calling a “special event” almost daily.

John Hendrickson, husband of Marylou Whitney and a special advisor to the NYRA board, joined the meeting by telephone to comment on the event days.

"I think it's fantastic, I think they're great but we have to remember at Saratoga every day was a must-see day, so I hope we're not diluting the rest of the calendar as we're going forward."

Hendrickson, along with other players in the Saratoga racing scene, had previously expressed disappointment following Monday's revelation that the annual pre-season open house was canceled.

NYRA claimed the open house day was scrapped due to poor attendance in recent years and high costs. Kay suggested in the Times Union NYRA may reconsider the open house in future years.

The board also expressed its desire to see American Pharoah race at Saratoga this summer. The horse’s owner has said Saratoga was leading Monmouth Park, which also has its premier race in August, but the connections haven’t yet decided his next move.

Kay said NYRA is in talks with trainer Bob Baffert to bring the champion horse to the Travers. 

"It's a very complicated and very competitive landscape at the moment....we talked about the Jim Dandy but the Travers looks like the one that is of greatest interest to them as well as the Haskell. And so those two would fit in nicely, and of course, Bob Baffert last year had a horse that won at the Haskell and then came up to the Travers. So we hope that will happen again this year," said Kay.

The board also discussed the ongoing progress of the Backstretch Improvement Program — which includes five new cottages for backstretch workers that will be constructed this year at Saratoga. Twelve more will be built in the following two years.

Lucas Willard is a reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011.
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