Saratoga 2016: Friday is Opening Day!

Each July as the summer calendar is in full flight but only a few days away from August’s sweet retreat, I am reminded of Saratoga Race Course’s strong pull on my horse racing soul.

It’s no surprise, or secret, as Saratoga once deemed the “August Place to Be,” draws thousands upon thousands to its singular and unique version of horse racing paradise for a meet that now stretches from July to Labor Day. Describing the Spa’s allure to the unfamiliar may be like describing sex to a virgin, incomplete at best, but still worth saying.

And for good reason, in the words are the remembrances, incomplete for sure, but existing on the tips of our mental tongues. In the Sport of Kings which is still trying to find its secure foothold for a prosperous future, Saratoga also reminds all of us what is good when horses and humans meet.

To be fair, Saratoga is not alone. Del Mar, Churchill, Keeneland, Oaklawn, Santa Anita hold the same nostalgic reminders of horse racing’s heydays. There are just so many factors in the balance of Saratoga memories, recent and far away, that make it special.

Whether it’s the hot, humid weather (with an almost constant threat of rain), the breadth and depth of history made, an incredible parade of almost limitless top tier talent or the promise of tomorrow’s rewards through a steady stream of two-year-old races or the sales that punctuate Whitney weekend, Saratoga is as iconic as its own spires upholding the rickety clubhouse and grandstand.

Maybe it’s just the lightened load of cares that comes with summer vacations. When we can step away from schedules, board meetings and carting our kids to camp and can just bury our heads in past performances trying to make a few bucks, well, what horse bettor wouldn’t look forward to such a time.

Like Keeneland’s two, three-plus-week meets, betting at Saratoga takes on life of its own as handicappers try to figure which shippers from which tracks will make an impact, hopefully at a price. Toss in the prestige of winning one of 48 graded stakes races - an incredible 18 at Grade I - as well ruminations of what may be next May after your two-year-old wins at Saratoga, and you’ve got yourself a bettor’s dream, or nightmare, or both.

I’ve both sank and swam at Saratoga’s betting windows. OK I’ve sunk and treaded water at best. It’s a difficult place to turn a profit, but it’s the best track to at least try.

Saratoga is also fondly known as the Graveyard of Favorites, which is a bit of misnomer. Historically, the betting favorites win around a similar clip to other tracks, in and around the 30-percent range. The but, and it’s a big BUT, when the favorite loses, it is usually of epic proportions, like Onion beating champion Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney or more recently the Triple Crown Champ, American Pharaoh suffering his only defeat in 2015 by getting beat by a one-time winner, Keen Ice in the Travers Stakes.

Most who know me, know my personal Saratoga history runs deep. This will be my 23rd consecutive year making at least one trip to the Spa. My dad used to call me from a Saratoga payphone back in the day when he made the three-and-a-half hour drive from Boston west and north with his friend, Mike. My dad laid down my first of several winning wagers in the 1981 Travers Stakes on Willow Hour when I was 13-years-old. Willow Hour, the Jim Dandy winner and 25-1 shot defeated the favored Derby winner, Pleasant Colony, and the other favorite and champion, Lord Avie. So my history, like so many others who like to make a wager, is intimately tied to Saratoga’s.

While I never got the chance to go the Spa with my dad, I did get some dirt from the track to sprinkle on his grave a few years back. In a strange twist of fate, I came to find out the cemetery workers are track fans as well!

In more recent times, I’ve had the pleasure of walking the backside along the Oklahoma training track interviewing the likes of leading trainer, Todd Pletcher, and President of West Point Thoroughbreds, Terry Finley, while horses seem to emerge from nothingness through Saratoga’s heavy, morning mist. More importantly, I‘ve had the opportunity to make friends within the industry, those in both the Twitter and horse race blogging universes and a very special owner, his partners, and family.

While I’d love to have more luck on the track, I can say without hesitation my luck off the track is far greater. From now until Labor Day there’s really no other place I’d rather be - whether it’s sitting at a picnic table watching the races from a television conveniently braced on a tree limb, the beautiful brick winner’s circle or sweating it out in the ancient clubhouse where the circular fans only move the tremendous heat around.

So the anticipation is upon us, Saratoga travelers. The days will seemingly drag until Friday at 1 pm when the glorious and short-lived meet rings its first bell, throws open its starting gates and horses race around its revered oval for a 152nd season. History is always made a Saratoga from the tragic to the triumphant, and I’m thrilled to witness some of it in person.