Why do bettors love playing Saratoga? Here are 5 reasons

Every summer, horseplayers look forward to the Saratoga meet like no other event in horse racing, with the exception of Kentucky Derby week and the two-day Breeders’ Cup series. No other full-length racing meet creates the same kind of excitement as this one, and for good reasons. 

In terms of gambling, there are five key reasons bettors wait for Saratoga to unload their wagering dollars.   

1. More stakes racing

As expected, Saratoga offers high-quality graded-stakes races on Saturdays. But Saratoga also runs graded stakes-races on Sunday, while most other tracks save their stakes events for Saturday.

Even more impressive is that Saratoga offers at least one stakes race on almost every card, even on weekdays. For example, the analysis of the Grade 3, $175,000 Schuylerville Stakes on Thursday has begun for most bettors. Not every weekday stakes race is graded, but in the non-graded weekday stakes races, the race quality usually remains high.  

Most people want to play stakes races above any other type of race, especially if they are graded races. Saratoga offers plenty of them.  

2. Star horses

Because of the plethora of graded-stakes races at Saratoga, horseplayers get to see more star horses, and therefore they will bet more often since bettors will want to bet on races with familiar horses.

Saratoga followers get to see the best horses in each division. But the one group that gains the most attention are former Derby trail stars.

For example, the Travers Stakes (G1) is known as the “Midsummer Derby.” Fans who love watching horses from the Derby trail and Triple Crown series might see Kentucky Derby champion Mage or the division leader Forte in the Travers Stakes (G1), or possibly other familiar 3-year-olds from the Triple Crown series as well. This race is important as it can stamp one 3-year-old as the favorite for the Eclipse Award. 

In any case, no other regular meet offers the amount of star quality seen at Saratoga, whether they are 3-year-olds from the Triple Crown series or runners from other divisions. 

3. 2-year-old maiden races

Saratoga always has been the best place for connections to showcase their most promising 2-year-olds. With most maiden races filled with first-time starters, handicappers can expect to study incredible pedigrees on paper. Most of these young horses will relate to famous siblings or dams.

Because many of these inexperienced horses come from well-known families, predicting what they want becomes slightly easier than handicapping 2-year-old maiden special weights at other racetracks.

Visual handicappers also get their chance to shine in these types of races. XBTV shows workout videos for many first-timers, so horseplayers who go through the extra work of watching replays can gain an extra edge.

When it comes down to it, horseplayers want the best races in every category, and Saratoga offers the best 2-year-old maiden special weights.

4. Better lower-level races

Since the top-level standards at Saratoga run high, the bottom rises too. Even the claiming races and maiden claimers feel a little better in quality.

For example, when handicapping a typical Saratoga claiming race with a $50k tag at Saratoga, it might feel more like an allowance-level race at other tracks. Likewise, high-priced maiden claimers will look like they belong in a maiden special weight elsewhere. These are not normal low-level races.

Everyone wants to win at Saratoga, which makes every race competitive.

The bettor benefits because higher-quality runners usually show more consistent form, which makes the races more approachable for them.

5. Healthy-sized pools with better value

With the racing world focusing on Saratoga in July and August, the pool sizes swell up. Everyone wants to play the races at Saratoga in the same way they want to play the Breeders’ Cup series or the races during Kentucky Derby week.

The difference is that Saratoga lasts almost two months. For horseplayers, this is their Christmas season culminating with the Travers Stakes (G1) later in August. 

During Breeders’ Cup and Kentucky Derby week, the amount of casual or uninformed players can result in a lot of bad opinions floating out there. The more experienced players gain an edge from the rise in the number of bettors since they can spot the bad opinions.

The same logic applies during the Saratoga meet. Since the number of bad opinions rises with the higher amount of bettors, the more experienced players can spot those underlaid horses and gain a slight edge.

In terms of finding value, the Saratoga meet is great.