How Saratoga businesses are coping without race crowds

Opening weekend at Saratoga Race Course typically generates such enthusiasm that revelers literally dance in the streets as bands play into the night.

Not this year, of course, with the prestigious meet closed to racing fans due to the pandemic. And that deeply concerns shop owners and restaurateurs who count on summer revenue to survive long winters.

“We’re a tourist destination. We have to have tourists,” said Sharon Castro, owner of AMP Galleries. “The locals are great, but we make the vast majority of our income in July and August. The summer months are huge for us.”

Castro spoke from behind a face shield. Her gallery, which features many equine paintings, was empty when the interview began.

Castro was asked if her business can survive a summer without racing fans.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t know.”

Other small-business owners, despite toiling long hours and being as resourceful as possible, share her anxiety.

“I know people are struggling right now. Restaurants are struggling right now. They can’t open to full capacity,” said Sabine Rodgers, owner of Saratoga Saddlery International Boutiques. “That’s scary, to be honest with you.”

Many stores are offering significant sales in an attempt to spur business. A sign outside Saratoga Saddlery reads: “And They Are Off. Celebrate with us! 20 percent off today. Selected items up to 75 percent off.”

The Shoppe sought to attract customers with a 20 percent discount. Clothes on two racks outside were available for an additional 30 percent off. Lifestyles reduced its wares 20 percent while offering a free gift while supplies lasted. Eddie Bauer’s summer sale slashed certain clothes by as much as 60 percent.

Rodgers alternates shifts with her husband in order to operate from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. She wishes they could hire more help, raising another issue related to the pandemic and the response to it.

“Some businesses, they can’t find enough people to work,” she said. “That’s another problem we all have. We don’t have enough people to keep the business open.”

She believes many potential workers prefer to collect unemployment in the relative safety of their homes. “I think they are getting paid a lot to stay home. The payments they are getting, it’s something businesses here can’t compete,” Rodgers said.

Ed Fazzone, owner of seafood restaurant Eddie F, estimated that he toils 70 to 80 hours a week to compensate for employees he lost. “I had hours for them,” he said, “but they opted to take the unemployment and run.”

In yet another blow, Fasig-Tipton, which typically holds The Saratoga Sale and the New York-bred Select Yearling Sale in early August, shifted those high-profile auctions to Kentucky. They will follow the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. They typically attract well-heeled clients to Saratoga.

While the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths are down dramatically, New York had been the epicenter. Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to be sharply criticized for a March 25 directive that required nursing homes to re-admit COVID-19 patients into a vulnerable population, an approach he amended May 10.

Through it all, local entrepreneurs maintain a can-do attitude. Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Sackatoga Stable, which owns leading 3-year-old Tiz the Law, is among them. Although a limited number of owners are being admitted to Saratoga Race Course, Knowlton is accommodating other partners in a ballroom at Embassy Suites, where they follow the races at one of the nation’s premier meets on a big-screen television.

“At least we get some of the camaraderie and we can wager together and have some fun,” Knowlton said. “Certainly, it’s not like being at the track. I miss being there and all of the people that I don’t see during the year. But we’re racing, and that’s the most important thing.”

Many area hotels and restaurants are hosting race-watching parties to generate revenue. Click here for a list.

Terry Finley, who oversees West Point Thoroughbreds, could not be more optimistic as he looks beyond 2020. “Saratoga is a national treasure, especially in the horse business, and it will come back,” he said. “We’re going to get this city and this region back.”

Castro is determined to persevere for as long as she can keep the lights on. “We’re open every day. We show up. We’re still making art,” she said.

Just then, a couple entered the gallery and began to peruse the offerings. Hope had arrived.