Saratoga Springs is still buzzing from Belmont as racing returns

As you may or may not know by now, the 2024 Belmont Stakes Festival took place at Saratoga Race Course this year.

With Belmont Park experiencing the ultimate “Extreme Makeover: Racetrack Edition,” racetrack personnel and horsemen alike were forced to "Move. That. Truck." filled with top equine talent up to Saratoga for the weekend.

This venue change elicited a wide range of reactions. Many locals worried over the surge of tourists taking over their territory while countless racing aficionados eagerly counted the days until racing at the Spa kicked off.

One thing is for certain. The financial impact both on track and within Saratoga County made a Richter scale-level impact. President of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, Todd Shimkus wore a smile on his face and a Tiz the Law baseball cap atop his head at the races on June 10.

"We think this is going to have upwards of a $50 million economic impact," he said. "That’s from Albany all the way up through Lake George. It’s based on the annual economic impact during the regular Saratoga meet which is about $370 million."

Shimkus was thrilled to report tangible evidence of this marquee event’s impact. "Heidi West from Lifestyles [of Saratoga] told me she was up 43%. Patty Novo from Taverna Novo on Beekman Street said Friday was her best day. Ever."

However, some business owners had a different perspective on the historic affair. Jacob Myers and Zach Scarborough purchased the local restaurant, Comfort Kitchen earlier this year. The comfort food establishment looked more like a ghost town instead of the bustling track scene down Union Avenue.

Myers said Comfort Kitchen sustained a massive hit to typical afternoon traffic. "I’m assuming since they’re not allowing re-entry, people aren’t privy to downtown during midday hours," Myers figured given the lull on a sunny spring day.

The co-business owner said other lunch place establishments also saw a drop in business and went as far to say he might just take a vacation

next year during the Belmont Stakes.

Of course, Myers was spot on regarding NYRA’s no re-entry policy. The venue capped attendance at 50,000 people and announced that it reached that capacity but many felt like it was more congested than that, including Shimkus. "That was paid attendance. It felt like more." he asserted.

25-year-old Brayden Esposito agreed. It really did feel like more. "The energy in the crowd was the best I’ve ever seen," the Voorheesville, NY native said. Not to mention, a consistent complaint across the male population was the lack of easy access bathrooms. Some men waited

twenty minutes to use the facilities—a rare occurrence for any venue.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was kicked off by a city-engulfing event called Belmont on Broadway. The main drag of downtown was closed off all day on Wednesday for an evening concert headlined by Blues Traveler. It proved to be a massive success in welcoming visitors.

"We worked with NYRA, Live Nation, a whole host of people and we’re already talking about doing the same thing again next year. Our hope is we attract even more people."

Next year is already in the works. And Shimkus is working on how to make it even better.

"We are already Monday Morning Quarterbacking what we can do differently and how we can make it even better."

One of the main concerns about a Belmont Stakes of this caliber coming to Upstate New York was the cost involved. It wasn’t unusual to see one bedroom units in Downtown Saratoga going for upwards of $1,500 per night for this event. Some race trackers inevitably felt priced out of the

event. Shimkus believed the hefty price tags were still worth it. “You gotta be willing to spend to see value and there’s value here in Saratoga,” he said.

It would seem that the value Shimkus speaks of would include the magic of Saratoga Race Course. But even New York-based jockey Kendrick Carmouche felt a bit stung by the prices to make the trek to Saratoga.

"Only thing I can really say is that Saratoga is very expensive to come