Saratoga Racetrack: 2023 Schedule, Best Bets, History, Records & More

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Last updated: August 21, 2023

Saratoga Race Course Track Facts

2023 Saratoga Stakes Schedule

Saratoga Racing and Track History

The Saratoga Race Course is located in Saratoga Springs, NY. The tracks first-ever thoroughbred meet was in August, 1863 a month after the Battle of Gettysburg. Although Saratoga Race Course is considered the third oldest race track/course in the U.S., by many accounts, it is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the country.

Referred to as “The Spa” (for the nearby mineral springs), the Saratoga Race Course is the gold standard and the world’s most accomplished thoroughbreds have raced on the hallowed ground.

The Travers Stakes is the oldest major thoroughbred horse race in America. Nicknamed the Midsummer Derby, the Travers brings together the greatest three-year-old horses to the race course to compete for the $1.25 million purse.

Saratoga is operated by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), and there are three separate tracks in the main course at Saratoga Race Course:

• A main (dirt) track, which is a 1 1/8-mile (9 furlong) oval. It has a 4 percent banking on the turns and the distance from final turn to the finish line is 1,144 feet.
• The Mellon Turf Course (outer) is a 1-mile (8-furlong) turf track, and has the same banking on the turns and distance from the final turn to the finish line as the main dirt track.
• The Inner Turf Course is a 7 furlong oval with the same banking on the turns and a distance from the final turn to the finish line of 1,164 feet.

Saratoga is home to some of the best racing, and betting, in the world. The Saratoga Race Course is also the oldest track in the U.S. Voted one of the top-10 sports venues of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated, Saratoga is truly a historical jewel, and a race course that brings many of the best horses, jockeys and trainers to compete every summer.

Saratoga also has a peculiar reputation as the “Graveyard of Champions.” Four historic upsets have contributed to Saratoga’s reputation as the course where champions go to lose. They include:

1919 Man ‘o War – One of greatest race horses of all time, he won 20-of-21 races with his only loss at Saratoga.

1930 Gallant Fox – The second Triple Crown champion in history, Gallant Fox lost as heavy favorite to 100-1 long shot Jim Dandy, a race since bearing his name.

1973 Secretariat – Just a few weeks after winning the 1973 Triple Crown, Secretariat lost the Whitney Stakes to a little-known horse named Onion at the Saratoga Race Course.

2015 American Pharaoh – The Triple Crown winner won 9-of-10 career races after his initial maiden debut.  That loss was in front of a record crowd in the Travers Stakes where he finished a close second to Keen Ice, cementing Saratoga’s reputation as the “Graveyard of Champions”.

Saratoga’s Significance for Handicappers

Saratoga is the highlight of the summer racing calendar on the East Coast. Beginning in late July, the 40-day meet runs through Labor Day and serves as challenging handicapping exercise with terrific betting opportunities. Along with New York-based runners, horses from all over North America, as well as international shippers, will point toward the strong racing fare.

And coupled with enormous daily handle and large fields, Saratoga often offers value for horseplayers with the right opinion.

Handicapping

Tools: Ultimate Past Performances from TwinSpires and Brisnet feature BRIS Class, Pace and Speed Ratings that can be a valuable tool when handicapping races. Additional data, including trainer, jockey, track bias and pedigree stats, allow further inspection into key details and Ultimate PPs also contain a predictive Prime Power Rating for every horse that’s started. Ultimate PPs are free to TwinSpires.com players when they wager on the track and day of the product purchased.

Late Pace numbers in turf routes:  BRIS Late Pace Ratings are arguably most important in turf routes, with horses waiting until the latter stages to offer their best. Saratoga features two turf courses and horses with triple-digit Late Pace numbers can have an edge in two-turn events. More races were held on turf than dirt races during the 2016 meet.

Horse-for-the-course angle: Fourstardave and Quick Call aren’t remembered for their exploits at other tracks, but they’re memorialized with stakes races at Saratoga after displaying a tremendous affinity for the venue. Individual records (track, distance etc) are listed in the Ultimate PPs and it’s prudent to be aware of horses that have run well locally because they can display dramatic improvement from recent efforts elsewhere. The same applies to horses with little previous success as they can prove vulnerable if entering with good form from Belmont or another track.

Different dimensions: One-turn specialists can be exposed at Saratoga given that Belmont Park runs most its dirt routes – races at a mile, 1 1/16 miles and 1 1/8 miles — at one turn. Saratoga doesn’t offer any one-mile or 1 1/16-mile races – dirt routes are held around two turns at distances of 1 1/8 miles or longer – and handicappers can take advantage by locating horses who have run well at two-turn distances previously.

Handicapping Saratoga with Brisnet.com

North America’s most prestigious race meeting kicks off on Friday, and the best reports in the business are available at Brisnet.com.

Those planning to play the majority of the Saratoga season should check out Brisnet.com for savings plans on Ultimate PPs, Daily Selections, and ALL-Ways data files for the entire meeting.

Whether you play every day or any day, though, Brisnet.com has the information you need to cash in big at Saratoga and all your favorite tracks.

Best Bets

Identifying best bets is important because successful horseplayers will leverage their strongest opinions on a program instead of wagering the same amount on every race.

Developing a game plan is simple: determine your best bets on the program and attack accordingly. Best bets can be “singled” in multi-race wagers like the Pick 3 and Pick 4, where stringing together winners is of critical importance. Singling allows you to utilize more horses in other contentious races.

TwinSpires.com is the place to bet races from Saratoga and horseplayers can rely on a wealth of reports, including Daily Selections and Workout Reports from Brisnet.com, to help take the guesswork out of selections.

Saratoga Race Course Exotic Wagering

• $1 – Rolling Daily Double beginning in Race 1.
• $1 – Exacta on all races.
• $1 – Quinella on races two and four.
• $1 – Rolling Pick 3 beginning in Race 1.
• $0.50 – Pick 4 on races 2-5 and last four races.
• $0.50 – Pick 4 on races 3-6 and last four races when steeplechase is first race.
• $1 – Trifecta on every race with five or more betting interests (stakes, allowances and handicaps with five or more betting interests will offer trifecta betting).
• $1 – Superfecta on every race with 6 or more betting interests.
• $1 – Pick 5 beginning in race 1, except on Steeplechase days when it starts in race 2.
• $2 – Pick 6 on last six races.
• $1 – Grand Slam begins on the fifth (nine-race card), sixth (10-race card), and seventh (11 race card) race.

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