by Paul Post
Plagued by poor weather conditions, Saratoga Race Course saw significant declines in attendance and handle during its 2008 summer meeting, which ended on Monday.
Total attendance, projected at 864,363, was down 9.8% from 2007 while projected all-sources handle of $523-million was 10.2% lower than last year.
The numbers are for the meet’s first 35 days plus those from the last day of the 2007 meet and a portion of Monday’s wagering. Final 2008 figures will be released later this week.
Figures were much worse early on in the 36-day meeting, which began on July 23, because of brutally heavy summer rainstorms that forced the cancellation of one day of racing when a section of track was washed out.
During the latter half of August, however, numbers rebounded substantially as sunshine returned to upstate New York. The $1-million Travers Stakes Presented by Shadwell Farm (G1) on August 23 had a crowd of more than 40,000.
“Our business improved as the weather improved,” New York Racing Association President Charles Hayward said.
NYRA made more than $1-million in capital investments at the historic track in preparation for 2008. Highlights included a new “preferred access” luxury box near the finish line, an extra luxury suite on the clubhouse turn, and new dining options such as a barbecue tent at the top of the stretch and “Restaurant Row,” behind the clubhouse, featuring specialty items from selected local eateries.
But the weather, lagging economy, and soaring gas prices, all played a role in keeping people away, especially during the early stages of the meet.
Final on-track handle of $114.2-million was down 7.2% from 2007.
During the first three weeks, 35 races were taken off the turf compared to only six in all of 2007, a 14% drop (141 down from 164). A total of 144 betting interests were scratched in the 35 off-the-turf races, with only 65 main-track-only entries replacing them.
Hayward, however, remained upbeat about the meet overall, fueled in part by 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin’s victory in the $500,000 Woodward Stakes (G1) on August 30.
New York racing shifts to Belmont Park on Friday for the start of that track’s fall meeting.
Paul Post is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent