Advice for Saratoga Horse Racing

My parents are visiting and want to go to the track Friday

Need first timer advice

Looks like you need to pay for clubhouse admission and then for a seat or is there non reserved seating in the clubhouse?

Where do you park?

What else do I need to know?

Go early and park where indicated. There's parking further down if that lot's full. There's a gate nearby. We always bring our own stuff(cooler with food/drinks) and some lawn chairs. Chairs not necessary as there are picnic tables, but they are hard to come by unless real early. Like 10. Lawn area has monitors for viewing every where. It's nice hanging out there for most of the time and then walking inside and watching a few from the rail. At the end of the day right where you parked is Siro's which is a fun stop

If you get the right spot in the lawn they march the  horses right by you from the paddock for each race

How do you watch the race from the lawn?

They have monitors everywhere around the tables under the trees. Some spots have huge big screens. You just find a spot you like and setup camp

That long building in the lawn area is betting windows. You can easily place bets then kick back in the shade with a totty

Coach Z wrote

What else do I need to know?

Iluvparkcity in the 7th race to win.

Skimore's tips are all good.  Here's a few more.

The track should be pretty quiet on Friday (things slow down dramatically for the final week), so it's a good day for you to go.  

I don't know how old your parents are, but they may prefer sitting in the clubhouse.  You pay $8 for clubhouse admission (rather than $5 lawn), but that doesn't get you a reserved seat.  You can get a reserved seat for a few bucks more (I'm not sure how you make that reservation, check NYRA's website), just make sure you're in the clubhouse and not in the grandstand (which will be in full sun - hot).  The lawn can be pretty crowded, and as Skimore mentioned it might be hard to get a picnic table (people come early and "reserve" them).  If you're in the clubhouse rather than on the lawn there's no need to get to the track early.  Plenty of people come in even after the first race has gone off.  It's a long day, so you're not missing anything if you're after race 1.

Skimore's got you parking in Siro's lot, but there's plenty of parking on people's lawns all around there on Nelson Ave, Lincoln Ave, Wright St and others. You should not have to pay more than $10 to park, and the closer you are to the gate, the more expensive it gets, but everything on the Wright Street entrance side of the track is easy walking, especially for the Clubhouse.

The simplest driving directions are to take Exit 14.  There may be a bit of a traffic backup along Union Ave (9P) going past the track to get to where Skimore has you parking, but it shouldn't be horrendous.  Alternatively, there is official NYRA parking on the other side of Union Ave (on your right as you drive down Union), including free NYRA parking.  The free parking is a bit of a hike, which may be a consideration for you.  

Food is expensive, just like at a ski area.  I think Hattie's Chicken Shack still has a concession at the track.  If they do, and you like fried chicken, it's great.  Hattie's restaurant in town (Phila Street) is also highly recommended and not overpriced.  As a rule, restaurants in Saratoga do not take reservations during track season.  Other recommended restaurants in town for after the track are Forno Toscano, Max's and Druthers.  Siro's will be loud, crowded and you'll be standing.

Definitely try to see the horses in the paddock area and along the chute that goes from the paddock out to the track.  

Bet the favorites to place or show and you won't get hurt too bad.

I worked at the track for 7 years as an usher. There are a couple of ways to go:

1. Cheap. Free parking (with a long walk), cheap admission (although they increased it this year), picnic table or lawn chair in the back picnic area, either watch the races on the TVs (which is stupid - why bother going to the track if you're basically watching the race on OTB?), or walk through the building and watch the races from the rail. Also, you can sit for free on the green benches in front, but those are in the sun all day, so it gets hot.

2. Moderate. Grandstand seats are available at the box office by the Union Ave. entrance. Buy one towards the top (lower letters in the alphabet) and you won't be in the sun. Park close (above advice is good, I usually pay $6 to park in someone's lawn. This is a great option for your parents.

3. Expensive. Buy clubhouse seats at the same place as the grandstand seats. There might be a couple available. There's an additional cost to get into the clubhouse. Don't bother paying it unless you have seats (or want to eat in one of the restaurants). The areas that you can hang out arent' THAT much better than the areas you hang out with regular admission (they're slightly closer to the finish line). Clubhouse admission without seats is one of the biggest scams at the track (along with food/alcohol prices, cigar prices, tip sheets, and hat prices).

Betting: Pick one strategy and stick with it. I play 3 horse exacta boxes of $1 or $2 ($6 or $12 total bet) that hit if two of the horses come in 1-2. They're usually good for $20-$200 wins (depending on odds). If I like a horse, I'll play $2 across the board on it, betting it to win, place, and show ($6 total bet), which usually hits nice if he wins, money back if it places, and minimized loss if it shows.

Every day I worked there, I took some tip money and tried the pick 6. It costs $2, but you can win over $200,000 if there's a nice carryover and you don't have to split the pot. It means you have to pick the winners of 6 races in a row. Over 250 tracks days I've played it and never hit it once (5 out of 6 usually pays around $150-300. I hit that 3 times). But someday I'll hit it big and it will be awesome.

Because it's the last week and the horses are not as good, results can be unpredictable. Friday will be a good day to try some long shots (especially if it's rainy).

The soup under section H is tasty. You can see the horses mounted up at the paddock, which is fun. The water from the Big Red Spring in the back is disgusting, but lucky if you need to turn your day around. People watching is more fun than horse watching. Hattie's has awesome fried chicken. The Beyer's speed rating (bold number in the program) is the most important handicapping stat. My grandfather said to "always bet the gray" and "always bet the horse that shits before the race". When looking at workout times (listed on the bottom of the horse's stat line), long workouts are better than short workouts and look for a 12 second per furlong pace. Electronic betting is better for beginning bettors because you don't have a lot of pressure from people behind you or anything. Just get a $50 voucher from any ticket window and take it to a machine - then you can see what your bets will cost and there's not a lot of pressure.

Siro's is a fun bar, the one next to it is fun, too (Horseshoe?) and Mexican Connection has good mexican food.

Oh yeah, I forgot:

Always BYOB. No glass, but definitely bring a cooler with some beers in it. They're expensive at the track. Big coolers aren't allowed in the clubhouse (those small, lunchbox sized ones are), but sometimes I sit in the clubhouse and throw my big cooler down on the green benches and just walk down when I need a beer.

mattchuck2 wrote

 People watching is more fun than horse watching.

skimore wrote

mattchuck2 wrote

 People watching is more fun than horse watching.

This guy gets it.

I think a good option for first timers is:

Pay to park so your parents don't have to walk far.
Bring folding chairs and cooler with canned beverages
Ask directions to the top of the stretch and park yourself there...your parents will be able to see the horses up close when they go by and there is a big screen TV there to follow the whole race... its a pretty chill option

Back in my single days I'd be at the track almost every day of the meet...love it...Love Saratoga, if there is a better town upstate I have not been there.

I like to park as close to the clubhouse gate as possible (on a lawn), eat a burger and fries and drink a beer at the Shake Shack.  The advantage of this is you can watch the horses being saddled, the disadvantage is you are standing.  Then we go into the track and watch a race and repeat once or twice and leave.  Nice way to spend a couple of hours, and if you show up after the first race there is no traffic to deal with.

Thanks to everyone for the advice.  We went this afternoon and had a great time.  My son did not get bored as I thought he might.

We ended up grabbing a picnic table and hung out there.  Made our bets and then went to the rail just before the race and repeated for 7 races.  I was down $60 but won the last race and ended just $20 down for the day.

That is the best darn fried chicken I've ever had.  We did the byob thing but they also had craft beer sampling on Fridays for 5 bucks so I did that too.

Very cool NYS experience that we will want to repeat.

went with some friends to the todays races at Saratoga

Had a great time

Kinda questionable results in the Jim Dandy

http://www.drf.com/news/longshot-laoban-leads-start-finish-jim-dandy-stakes

Long shot with very little money on it wins wire to wire.  While big money triple crown winner and placing horses seem to be hold back.  Trainers said the race was oddly run.  The track had to make a killing on this.  Oh and the winning horse thru his jockey after the wire.  Seems like the fix was in.  

Sounds like you're upset that you lost money. Longshots win, man. If it was always favorites, it would be no fun.

Did you know that the only horse that defeated legendary horse Man O' War was named Upset and it happened at Saratoga?

I had a fun day.  I cashed tickets in 7 of 10 races.  Went big on the last race boxing exacta and trifecta on the 4 favorites.  Only way I could lose was a long shot to do well.  This horse was not of a triple crown class so for it to win was very questionable.  It then threw its rider after the wire so it may have been drugged.

Ended up slightly down for the day.

Right. You won some races, got cocky, then bet big, until a long shot screwed you.

Sounds like something that happens a lot at the track. Just because something bad happens to you, doesn't mean the fix was in. Although that kind of thinking does explain a lot of your posts on the Off-Topic forum.

Here's an idea: how about taking some "personal responsibility"? You made a stupid bet and you lost money. It's nobody's fault but your own.

Coach Z wrote

This horse was not of a triple crown class so for it to win was very questionable.

Graveyard of Champions.

Coincidentally we were at the track yesterday as well.  Had a front row box thanks to the generosity of some business associates.  Would have been fun to run into you Coach.

Did you make your way to the Druthers concession just outside the clubhouse?  I recommend their All-In IPA.  They also had a German sour ale that I didn't much care for.

Coach Z wrote

Kinda questionable results in the Jim Dandy

no shit   he blew up our pick 4. place was packed on saturday