Saratoga Horse Racing Tickets

The 2013 season at the Saratoga Race Course starts on Friday July 19 with the first race beginning at 1:00 PM. The most anticipated race of the Saratoga meet, the Travers Stakes, is scheduled for Saturday August 24, 2013, with the first post time being 11:35 AM. The 2013 meet will come to a close on Labor Day, Monday September 2, 2013. The 2013 season at Saratoga will be a celebratory one since it marks the 150th anniversary of the course opening its gates.

Saratoga Race Course was first opened on August 3rd, 1863 thanks to the collaboration of William R. Travers and John Hunter. They were both wealthy horse owners, and together they decided to build a track worthy of their own horses. In doing so, they created the Saratoga Race Course: the oldest racetrack and the oldest sporting venue of any kind in the United States. The very first meet at the course was four days long, much shorter than the 6-week-long season of present day. In 1864 the track moved across the street from its original spot on the north side of Union Avenue to its permanent location on the south side of Union Street. In the same year, Travers was honored by the Saratoga Racing Association as they named a stakes race after him. The Travers stakes is now called the Midsummer Derby, and is the oldest Thoroughbred race in America.

Over the years, the Saratoga Race course has held many races, and many famous names have gone through the gates. Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Rachel Alexandra, Curling and Man O’War are just some of the famous horses that have raced on the historic track at the Saratoga race track. Along with the many victors, many upsets have occurred; so much so that the Saratoga Race Course has come to be known as “The Graveyard of Champions.” For Go For Wand, a horse fatally injured during a race at Saratoga Racetrack, Saratoga became an actual graveyard, as she was buried in the infield. Also in the infield is a pond, on which the Travers canoe floats. The Travers canoe is traditionally painted the color of the victor’s team who wins the Travers stakes, and remains that color until the following year’s stakes race.

Only the best of the best race at Saratoga Race Course, and Saratoga Race Course is the only track in the country where the horses walk right though the crowd as they make their way to the track. Saratoga Race Course offers what is the epitome of horse racing for spectators and gamblers alike. Don't pass up a chance at a special event, and get your tickets for the Saratoga horse races today!