Hello!
Recently, my dad and I took a trip to Saratoga Springs, New York, for his work. Saratoga Springs happens to be known for horses, especially horse racing because of the famous racetrack there. And the week that we were going just so happened to be the week of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, with the big race on that Saturday. My Dad and I weren’t going on Saturday but we did go to the races that Wednesday!
It was so much fun! Neither of us had ever been to any horse races so it was a new and awesome experience for both of us. And how cool to go to our first races at that iconic racetrack, especially during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival!
We saw all ten races that day. The first one was a steeplechase race which was interesting! But there was a horse and rider that fell during it, so that was surprising, but it looked like they were alright. We watched some of the races at our seats (which were very nice ones!), some up at the rail and one at the winner’s circle. We got to see some of the horses walk by on the horse path, get led around the paddock, and we stood by the path that the horses and jockeys use to get to the racetrack. I loved the paddock, it was so beautiful! The whole property was very neat and I thought the horse path was cool too. It was also very warm that day! We got some delicious lemonade at one point and also visited Shake Shack and got some delicious burgers, fries and shakes. Those really hit the spot!
We got pretty into it. We dressed up, and I wore my new skirt that I sewed myself. We did some betting, we each had about $3 per race for all ten races that day. We did a deep dive into horse racing during our trip (afterwards too, and still now!), we watched the entire “Race For The Crown” series on Netflix (here’s a post I did about that) and we went to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (here is a different post I did about going there). And also just being in Saratoga, especially that week, it really put me in the mood! It was so much fun to learn more about it all, to experience everything and go deep!
What’s something you liked about it (and why)? I loved seeing everything in person! From the racetrack, to the horses (it was very neat and surreal to see real racehorses, and up close at times as well!), to the jockeys and then the actual races! It was so amazing to see the horses galloping in real life. I loved it because I’ve only ever seen this stuff on TV, and being emerged in this new experience and atmosphere and getting to see all this stuff in real life was very cool. It turns out that we saw several well-known jockeys that day, when they were riding and we also saw a lot of them up close when my Dad and I stood by their path to the racetrack. I wish I would have known this then because I probably would have geeked out and appreciated it more, but it was still cool afterwards, knowing that we saw them and having videos of them up close.
I also loved the atmosphere. I love how you get dressed up, the horses, the jockeys, the excitement of the races, how there’s always something happening or about to happen… whether the horses are walking out, the jockeys are getting on, they’re coming onto the track or something like that, how you can bet, all of the food, music and other stuff going on around the racetrack, and the logistics and the care of the horses intrigues me. I enjoyed it because I like the vibe of horse racing, the sophistication, the horses, the exhilaration, the systems, how it’s a business, etc.
There were so many things I liked about this whole experience!
What’s something you disliked about it (and why)? My Dad and I had great time betting, and it added a lot of fun to the races! But I wish we would have won some more back or had a satisfying payout or something like that. We got a free $25 from the betting app and Dad put in $35… I think we won about $16 back. That wasn’t terrible, it did make the races more enjoyable and exciting, it was fun to look at the horses and decide on our bets before each race, it gave us something to do, and we made $10 on one so that was nice (for the amount that we were putting in!). Obviously, we couldn’t have really controlled this in order to get more, other than just having more knowledge, and even then you could lose! It still would have been more fun though. 😉
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson? Both from this day at the races, but also from just being in Saratoga Springs, diving deep into the horse racing world and watching that show, I’m realizing more and more how much I love horse racing! I knew this before too, especially after this year’s Kentucky Derby, but it’s turning into more of a passion for me and this was a takeaway from our day at the races and this trip. I just love the atmosphere, the vibe, the horses, the excitement, the business part of it, and more.
What is something you’re curious to learn more about as a result of this experience? I’m curious to learn even more about horse racing. It is so fascinating, exciting and neat to me. I’m curious to learn more about all sorts of things, about the barns, the systems and logistics, the training, to hear stories about the people and the horses, and more. I’d especially like to learn about the main jockeys who race these days. And I hope to watch races and stay more in tune with the racing world going forward.
Thanks for reading!
Lucy
