Opening Day at Saratoga was a muggy affair as expected, but the crowd obliged Tom Durkin’s request to join him in saying “And they’re off, at Saratoga!” as the gates flew open to begin the first race of the season. The sweltering heat could do nothing to prevent spectators from getting chills through the day.
Horses were running again in Saratoga and all was right was the world. With the sun shining on the infield and the grandstand alive yet again as the track celebrates 150 years of racing, this day at the track was about more than just 10 races. It represented the beginning of yet another idyllic summer in Saratoga.
For race fans, this is akin to nirvana.
Just ask Dale Dillodson, a Burlington, Vermont, native who practically glowed while declaring Opening Day at Saratoga “the best day of the year.”
“Some people look forward to hunting, some people look forward to fishing, baseball, whatever. I look forward to Opening Day.”
He also acknowledged with a laugh that his chances of winning big this summer are about the same as they have always been: “slim and none.”
Ryan Berkley of Poughkeepsie, New York, took it a step further, calling Opening Day “our Christmas.” He and a friend drove north for the occasion, which he claimed they hadn’t missed since 1995.
“It’s my favorite time of the year,” he said. “We’re going to try to come up at least 15 days out of the meet.”
As always, there were winners and losers Friday.
Tim Kelly, a Saratoga Springs native, was one of the fans fortunate enough to correctly pick the first race of the season, as Hardest Core won the opener.
Kelly, standing trackside, reacted to the result with an emphatic fist pump and an enthusiastic “yes!” He hopes that early stroke of luck is a good omen for the weeks to come.
“It was fantastic,” Kelly said. “It’s going to be a good year. First race of the year and that’s the way to start.”
Fashion, of course, took on a prominent role, with well-dressed men and women to be spotted everywhere.
Saratoga Springs native Joe Stallone was one attendee who made clear his enthusiasm for the fashion platform the racetrack provides. He and girlfriend Danielle Warrington sported matching seersucker outfits, which they said were ordered from Louisiana.
“We put a lot of time and money into this,” he said, citing his upbringing in Saratoga as the inspiration for the style. “Since I was five years old my mother’s been bringing me here. She put me in a bow tie since I was a kid.”
The heat was certainly a factor, as spectators could be heard bemoaning the uncomfortable temperatures. A slight breeze throughout the day did offer some relief to overheated fans.
Some spectators braved more than just heat to experience the festivities. New Jersey native Ashley Panaro sat trackside in a wheelchair, the result of a broken leg she said she suffered six weeks ago. She laughed off any notion that the injury could prevent her from getting to Opening Day, not when she and her father had a tradition to uphold.
“It’s worth it, Saratoga,” she said, her injured leg propped up on a cooler. “We come every year for Opening Day.”
Fans have been coming for 150 years, and the inaugural day of races for this seminal summer showed yet again the allure of Saratoga Race Course. The next six weeks will fly by too fast to be sure, finally here one moment and gone in a flash the next.
