Saratoga Springs, NY: A European-Style City in a Uniquely American Setting
George Washington not only slept here, he brought his friends along and partied. “Here” is Saratoga Springs, New York, famous for its mineral waters, horse racing and fashionable culture. Since just after the Revolutionary War, the rich and powerful in American society have been flocking to the Saratoga region. Today, the wealthier classes still gather at the city’s wide variety of social spots, but more frequently they rub elbows with the “average Joe.” Why the sudden appeal to the average tourist? Before the 1950’s, Saratoga was popular as a gambling mecca. Casinos and horse racing went hand-in-glove with taking the famous mineral baths and dining in fine restaurants. It was a place to see and be seen. Unfortunately, post-WWII Saratoga began to run rife with scandal and corruption. The casinos closed their doors for good. The mineral baths began to decline, along with much of the downtown area. Today, thanks to solid city planning, that has all changed--drastically. The city is now one of the jewels of New York’s Capital District/Adirondack region. The mineral baths are still popular, and the races--both thoroughbred and harness--are drawing crowds in every season. However, new and trendy attractions are continually being added with each passing year. And with these extra incentives, Saratoga has once again become a hotspot for tourists. It now offers a wide variety of enticements, with the bonus of having all the flavor of a European resort--but not necessarily with the accompanying expenses. Downtown Saratoga is a prime example of urban revitalization. Strollers can walk down the combination of modern and old fashioned streets, and window shop at both upscale merchants and unique local boutiques. Afterward, tourists can dine casually at a sidewalk café, while enjoying the sounds of a street entertainer, or visit a comedy club or dinner/movie theater. Visitors can take a carriage ride around town. They can also check out the lovely Victorian-style Congress Park, with its restored antique carousel, formal gardens and fully restored Canfield Casino museum. Even the local library is popular with tourists, offering a gourmet coffee bar and special lecture programs year-round. Art abounds in Saratoga: from sidewalk art, to galleries and museums, to art shows. Antique lovers will find a number of dealers in and around the city, as well as flea markets and town-wide garage sales. Music is a special attraction for the area. Besides the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC)--which hosts everything from famous rock bands to classical music--the city’s many bars, clubs and coffee houses offer every type of music imaginable, nearly seven days a week, 365 days a year. Excellent live stage productions can be seen at the Little Theater, located in the historic bath complex in the Spa State Park, and local musical theater is periodically available at nearby Corinth Theater Guild, in this quaint northern Saratoga County village. Dance has a permanent home in the city, thanks to the National Museum of Dance and local dance companies. There are other museums in Saratoga: the National Museum of (thoroughbred) Racing, the Saratoga Harness Hall of Fame, the children’s museum, auto museum, petrified forest, and a military museum. Outside the city, in the town of Saratoga (near Schuylerville) is the Saratoga Battlefield National Park. After all the activity, visitors can wind down at a local spa or in the mineral baths or pause for a drink from one of the public mineral springs located within the city. If it’s food you crave, you can find a huge variety of tastes to suit your palate here. From haute cuisine, vegetarian, seafood and international flavors, to American BBQ, Southern and Southwestern cooking, you can find something for everyone--even buffets, chain restaurants, local diners and junk food. But cultural and dining pursuits are not the only things drawing tourists to Saratoga Springs. Saratoga has become a horse fan’s paradise. In 2004, the local night harness racing track, Saratoga Raceway, was re-vamped into a “racino”--a combination Video lottery casino (slots), racetrack and off-track betting parlor. Re-named Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, the beautiful new facility has thousands of slot machines, as well as an upstairs video wagering parlor open 5 days a week, and nightly live harness racing four days a week. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway also offers an affordable high quality buffet as well as a slightly pricey food court. Besides the slot machines, SGR gives regular players a chance to win fabulous prizes--thousands in cash, a trip to an Irish castle with spending money, a Jeep Commander, a Cadillac and other wonderful incentives. The nightly harness racing--held Wednesday through Saturday nights--is exciting and fast-paced, with lively calls by the raceway’s new young and trendy announcer, Mike Sardella, and wire-to-wire action by top drivers and horses. A grand hotel is planned on the site for sometime in the future. The thoroughbred track, known locally as “the August place to be,” Saratoga Race Course is open from late July until the end of August. Hosting the best in thoroughbred racing for over 150 years, it has been the number one attraction for the area in all that time. Although soon to be under new ownership, the public has been reassured that the track will retain its age-old lovely class and character. Saratoga Race Course is still the high point of the season for the society set--especially the Travers Stakes (which is broadcast live on national TV) and the Whitney Handicap--two of America’s premier summer racing events. Besides racing, there are other equine events to draw horse lovers to Saratoga. Other equine attractions that draw the horse lover to Saratoga include world-class polo in the summer months, a huge dressage and carriage show (to benefit a local charity) every Memorial Day weekend, a carriage parade during the august racing season, barrel racing events and the St. Clements horse show in the spring--which brings in many top show jumpers to the area, and other local shows throughout the year. There’s even rodeos in nearby Ballston Spa and Lake Luzerne. The Saratoga County Fair, held in Ballston Spa every July, has horse breeds of many kinds on display. But that’s not all the fun for the horse aficionado. Art galleries, tack shops and western stores, as well as gift shops, display a wide variety of clothing, artwork and gifts for you to purchase. You can even go for a ride at one of the local stables outside the city, in Middle Grove, Ballston Spa or Lake Luzerne. If horses aren’t your thing, don’t worry: other activities are available in the form of golf, bowling, tennis, cycling, walking/hiking, swimming, boating, canoeing, rowing, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice skating. No matter what your pleasure, chances are you can always find something going on, either in the city or nearby. If you can’t get to Europe this season, why not try the Saratoga area? Accommodations in Saratoga can be tight and quite expensive during the August racing season, so be warned and make reservations very early. However, because of its location (halfway between the capital city of Albany and the Adirondack resort area of Lake George), there are literally thousands of places to stay within a fifty mile radius. Lodgings range from upscale hotels and resorts, to most popular chain hotels, smaller local motels, bed and breakfasts, rooming houses, campgrounds and cabin rentals and even a few dude ranches in the Adirondacks. If you’re really flush, you may even find a whole house to rent. The area is easily accessible from New York City or Montreal--via Interstate 87 and the Albany International Airport, and also has bus, train and cab service readily available, as well as car rentals. Miss Golash lives in the Adirondacks with her two cats and works in Saratoga Springs. She's a graduate of Adirondack Community College, and also attended Castleton State College in Vermont. |
Other Horse Racing Betting Articles
Delaware Casinos One of the smaller states in the union, Delaware is probably known more for its beaches than its casinos. Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Dover is the state capital of Delaware and the population of this tiny state is about 783,600, according to the U.S. Census. It borders New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania and measures in at 96 miles long. ...Do You Want To Save Money Easily? Living on credit is fashionable. Indulging oneself is fashionable. Saving money isn't.This is a pity, as it has much to recommend it. You have more peace in your life. The end on the month is simply a date on the calendar, rather than a countdown to the next pay-cheque. Purchases born of necessity can be made comfortably. Employment beco ...Soccer Betting Soccer (also called Futbol or European Football) betting is very popular in many parts of the world. In fact, the only place that it’s not is the United States. The game of soccer can be claimed as the world’s true sport, but the United States does not enjoy soccer anywhere near as much as other parts of the globe. As with any other game, it ...How to Succeed in the Poker Freerolls Part 2 How to Succeed in the Poker Freerolls Part 1 looked mostly at what cards to play and when to play them, in Part 2 we take a look at other factors that you need to be aware of in order to succeed in the freerolls.7. Watch your opponents and learn their playing style.You can learn a lot of valuable poker information just by watching ...Churchill Downs and Historic Horse Racing The history of Equestrian Sports in America goes back generations and there is no greater horse racing event then the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. It is horse racing at its finest. The annual running of the Kentucky Derby has a long history of the greatest horse race in human history.The buildings still look like s ...Breast Cancer The Cure You have my permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.Breast Cancer The CureThere is no known cure for breast cancer. More than 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year worldwid ...World Cup 2006 Round Up - Quarter Finals The World Cup is down to eight countries as we approach the business end of the tournament. This is what happened the four quarter finals and who will be squaring off against who in the semis.In a match billed as the 1990 World Cup final replay, hosts Germany ousted second favourites Argentina on a penalty shoot-out. Roberto Ayala headed ...Texas Casinos Texas, the Lone Star State, is famous for a number of things, all of which are important to the average Texas native. Texas is the home of The Alamo, U.S. President George W. Bush, and cycling champion Lance Armstrong. Texas is the second most populous state in the union, with 22,490,022 inhabiting people its vast, open spaces. The capital of Te ...Spread Betting Basics Spread betting is a complicated venture; the statement is nothing but a popular misconception. Proponents of this form consider it to be real easy, once the new player has understood the concept. It enables you to win or loose money depending on how close off or far you are in your betting. Spread betting can be an exciting way to win or loose m ...League Two Season Preview 2006/07 - Boston United Boston UnitedOdds: 25/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 11 (League Two), 2004/05 - 16 (League Two), 2003/04 - 11 (League Two), 2002/03 - 15 (League Two), 2001/02 - 1 (Conference, Promoted).Cup Progress 2005/06 FA Cup Second Round vs Doncaster Rovers (h) - lost 2-1 Carling Cup First Round vs Sheffield United (a) - lost 1-0 ...World Cup 2006 Group Stage Review - Phase One - Part Two All 32 teams have played one match each as the World Cup has begun in explosive fashion, but are things going according to plan for the favourites or are the underdogs having a say in proceedings? This is a short round-up of Groups E to H, of the results as they stand after one match.Group E1. Czech Republic 3pts, 2. Italy 3pts, 3. ...Rocks at the Poker Table This article will focus on how to spot and defeat any rock at the poker table. First, I will define a “rock” as a poker player who plays very few starting hands, yet plays aggressive when he/she decides to play a pot. I was recently playing in a NL 5 – 10 poker game at a local club. After about an hour, I had a pretty decent read on everybody at ...The New Billionaires In its annual report on the biggest billionaires of our time, the authoritative Forbes magazine once again named Bill Gates as the richest man in the world with a net worth of $50 billion. This is the twelfth straight year that Gates has been accorded this honor. It may be true that Gates is less active in Microsoft these days, but the founding ...Alabama Casinos Alabama is a southern state located in “the Heart of Dixie”, with a rich history dating back to the Civil War. It is known for its Magnolia trees, lush gardens, grand old historic homes, and southern hospitality. Alabama, with a population of over 4,500,000, is adjacent to Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery, ...Is There Really a Statistical Approach to Betting the Horse Race? Have you ever wondered if there is a way to statistically approach betting on a horse race? Do you want to make money by betting on horse races? Is there really a statistical approach to betting the horse race?Making money on horse races is not as risky as it sounds. There are ways to study the odds and know your bets. There are ways ...Preview Of August's UK Horse Racing If Wimbledon in June means strawberries and cream, then racing in August can only signify Goodwood and York, two flagship festival meetings that dominate the month’s action beginning with five exciting days on the Sussex slopes.As popular as ever, Glorious Goodwood offers some top-class action and is often a meeting that puts profits in p ...Online Gambling Online gambling is hot. In fact there are websites popping up everywhere with new gambling options. Living near a gambling casino is no longer important if for individuals who wish to gamble a lot of money or just a little. You can feel safe in most of these places as well. And, with all of this comes the convenience of being at home or at y ...Horse Racing Betting, A Beginners Guide (Part 2) In part one we went over how to pick contending horses by looking at the jockey, trainer and then finished off by looking at the form of the horse. By looking at the factors we went over last time you should now have been able to select some winners.In this article I’m going to give you a few more tips on how to select winners and give yo ...Horsing Around with Replay The early mornings at Churchill Downs have been very busy as preparations for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships are well underway. Most of the contenders are already on the grounds putting in their final preparations with a few preferring to stay home in New York and California until the last possible minute. Not all horses take to certain r ...Horse Racing Horse racing has thrived as a popular sport for thousands of years. It is in fact one of the oldest sports known to mankind. From the time historical records were maintained one can see that horse racing was an organized sport all over the world. In fact, horse racing events were part of the Greek Olympics as far back as 638 BC.The origi ...How To Increase Your Horse Racing Wagering Cash Flow If You have a horse racing system that produces at least 33% Wins Or better than 66% in-the-money finishes, then You can Increase Your Horse Racing Wagering Cash Flow©. And You can realize this by simply betting 4% of Your total bank (Multiply Your Total Bank by 0.04.) on each race that was successfully processed by an effective handicapping pr ...Types of Horse Races Horse Races come in several types, namely, stakes, handicap, allowance, claiming or maiden races. Each one of these have important differences in terms of the types of horses entered into the race, as well as how horse owners and trainers will decide to run their horse in the race.Stakes races are those which occur annually, offer very la ...Horse Racing and Seabiscut -- A Hope, A Prayer, and A Horse! Even though our lives progressively moves forward on occasion it has a way of working what seems to be in a backwards motion, yet in the end achieves the same results. I remember years ago when I started my bodybuilding career, I had no self- confidence, poor self-esteem, and an introverted personality. I couldn't fathom doing what others belie ...
|
