Fun in Saratoga

Panza’s 28 Tables closing Monday

Panza’s 28 Tables closing Monday.

Saratoga Snippets August 26, 2012

Hello folks.  Here we go with some thoughts:

• Well the Travers was sure fun, but man Sunday's crowd on a sunny and hot (but not sweltering) day sure seemed very light.  In any event I'll stay with the positive and compliment NYRA with a great Travers Day and a historic dead heat.
• The biggest rip-off at the track is the "Freshly Squeezed" Lemonade.  It's flavored sugar water with a big slice of lemon in it.  I miss the old vendor who truly made freshly squeezed lemonade right in front of you.
• Last weekend's Arlington Million sure had plenty of Saratoga Jockeys showing up.  That was good to see, especially when Ramon Dominguez took the big prize.  Damn he had a good eight days there - winning two million dollar races plus many more in between.
• The peaches at the Farmers Market sure are delicious.  I don't even remember what vendor I bought them off of, but they sure remind me of this Seinfeld seen:  http://youtu.be/P-sfk3PGQDg (embedding was disabled but that will link it).
• It's still sad to see the empty Borders, Beverly's, Grey Gelding - not to mention most of South Broadway (especially the diner).  On the other hand, the Bonacios new cinema excites me.
• I want to go to Saratoga Polo - but it's tough to go to the races all day and then want to go see polo in the evening.  Too much of a good thing.
• At one point when I wasn't looking the "Toga Tattlers" went from four to three.  Did I miss some drama?
• Again when I wasn't looking NYRA changed the 17-minute bell to the 16-minute bell.  C'mon NYRA I can't take the volatility!
• What happened to Alan Garcia?  Just a couple of years ago he was winning NYRA meets and riding horses in Triple Crown Races - and winning the Belmont Stakes aboard Da' Tara in 2008.  In this year's Saratoga meet he has nine wins on 69 mounts - which places him at 13th on the list.
• I think NYRA is way off base charging $100 for the New Owners luncheon.  Charge them $20, fill up the room and dare everybody to dream, and consider it a loss-leader for the good of not just NYRA but the whole industry. I think you'd get a lot more potential owners that way.
• Can we come up with an ordinance that says there will be no Halloween items out for sale until after Labor Day?
• Speaking of local laws, the 4am bar closing time issue seems to be quiet lately.  But now that I said that there will be three articles on it this week.

OK folks that's it for now.  I will be writing something later in the week - perhaps with some news about the future of this blog.  Have a great week!

Social Media Day this Sunday at Saratoga Race Course

 

Social networkers will "like" a day at the races at the inaugural Social Media Day at Saratoga Race Course on Sunday, August 26. The all-new event for the 2012 meet will invite local and regional bloggers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers and other social media gurus to attend a special on-track meet-up and network in-person while enjoying a day of world-class thoroughbred racing. The first 1,000 social media users to register on-track and show that they have "liked" The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) on Facebook or follow NYRA on Twitter will receive a free commemorative Social Media Day T-shirt. The first 300 fans will also receive a program book. "Social Media Day meet-up attendees will have access to a special reserved seating area in the backyard near the Big Red Spring, which will feature a number of activities for social media users, including trivia contests, giveaways, and music from Ernie Munick. A number of well-known NYRA jockeys, broadcast analysts and social media personalities will visit the area to meet fans and followers throughout the day, including: NYRA on-air personalities: Andy Serling (@andyserling), Maggie Wolfendale (@maggiewolfndale) and Richard Migliore NYRA jockeys: John Velazquez, Ramon Dominguez, Rajiv Maragh (@RajivMaragh)and Julien Leparoux (@julienleparoux) NYRA trainers: Christophe Clement (@clementstable), Gary Contessa (@GaryContessa), Mark Hennig (@Hennigracing) and David Donk (@equend) NYRA will host several contests during the event on its Facebook page and Twitter account, including the opportunity to win a signed program from the 2012 Travers and reserved seats for the Grade 1 Woodward on Saturday, September 1; and a photo caption contest on Twitter with the winners being re-tweeted by NYRA and posted on the NYRA Facebook page. Additionally, one racing fan who RSVPs affirmatively to the Social Media Day event page on Facebook will receive a special race day experience. El Verano Taqueria at The Post will offer trackgoers a number of special Social Media Day meal deals, including: small regular Box Frites with one sauce and a regular fountain drink for $6; and tacos or quesadilla and a regular fountain drink for $10. NYRA also invites fans to go behind-the-scenes through the new "Saratoga All-Access" YouTube series. The web video series posted on NYRA's YouTube channel offers viewers an inside look at track places and happenings, including an exclusive tour of the Jockey House with Richard Migliore. The Saratoga All-Access page can be found at http://www.youtube.com/nyravideo.   Fans are invited to connect with NYRA online at facebook.com/thenyra; youtube.com/nyravideo; and @nyranews. For more information on special events at Saratoga Race Course, please visit nyra.com/saratogaevents.shtml.       For more information visit NYRA.com

Times Union's Cheryl Clark tries food at the track; calls beer served at SPAC "crap on tap at ridiculously high tariffs".

The Times Union restaurnant reviewer found some good and some not-so-good things at the track when she and her guests went looking for places to eat and drink.  You can find that review here.  I especially liked the part, as noted above, where she called the beer served at SPAC "crap on tap".  Ahhh, gotta love someone who tells it like it is.

Forbes article on Adelphi Hotel

It's been yet another busy week, and my blogging is limited - but I found this Forbes.com article about the Adelphi Hotel so I am sharing it here.

Travers Restaurant Week starts Sunday

Travers Restaurant Week starts Sunday.

NBC Sports Network to show The Adirondack and Saratoga Special Grade 2 Stakes races today

The NBC Sports Network will be broadcasting live from Saratoga Race Course today between 6-7pm, showing The Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes Race at 6:14pm and the Grade 2 Saratoga Special race at 6:46pm. The NBC Sports Network can be found on Channel 44 on the Capital Region Time Warner Cable system, and on Channel 1873 in HD.

NBC Sports Network to show Saratoga's Fourstardave race on Saturday

The NBC Sports Network will be broadcasting live from Saratoga Race Course on Saturday between 6-7pm, showing the Fourstardave Grade 2 stakes race (about 6:45pm) and an allowance race before that, about 6:09pm.  The NBC Sports Network can be found on Channel 44 on the Capital Region Time Warner Cable system, and on Channel 1873 in HD.  And you thought NBC was just about the Olympics this week.  

Saratoga Snippets August 6, 2012

From what I can tell, the Post-Star has abandoned the "Saratoga Snippets" blog name so I'm seizing it!  Here's one Saratogian's thoughts snippets for this week:

• Saratoga truly is the August place to be, despite the fact that the track opened on July 20th. I was at the track every weekend since it opened and this past Saturday (August 4th) had a noticeably larger and more enthusiastic crowd than the first two weekends.  Well at least that was my perception.
• Hey someone listened to me.  Well maybe it was just a coincidence but I suggested a while back that the East Side Deli and Pizzeria (on Lake across from East Side Rec - formerly Giancones) should start selling ice cream, and I see that's just what they are doing.

• I learned the hard way not to cut through the backyard of the track on my way to the preferred parking at the end of a busy Saturday.  It was a drunkfest and I was walking through there with my wife at about 7pm after the last race.  There were no problems, but it was not the wisest choice on my part.
• That new building on Spring Street next to the Bread Basket sure is going up at a leisurely pace.
• Why do so many restaurants in Saratoga serve Jambalaya?  It seems like there are quite a few.
• I've eaten at Panza's/28 Tables twice in the past week or so.  The food and service are very good - with extra credit to the calamari and the brussels sprouts appetizers - but being attached to the bar Metro kind of takes away a bit - at least later in the night.  I can deal with the loud music and the edgy crowd, but I was there on a Friday night with friends and the toilets were closed due to overflowing.  Again the food is good - as well as the "handcrafted cocktails" they seem to take great pride in making -  and the kitchen is open til midnight - so I'd give it a qualified recommendation if you are there early enough or perhaps after track season.

• Well that ad for Double Vision on the front page of the Pink Sheet sure does stand out, doesn't it?  Doublemint gum, anyone?
• Are those left turn arrows on South Broadway at Lincoln new?  Sometimes I wonder if something I perceive as new has actually been there for years. 
• Two new fish stores are coming in, and Putnam Market announces they will no longer sell fish as they have done since 1995.  That change makes sense, considering the new arrivals will be bringing fresh seafood up from NYC/Long Island on a daily basis.  I give Putnam Market credit for selling such quality seafood for almost two decades. 
• Saratoga Race Course's first seasonal giveaway sure was nice - those red hats were sharp looking.  I was getting a few for some friends who had requested some and when I saw how nice they were I went back and bought some extra tickets to get some myself. 

Hat picture from Timesunion.com

There's so much more to write about, but damn I have been busy. This will likely be my only post of the week folks, have a good one.