Aside from another year of great racing, fans can look forward to a new dinning feature at the track this summer when they are given the opportunity to experience food from some of the best eateries Saratoga has to offer with the addition of Saratoga Restaurant Row.
“NYRA is happy to be working with the local area to promote some of its more popular restaurants on track,” Gavin Landry, NYRA Senior Vice President of Sales and Market Development, said.
More than 40 restaurants expressed interest in the new venture, but only five were chosen to be featured at this year’s meet and they include: Hattie’s, Brindisi’s, Grey Gelding, Panza’s and One Caroline Street Bistro/Mouzon House. Restaurant Row will highlight house items from these beloved eateries with food items ranging from $4 - $7.
“This is a great chance for people to get a taste of Saratoga,” Landry said.
Landry also announced the addition of several new glass sided, rain spouted, air-conditioned tents located at the rail and paddock areas. The addition of the new tents will provide fans with a chance to escape the heat and enjoy a meal in one of the all-weather comfort tents.
“I think people are going to see and feel that these tents are a much needed improvement,” Landry said.
Officials also decided to respond to seating issues at the race course by adding a fifth luxury suit, 18 new picnic tables, 160 chairs and a second tent at the top of the stretch—featuring a BBQ picnic style menu.
Other upgrades to the racetrack include improvements to its escalator and elevator services, new carpeting in the “At the Rail” and Paddock Pavilions, the replacement of staircases leading to the box seat area, renovations to its First Aid complex and the installation of additional ATM’s, among many other upgrades to ensure the safety and comfort of fans.
This season, NYRA has also turned their ticketing inventory over to Ticketmaster in an attempt to offer racing fans a chance to purchase their tickets away from the track. Ticketmaster will now offer special packages and seating through the new service.
“In the past, the only way to get a ticket was to walk up to the box office the night before or the day of the meet to purchase tickets,” Landry said. “This is a limited implementation of our Ticketmaster solution, by this time next year we will be fully implementing Ticketmaster as our partner.”
During Monday’s press conference, Landry also announced the highly anticipated Sunday giveaways, which have become a hot commodity throughout the six week racing season—brandishing some of the largest crowds in the track’s storied history. This year, the track will giveaway Saratoga Caps on July 27, a Saratoga T-Shirt on Aug. 3, a Saratoga Stadium Seat on Aug. 10, a Saratoga Long Sleeved T-Shirt on Aug. 17 and a Saratoga Cooler Bag on Aug. 31.
“We wanted to give away items that people could use in their everyday lives, while attempting to extend our brand to racing fans,” Landry said.
With all of the upgrades to the track this season, NYRA officials acknowledged that high gas prices and shaky economy has forced many Americans to cut back on vacationing and other activities. Nonetheless, NYRA communications director John Lee said he was optimistic that the track would produce higher attendance figures and wagers during the 2008 meet.
“The new word that has been cropping up is ‘staycation.’ I think that could be an upside for Saratoga as people are looking for that day trip rather than heading out of the country or anywhere far away,” Lee said. “It’s certainly a concern.”
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