Play Saratoga!!!

I gotta hand it to NYRA.

Horse racing is antiquated in many ways and so many talk about moving forward with the times yet their feet are stuck in quicksand.

Not NYRA.

They have embraced the world of Social Media and recognize its value in reaching out to educate and excite fans – die hards and novices alike. Constantly updating their Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter pages they are as current as can be and I’m not sure who else in the industry can match strides with them.

Add Play Saratoga to the list.

Beginning tomorrow, August 3rd, The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and Equibase Company will launch the official “Play Saratoga” Facebook game.

It’s free, and includes daily prizes, weekly prizes and grand prizes that run through the close of the meet – Labor Day.

Here’s what you do: pick the top three finishers of each race on the Saratoga card before post time for the first race. The scoring goes from 175 points for a cold trifecta down to 25 points for picking a horse to run third.

Here are a list of prizes they are offering:

• Daily Prize (August 3 – August 17): Saratoga Special Premium Past Performance subscription, courtesy of Equibase
• Daily Prize (August 18 – September 5): Past Performance subscription, courtesy of Equibase
• Weekly Prizes (Wednesdays through Mondays): $200 gift certificate to Online NYRA Store
• Grand Prize (Total Points August 3 – September 5): Choice of two Clubhouse seats to 2012 Belmont Stakes or 2012 Travers Stakes, including airfare and hotel accommodations. Subject to conditions determined by NYRA.

So if you’re on Facebook, and lets face it, you probably are go “LIKE” the NYRA and Equibase pages for more details.

I love this. I absolutely love this. It’s simple. Its free. Its competitive. It’s fun.

Well done, NYRA. Well done, Equibase.

Thanks for recognizing that we’re all in 2011, not 1911.