Saratoga Raceway’s 78th season of live harness racing began in February.
The Saratoga Casino Hotel is looking to build on the success of last year’s racing season, where all-source handle exceeded $46 million and the Saratoga Harness simulcast signal was broadcast to over 400 outlets worldwide, Raceway officials said.
“We’re very excited to welcome fans back for the 78th year of harness racing,” said John Matarazzo, director of racing operations at Saratoga Casino Hotel where the track is located. “We look forward to continuing our tradition of exciting and quality racing here at the historic Spa Oval.”

New York Racing Association officials announced in February the stakes race schedule for the 2019 meet at Saratoga Race Course, highlighted by the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney
There will be 76 stakes across the 40 racing days. The season begins July 11. The meet, which features $20.9 million in total stakes purses, will run through Labor Day, Sept. 2.
After opening weekend, racing will be conducted five days a week, except Labor Day.
On Saturday, Aug. 3, the prestigious Whitney, a Breeders’ Cup “win-and-you’re-in” qualifier for the Classic, will pair with the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test for 3-year-old fillies.

The physician leadership of OrthoNY has elected Dr. George E. Silver, Jr. as president of its medical practice.
Dr. Silver’s three-year term officially began on Jan. 1. He succeeds Dr. Leonard Goldstock, who served as president of OrthoNY since its formation on Jan. 1, 2013, and for one year prior to that as president of the former Northeast Orthopaedics.
Silver is board-certified in orthopaedic surgery and specializes in injuries and arthritic conditions of the shoulder and knee, including arthroscopic soft tissue reconstruction and partial and total joint replacement. He is one of the founding members of OrthoNY, formed by the merger of Northeast Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Associates of Saratoga, and sees patients in the practice’s Saratoga office.

By Jill Nagy
Panza’s on the Lake, a Saratoga Lake institution for 81 years, is moving, perhaps temporarily, to a building on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs in May.
Meanwhile, the lakeside eatery is still open. But owner Tony Panza said that it is possible he may close it permanently on Easter Sunday if his plans for re-developing the restaurant and the site do not move forward.
Panza has been trying to get approvals from the Town of Stillwater to proceed with plans to build a boutique hotel as well as an enlarged restaurant and banquet facility at 510 Route 9P where the restaurant has been located for decades.

By. R.J. DeLuke
Hilltop Construction Co. of Hudson Falls was bestowed a certificate of merit from AIA Vermont, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects, as the builder of a lake house on Brant Lake, referred to as ADK Camp.
Birdseye Design of Richmond, Vt., was the architect on the project and was also bestowed the honor.
According to Birdseye, the structure is a private residence on Brant Lake, owned by the same family for four generations. The five-acre site had two existing boathouses, a tree-lined carriage road, and a vintage waterfront cabin.