Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has long been a summer playground for sports fans: the upstate New York town is home to Saratoga Race Course, one of the most storied racetracks in the world, and it’s been mecca for horse racing fans for hundreds of years.
The upcoming holiday weekend in horse racing is highlighted by the official opening of Saratoga Race Course’s elite summer meet, which this year includes the July 4th Racing Festival usually held at Belmont Park (which will return to the new Belmont in 2027).
Saying goodbye to a building is one thing. Bidding farewell to people is another. When I think about the closure of Aqueduct Racetrack this Sunday, what first comes to mind isn’t the image of that retro-looking grandstand or the intensity of those howling winter winds on the apron. It’s the faces. The people who filled one of America’s great racetracks (certainly one of its grittiest), those who made Aqueduct what it ultimately became.
The upcoming weekend in horse racing is highlighted by one of the best racecards of the year to date anchored by a star-studded Breeders’ Cup prep, followed by the final racecard at one of the nation’s signature tracks.
Television and streaming coverage of Thoroughbred racing widens to an international scope this week as NBC Sports will be on-site at the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in England for each of its five days starting Tuesday, June 16, and ending Saturday, June 20.
