I was shocked to discover that one of my old stomping grounds at Saratoga, the famous Saratoga Raceway, is now more a gaming casino than a raceway. They call it the Racino...a clever melding of the words raceway and casino. The parking lot was full when we arrived for the first of three events in the 50th High School Reunion for my wife’s class. Having known that race tracks around the country were struggling to survive, it was surprising to see the crowded parking lot. But the answer was not the one I wanted: it wasn’t a crowd attending the races; it was a crowd gambling in the Racino. The place was mobbed.
I spent a good amount of time at the Saratoga Raceway in my younger days. My family knew a number of the breeders, trainers, and drivers who raced there. It is the evening location in the famous city, known for decades as one of the most glamorous gathering places for the rich and famous in the United States. The August day races at “The Flats” as the Race Track is known draw royalty, Hollywood stars, the wealthiest people in the country, and lots and lots of very interesting people. The locals vacate the city and rent their elegant homes out for five figure amounts for the month of August.
In the evening, however, a more middle-class crowd has always gathered at the Raceway, where the fare is harness racing, in which horses pull a sulky behind them on which the driver is seated. It is the modern version of the ancient Roman chariot races. The Raceway is treated like the poor cousin by many of those who are drawn to the pomp and circumstance of the Race Track, but there is excitement, drama, and pageantry at the Raceway, as well.
The addition of the Racino to the Raceway has added an element which brings needed income to the facility, which was facing a decline in attendance and consequently a decline in revenue over the past decade or more. With it has come a shift of focus, however, which I find disconcerting. In order to get to our reserved dining room for the reunion, for instance, it was necessary to walk through the Racino. Duh! They have marketing people who aren’t dummies. Leaving after an evening of racing, you have to walk back through the Racino. If you are a winner, you have extra cash in your pocket to spend on the mechanized gaming machines. If you are a loser from the races, maybe…just maybe…there is a chance to recoup your losses at the slot machines. Probably not, but it’s a natural thing to imagine.
The noise is deafening. The constant clanging of the slots (there are no live gaming tables at the Racino, just slots) combines with the loud music being piped in and the voices of hundreds of people, some of whom have tasted the ample beverages being offered. My wife and I (obviously geezers) came to the conclusion that we could take it for maybe ten or twenty minutes. More than that would require ear plugs.
And, as I have suspected in the past, the majority of those seated at the hundreds of slots are people who appear to be in a category which is vulnerable. I would guess that most of them cannot affored to be pumping money into a losing cause. One man told me that he goes there nearly every night, always hoping to “hit it big.” He’s been doing this for over a year now, and has never gone home with any amount of money to brag about at the coffee shop the next day.
I’m a romantic. I missed the sound of the trumpet call to the race (which barely could be heard above the other noise) and the scurrying of people rushing to place their bets or collect their winnings. I missed the elbow to elbow crowd at the rail, jostling for a good view of the finish line.
We get to Saratoga in August, usually for the running of the Traver’s Stakes, the high point of the season. We go for breakfast at the Track to watch the thoroughbreds exercising, and my wife has been known to don a big hat. I’m not half bad at picking winners, so the experience usually pays for itself and more. I don’t think you’ll find me at the RACINO, however, in the evening. More likely we’ll be at Caffe Lena listening to some of the best jazz available.
(Afternote: I created this post on a friend’s computer, and discovered…upon reaching home…that the graphic had not copied. So I have added it late. In case you checked this post earlier, you are not losing it.)
