SARATOGA SPRINGS — Now, everyone can feel like a swell at the Saratoga Race Course, at least when it comes to admission to the track’s storied clubhouse.
Track goers will this year have access to the grandstand and the clubhouse for the same admission price, $7 in advance and $10 on the day of the race. (Since 2019, admission had been $7 to the grandstand, while admission to the clubhouse had been $10.)
“We figured, let’s simplify it,” David O’Rourke, CEO of the New York Racing Association, said Monday during a gathering of local business and government leaders.
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The thoroughbred track, as well as other tourist attractions in Saratoga County, have thrived over the years because they’ve evolved while the city of Saratoga Springs has maintained a unique ambiance that has made it an international tourist draw, O’Rourke added. His remarks came during a presentation by the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency of a study on the overall impact of the county’s main tourist destinations on the local economy.
The IDA’s last such study was done in 2015 and it was limited to the race track’s impact, said the agency’s chairman, Rod Sutton. This study, conducted by Camoin Associates, tallied the impact not only of the track but of the Saratoga Hotel and Casino; Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Saratoga National Historical Park.
All told, in 2021 that led to approximately $647.5 million in economic activity or sales; $266.9 million in employee earnings and 5,770 jobs for Saratoga County, according to the report.
“That’s not bad for a small county in upstate New York,” said Sutton.
Much of Monday’s presentation was a celebration of the county’s rapid growth and financial success over the past few years, which is in contrast to the stagnation and even decline in other parts of upstate New York.
Census data released in 2021 showed the county’s population has grown 53 percent over the past 40 years, exceeded only by Orange County, which is a New York City suburb.
The Northway highway, technology firms like the GlobalFoundries computer chip plant, good schools and low property taxes have driven some of that growth, but tourism has emerged as an economic driver of its own as evidenced by this study.
The thoroughbred track in 2021 hosted 1.05 million visitors, generating $371 million in sales; likewise, the Saratoga Hotel and Casino, home to a harness track and racino, had 1.5 million visitors with $185 million in sales. SPAC brought in 475,000 visitors with $78 million in sales, while the National Historical Park, site of the Revolutionary War Battles of Saratoga, saw 70,682 visitors with $13 million in sales, according to the study.
Despite these robust numbers, there are challenges.
Representatives of those tourist attractions said they still have to struggle for employees in the post-COVID era.
Skip Carlson, vice president of the hotel and casino, said Monday’s meeting was originally planned for his facility but moved to SPAC due to a lack of employees — they had a large event planned for the evening and couldn’t spare the workers to set up for the morning presentation.
He said they lost a slew of retirees who worked there part time but who didn’t return after the pandemic. “Those were some of our best workers,” he said.
And Leslie Morlock, superintendent of the Historical Park, said the park’s monument has not opened yet this summer due to a lack of employees. She is hopeful that the 155-foot stone obelisk will open later this month.
Mostly, though, managers of these attractions said they’ve been successful by changing with the times.
SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol pointed to outreach the venue has done to involve local school kids with arts programs as a way to broaden its impact.
O’Rourke said NYRA’s arrangement over the past several years with Fox Sports for both race coverage and remote betting has boosted the track’s profile. As for the one-size-fits-all admission policy, he said NYRA has pondered the idea for several years but there is always some trepidation when it comes to changing traditions. “The thing with the track is we always want to be careful when you change things,” he added.
The new price does not include reserved seating or box seats. The Saratoga Springs meet begins on Thursday and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 4.
Carlson said that the growth of remote wagering, where people can bet on races via their phones or over the internet, has boosted the fortunes at his racino, which is a harness track with video lottery terminals.
“You can bet from anywhere now,” said Carlson.
