Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The inaugural July Fourth Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course drew more than 50,000 attendees over the four-day event, which concluded on Sunday (July 6). This marked the first time Saratoga hosted the festival, traditionally held at Belmont Park. The festival featured world-class racing, patriotic fanfare, and family-friendly activities.
The event, organized by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), offered fans the chance to enjoy $1 Carnegie Deli hot dogs, with over 19,000 sold. The total amount wagered during the festival exceeded $83 million. The festival included seven graded stakes among 10 stakes races, including the Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational.
The festival also featured live entertainment, such as a performance by Sofronio Vasquez, winner of NBC's 'The Voice' Season 26, and an aerial demonstration by the West Point Parachute Team. Other activities included a reading of the Preamble to America's Declaration of Independence and a performance by the Yankee Doodle Band.
The track will be quiet for a few days before the traditional 40-day summer meet begins on Thursday (July 10). The summer season will run through September 1, featuring major races like the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes and the Grade 1 Travers Stakes.