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Handle, attendance increase during Saratoga's 144th season The 144th meet at Saratoga was a rousing success, highlighted by strong wagering gains, robust attendance, top quality racing, a number of new and innovative fan initiatives, continued television coverage from the NBC Sports Group and the MSG Networks, and an unprecedented level of community involvement. "This year's Saratoga meet was extremely successful on so many fronts," NYRA President and Chief Operating Officer Ellen McClain said. "The quality of our racing product was unparalleled, with 35 graded stakes races highlighted by the exhilarating dead heat between Alpha and Golden Ticket in the Travers. "Our customers responded to our racing with great enthusiasm, resulting in handle increases on track and around the country. Additionally, we introduced a number of new fan initiatives that were very well received and we hosted the industry's first ever social media day. We were also proud to continue our role as a dedicated partner to the local community and many important charities." Daily average attendance for the meet was 22,526, up 0.8 percent from 22,353 for the 39-day meet in 2011. (Racing was canceled last year on Sunday, August 28 due to Tropical Storm Irene.) Total attendance was 901,033, up 3.4 percent from 871,772 in 2011. (Attendance figures for giveaway days include patrons who pay multiple admissions to obtain more than one giveaway item, either at the track entrance or at the multiple admissions area inside the track. There were four giveaway days in 2012 and there were four during the 2011 meet.) Daily average on-track handle was $3,207,356, an increase of 3.3 percent from $3,105,171 in 2011. Total on-track handle was $128,294,220, up 5.9 percent from $121,101,665 last year. Daily average on-track handle combining wagering at Saratoga with wagering downstate at the Belmont Cafe and the Aqueduct simulcast center was $3,765,950, up 4.7 percent from $3,596,862 last year. Total combined on-track handle was $150,637,998, an increase of 7.4 percent from $140,277,616 in 2011. Daily average all-sources handle, which includes wagers on Saratoga races both on-track and from simulcast facilities nationwide, was $14,708,799, up 9.0 percent from $13,493,636 last year. Total all-sources handle was $588,351,964, an increase of 11.8 percent from $526,251,819 in 2011. There were 417 races run during this year's 40-day meet compared to 397 over 39 days in 2011. Average betting interests per race were 8.4 (3,492 total) compared to 8.2 (3,269 total) in 2011. Turf races totaled 197 with 27 taken off the turf and moved to the main track, compared to 158 on and 41 off in 2011. Among the 35 graded stakes races were 16 prestigious Grade 1 events. Signature moments included the historic Travers dead-heat between Alpha and Golden Ticket, Questing's nine-length tour de force in the Alabama, and To Honor and Serve's gutsy victory over Mucho Macho Man in the Woodward. The number of allowance races, routes, and grass events all increased during the 2012 Saratoga meet. There were 90 total allowance races, up 13.9 percent from 79 last year; 185 routes, up 14.2 percent from 162 last year, and 197 turf races, up 25 percent from 158 last year. "It's been a terrific meet, and I'm sure a lot of it is a product of the increased purses," said Todd Pletcher, Saratoga's leading trainer for the third straight year. "Increased purses bring better horses, more interest, and higher handle. Any time that New York succeeds it's good for the industry. It's been a great meet for fans, as well." Pletcher, winner of 36 races, added his ninth career H. Allen Jerkens training title, having also been Saratoga's leading trainer in 1998, 2002-06, and 2010-11. Meet highlights for Pletcher included victories with Love and Pride in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Invitational Handicap, Turbulent Descent in the Grade 1 Ballerina, Shanghai Bobby in the Grade 2 Hopeful, Dominus in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch and Kauai Katie in the Grade 2 Adirondack. Pletcher won 23 juvenile races, 21 of them in maiden events. Chad Brown was the second-leading trainer with 29 wins, 17 ahead of third-place trainer Steve Asmussen. Owner Mike Repole also won his third consecutive Saratoga title. Repole won 13 races, seven with Pletcher, five with Bruce Levine, and one with Michael Miceli. Second-place owner Michael Dubb took 12 races, while Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence finished third with 10. Ramon Dominguez set a meet record for wins by a jockey en route to his second career Spa riding crown. During the 40-day meet, Dominguez won 68 races to break by four the mark set by John Velazquez set in 2004 over 36 days. Dominguez, who won the 2009 Saratoga title, rode Alpha to victory in the 2012 Travers (via dead heat) and Grade 2 Jim Dandy and posted scores with Zagora in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa and Unbridled Command in the Grade 3 Saranac. He twice rode six winners on a single day, first on July 22 and again on September 2. Javier Castellano won 51 races, finishing second for the third straight year. Jose Lezcano was third with 35 wins. "The quality of racing here at Saratoga is the best in the world," said Kiaran McLaughlin, who trains Alabama winner Questing and Travers winner Alpha for Godolphin Racing. "We've had a terrific meet, the crowds have been fabulous, and the handle has been great. "(Godolphin founder) Sheikh Mohammed (bin Rashid al Maktoum) commented that he loved the family picnic area and all of the people that come out; just regular families. It's a great atmosphere here at Saratoga." "Saratoga is the premier meet in the country, and I think this has been one of the best meets in history," said trainer Dale Romans, who is third in the country with 14 graded stakes wins, including one at Saratoga. "It's been a very exciting summer and the racing has held up very well. The atmosphere is great, and all of the fans seem like they are having a great time and enjoying the place. They keep coming back." The fan experience took center stage this summer at Saratoga with the Racing 101 Fan Hub, a new initiative designed to educate casual fans about the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Located in the Saratoga backyard during Whitney weekend (August 4-5), Alabama weekend (August 18-19), and Travers weekend (August 25-26), the Racing 101 tent offered patrons the opportunity to receive personal, hands-on tutorials on the fundamentals and intricacies of wagering from a number of professional handicappers. Racing 101 was a joint venture between NYRA and America's Best Racing, a multimedia platform developed by The Jockey Club to increase the profile of the country's top Thoroughbred racing events. NYRA hosted the industry's first social media day on August 26, inviting local and regional bloggers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers and social media gurus to attend a special on-track meet-up and network in-person while enjoying a day of world-class Thoroughbred racing. A number of well-known NYRA jockeys, broadcast analysts and social media personalities visited the dedicated social media area in the Saratoga backyard to meet fans and followers throughout the day, including Andy Serling (@andyserling); Maggie Wolfendale (@maggiewolfndale); John Velazquez; Ramon Dominguez; Julien Leparoux (@julienleparoux); and Richard Migliore. During social media day, NYRA's Facebook page gained upwards of 500 likes to increase its total likes to more than 20,000 and the @nyranews Twitter handle gained nearly 100 new followers, pushing the total to more than 7,300. The new Saratoga All-Access You Tube series that NYRA created this year featured exclusive, behind-the-scenes content, including a narrated tour of the jockey house by NYRA's Richard Migliore and a feature on the starting gate crew and gate schooling process, among the more popular offerings. NYRA made significant upgrades to its food and beverage offerings for the summer meet at Saratoga, highlighted by the creation of a new craft beer garden which served as the centerpiece of a revamped hospitality area near the Carousel. Located under two open-air tents, the Saratoga Beer Garden offered a dozen domestic craft beers for $5 each and was well received by patrons in its inaugural season. Also new for this year's meet, early risers were able to share a special morning with their favorite jockeys at the Times Union Trackside Breakfast. Each Thursday, Saratoga's popular jockeys appeared at breakfast to greet fans, take photos and sign autographs. The 144th Saratoga meet saw an unprecedented amount of NYRA community involvement and charitable giving. The Saratoga community outreach booth was booked for the entire race season. For 40 days, different organizations were provided a key location on track to create awareness about their missions and collect donations. NYRA once again hosted a PINK OUT on Fabulous Fillies Day, August 17, and the Sizzling Hot Pink Saratoga Hat Luncheon once again raised $100,000 for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Travers Celebration, the official party of the Travers, generated $110,000 which will be split among the event's three beneficiaries: Backstretch Employee Service Team, the Times Union's Hope Fund and the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. The charitable giving culminated at the track last Friday, as NYRA organized "Remembering Irene and Lee -- The Recovery Continues" to collect on-track donations and make a $5,000 donation to nearby Prattsville, Schoarie, Schenectady and Middleburgh counties, which were devastated by last year's tropical storms. For the second consecutive summer, the Saratoga meet received extensive live national television coverage. The NBC Sports Group was on site for five "Summer at Saratoga" broadcasts, all produced by the Saratoga Springs-based Carr-Hughes Productions. On August 11-12, the NBC Sports Network featured live Thoroughbred racing at Saratoga after its coverage of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The following weekend, the prestigious Alabama and Sword Dancer were featured on the NBC Sports Network. The final two weekends of racing at Saratoga were televised on NBC, with a two-hour Travers Day broadcast on August 25 and coverage of the Woodward and Forego on Saturday. Additionally, the MSG Networks, the local television home of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Buffalo Sabres, provided live coverage from Saratoga on July 28 and August 4 as part of The New York Racing Series on MSG+.
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