COMMENTARY : Hopes Are High Again at Saratoga

I have been a devotee of Saratoga for a quarter-century, but when I left the upstate New York town last summer, I vowed that I wouldn’t go back.

Saratoga ’94 was the least pleasant race meeting I have ever experienced. Although it was plagued by rain, its most maddening problems were man-made. The New York Racing Association took its customers for granted. It neglected their comfort; it put on a dismal racing show; and it jacked up prices to boot.

So many fans were angered and alienated that even NYRA’s board of trustees took notice. The trustees are mostly aristocratic members of the horsey set, and are certainly no revolutionaries, but they purged the upper levels of the track’s management and hired Kenny Noe as NYRA’s new president. He and vice president Steve Crist view the repair of Saratoga’s image as one of their top priorities, and they are confident they will do so as the track opened its 127th season Friday. But some of us were so soured by the 1994 season that we will be watching their efforts from a distance.

Along with the rain and sloppy tracks, Saratoga was plagued last summer by a torrent of scratches; many racing fans realized for the first time just how important a track’s scratch policy is. Ordinarily a trainer who wants to scratch must give a legitimate reason to the stewards; at Saratoga, a trainer could withdraw a horse almost any time he wanted. It was not only races on the slop and those taken off the grass that were ruined. A 12-horse field in a grass race was cut in half by six scratches. An allowance race for fillies drew a good field of seven, with three strong entrants and four marginal contenders; all the marginals were scratched, leaving a field of three. Racing at Saratoga -- which ought to be the best in America -- was regularly boring and unbettable.

The whole NYRA scratch system was so ill-conceived that late changes weren’t announced until noon on the day of the races. I used to love poring over a Saratoga card, but overnight handicapping became an exercise in futility when 20 or 30 horses were going to be scratched from the program.

These scratch-marred cards would have been disappointing under any circumstances, but NYRA made them excruciating by letting them drag on forever. On weekends, the time between races was as long as 35 or 40 minutes. The 10-race card on Travers Day lasted from 1 p.m. until 6:52. And the time passed very slowly as customers waited for a four-horse field with no exacta betting.

The casual fans who bring their families to Saratoga for a picnic might have been oblivious to these issues, which inflamed serious handicappers. But these easy-to-please fans were up in arms too -- over Saratoga’s prices. Concession prices crept upward year by year, making a day at the races an expensive outing; a burger and a beer could cost nearly $10. But when NYRA jacked up the price of reserved seats to $6 and $10, the locals screamed that they were being ripped off.

The whole atmosphere of Saratoga was altered. Crist was there last year strictly as a bettor and, he said, “I was saddened by the mood of the place. You really have to do terrible things to alienate people up there.” When that alienation showed up on the bottom line -- business at Saratoga declined after years of spectacular growth -- the need for changes was obvious.

Some of Saratoga’s problems from last year were easily correctable -- such as the time between races. “Last summer, as a full-time customer, I thought the days had gotten ridiculously long,” Crist said. “I guess the theory was that you have an inexperienced crowd and you don’t want to shut people out, but in the process you’re annoying the people who account for 90 percent of your business. We’re going to have 32 minutes between races -- period. A 10-race card will be over at 5:48.”

Crist said, too, that the other major complaints from last season will be addressed. Some of the policies regarding scratches are going to be changed, and last year’s fiascos are unlikely to be repeated. Prices at most concessions stands will be dropped by 25 percent; prices for reserved seats are being rolled back to $4 in the grandstand and $6 in the clubhouse.

Moreover, the quality of the racing cards is likely to be very high. NYRA made a smart moving in paring Belmont Park’s schedule from six to five days a week; the local horse supply hasn’t been exhausted, and a significant infusion of new blood is coming from the Midwest. So it is quite possible that Saratoga will be the old Saratoga -- with the highest quality of day-to-day racing in America, combined with a charm and ambience that evoke the sport’s glorious past.

I’d like to believe that will be the case. But I wonder, too, if some of the mystique of Saratoga might have been permanently lost in 1994. When the one you love betrays you and hurts you, it’s not always easy to forgive and forget.