BY R.J. DELUKE
People flocked to Saratoga Springs on the last
weekend in August to see the star athlete. All
the daily newspapers in the region heralded the
arrival from California of American Pharoah, the
first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
Bound to continue his renowned three-year-old
season by winning the Travers Stakes Aug. 29 at
Saratoga Race Course, the horse drew tremendous
interest in the region. Beyond the world of sports,
the arrival of the horse who was undefeated in
six 2015 starts had a big impact on the local
economy–even though his winning streak was
eventually ended late that Saturday afternoon by
long shot Keen Ice, ridden by Javier Castellano.
Prior to American Pharoah succumbing to
the race tracks reputation as the “graveyard of
favorites,” he made his mark.
Racing fans from all over flocked to the Union
Avenue track. The clamor was such that the
New York Racing Association (NYRA) capped attendance at 50,000, but thousands more watched
at Travers parties all over the area. The effect on
downtown businesses was overwhelming, officials
and business people said.
On Friday before the race, an estimated 15,000
people went to the track to catch a glimpse of the
horse during a brief workout.
“American Pharaoh’s appearance at Saratoga
energized the already-exciting Travers weekend
to a fever pitch, filled our hotels and got anyone
with even the slightest interest in horse racing
to participate in the sport,” said Pete Bardunias,
president and CEO of the Chamber of Southern
Saratoga County. “Everyone seemingly wanted
to know more about the horses, the race, the
nuances of betting. ”
He added, “It was a banner week not only for
NYRA but businesses of all kinds and fans of all
ages, and I’m proud that if someone was going
to beat him it was a horse part-owned by one of my members, Steve Bouchey.”
Bill Donovan, who has ownership of both
Maestro’s at the Van Dam on Broadway in Saratoga
Springs and nearby Harvey’s Restaurant and
Bar on nearby Phila Street, said “absolutely” the
appearance of Pharoah made a big economic
impact.
He said the Travers Week numbers for both
restaurants were 22 percent higher this year than
last year. He noted that in the past, the Alabama
Stakes has had higher numbers (this year run
on Aug. 22) than the Travers. He surmised that
perhaps–in other years–the anticipated large
Travers crowds kept local diners away.
“But this year the Travers numbers far exceeded
the Alabama and last year’s Travers.
“When you have a super star horse like that, it’s
a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Donovan said. “You
could definitely feel the excitement. The race was
on the top of everyone’s conversation.”
Marianne Barker, owner of Impressions
Saratoga on Broadway, which sells all manner of
Saratoga merchandise among its many speciality
gifts, said the week leading to the Travers was very
good for business, but “it was especially noticeable
on Friday … It was well above what we expected.
She contracted with T-Shirt Graphics in
Ballston Spa to print and sell #pharoahtoga
t-shirts that were so popular they had to reorder
more.
She added, “the enthusiasm, the excitement, the
level of ‘happy’ was just great,” with the champion
horse being in town. We noticed a lot of new
people from out of town who were here for the
first time, or who hadn’t been here for many years.
[American Pharoah] got people excited and got
a lot of people who aren’t racing fans interested.”
Overall, Barker said the 2015 race season “has
been a good meet all across the board.”
Harvey’s, which has a sports bar-type
atmosphere with several TVs, “was a watching
spot for people who didn’t have tickets. That
atmosphere drew a lot of interest Saturday
afternoon and early Saturday evening,” said
Donovan.
The large outdoor porch at Maestro’s, he said,
“was the best watching spot on Broadway. From
there you could see the excitement. It was a
beehive of activity.”
According to NYRA, customers wagered
$157.6 million on track during the 40-day meet
and paid attendance was 1,064,093. Total handle
was $648.3 million.
It was the third time in Saratoga history that
announced attendance went over 1 million,
breaking the mark of 1,049,309 set in 2003.
Todd Garafano, president of the Saratoga
Convention and Tourism Bureau, said the impact
of American Pharoah “could really be felt at the
track and downtown.”
With ticket sales capped at 50,000, the bureau,
the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and
the Downtown Business Association created and
promoted a website that listed all of the viewing
parties at area bars and restaurants for fans who
couldn’t get tickets to the track.
“We haven’t seen final numbers but any
time you can extend the party from the track
to downtown, it’s a great thing,” Garafano said.
“We learned from Ed Mitzen at Fingerpaint
that after American Pharoah worked out in the
morning before 15,000-plus people, that his
hashtag trending number-one nationally,” said
Todd Shmkus, president of thee Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce.
The #pharoahtoga hashtag was created by
Jason Verbick at Fingerpaint and was promoted
extensively by NYRA, the Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce, and the Saratoga
Convention and Tourism Bureau, as well as
the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business
Association.
“The initial launch of this marketing effort
using this hashtag was a #pharoahtoga rally
we organized at the Saratoga Race Course, on
Saturday, July 25, when ESPN was broadcasting
their morning “Sports Center” from the track,”
Shimkus said. “We took this opportunity to
organize a rally just like “College Gameday,”
with people in costumes and with signs cheered and chanted right behind the anchors on live
television, making it clear to the world how
much all of us in Saratoga wanted to welcome
this amazing horse to our community.”
He said the range of people using the
#pharoahtoga included Gov. Andrew Cuomo,
American Pharoah owners Ahmed and Justin
Zayat, NBC Sports and ESPN.
Photo by R.J. DeLuke