Category Archives: Business News

For the first time in its history, the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course generated all-sources wagering handle of more than $800 million, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced.

Having established the new record on Sept. 1, with five racing days remaining in the season, the 2021 summer meet ended with all-sources handle of $815,508,063, a 15.6 percent increase over the prior record of $705,343,949 set in 2019, officials said.

With paid attendance totaling 1,046,478, and excluding 2020 when fans were not permitted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 marked the sixth consecutive season of more than 1 million in paid attendance at Saratoga Race Course. Average daily attendance during the 40-day meet was 26,162.

“Thanks to the energy, enthusiasm and support of the best fans in horse racing, the 2021 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course has been a tremendous success,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O’Rourke. “This has been a summer reunion like never before, and we’re especially pleased that the return of fans has translated into strong business for downtown Saratoga Springs and the entire Capital Region community. The summer meet at Saratoga is as strong as at any point in its storied history.”

By Susan Elise Campbell

Saratoga Economic Development Corp. has relocated to 56 Duplainville Road, the Saratoga Springs headquarters of Quad Graphics.

Dennis A. Brobston, SEDC president since 2008, said having upscale office spaces and conveniences will help the consulting firm “track companies looking to expand business into the area, especially foreign interests.”

“A company coming from overseas needs a desk area and amenities,” Brobston said. “Quad Graphics is the largest printer with 700 people, $50 million invested in equipment, and a beautiful facility.”

SEDC is renting space at Building 4 on Quad’s campus.

Brobston said the nonprofit has access to professional offices, conference and event rooms, and an auditorium at Quad, plus the latest in audio-visual and teleconferencing technology. There is also a cafeteria, a health gym, and locker rooms that SEDC and their guests can use, and a medical center on site.

The organization had leased 28 Clinton Street Suite 6 in downtown Saratoga month-to-month for 24 years, Brobston said, and was not actively seeking to relocate.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Precision Valve & Automation, a maker of dispensing, coating, and custom automation equipment, has “come full circle” by returning to Saratoga County at a new location at 6 Corporate Drive in Halfmoon, according to CEO and founder Tony Hynes.

About 200 employees relocated from the 135,000-square-foot facility at One Mustang Drive in Cohoes that the company occupied since 2010.

“We moved $15 million in production in one day,” Hynes said. The new headquarters opened officially on Aug. 23.

Hynes started the company in the basement of his home in 1992 and was soon accepted into the RPI Incubation Center for manufacturing start-ups. 

“We had to petition to go there, do interviews, and present the business plan so they could appraise our potential for success,” he said.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Some people say that if you follow your passion, everything else in your business will fall into place. Thomas Stock, a Saratoga-based commercial photographer for 30 years, believes the adage works better when you flip it upside down. “First, get really good at something, then you’ll get passionate about it,“ he said. 

And that’s what he did a few years after graduation from Syracuse University where he studied graphic arts and majored in photography. 

“Syracuse had an art photo studies program but they also had a ski team,“  Stock said about another of his passions. He had skied in Germany for the U.S. Army and later received a veterans administration scholarship to help cover the cost of tuition and supplies at art school.

After graduation, he worked in Wilmington,  Del., as a staff photographer and lab manager for several years before starting his own business in Saratoga as the sole proprietor of Stock Studios Photography. 

As live music venues continue to feel the impact of COVID-19, Saratoga Springs’ Caffe Lena is moving its live streams off Facebook and YouTube to a new donate-to-watch platform called CaffeLena.TV. 

“Streaming is here to stay. It has become an essential tool in keeping artists and venues afloat and audiences engaged. We need to make it a great experience for the viewer, and economically viable for the producers,” said Executive Director Sarah Craig.

Heading into a fall when the music industry was hoping to return to normal, the COVID delta variant is once again causing tour cancellations and venue restrictions, Craig said. 

“While our first choice is to have everyone here in person, it’s exciting to be connecting this legendary venue with a worldwide audience,” said Craig. “It feels like the right moment to move our streams off the free platforms. If streaming is going to be a core part of the performing arts, we can’t treat it like a give-away.”

The service launched Sept. 1 with the opening of the Caffe Lena vault containing past shows. The first live show was Sept. 7 with the Chuck Lamb jazz trio performing with special guest saxophonist Luca Pino.

Jane Mastaitis will become the new chief executive officer of Saratoga Bridges effective Oct. 1. 

Mastaitis will replace longtime CEO Valerie Muratori, who is retiring after 38 years of service to the agency. 

Since 1991, Mastaitis has been the agency’s chief financial officer. 

“Valerie Muratori has been not just the face of Saratoga Bridges, but the backbone of the agency. For 38 years, she guided us through tremendous growth as well as recent challenges,” said Dr. Lawrence Fein, the agency’s board of directors president, in a press release. 

He said the group’s succession team conducted an extensive search process and chose Mastaitis. 

NBT Bancorp Inc., the parent company of NBT Bank, has appointed Ruth H. Mahoney executive vice president and president of wealth management.

Mahoney will join NBT’s executive management team. She has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, including wealth management, private banking, retail banking and regional leadership. 

Mahoney comes to NBT from KeyBank where she served most recently as Capital Region market president.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ruth Mahoney to NBT as leader of our wealth management business,” said company President and CEO John H. Watt, Jr. “Her diverse and extensive experience in banking and her skill at building partnerships across business lines to provide clients with the most comprehensive suite of financial services position her well to lead our team of wealth management professionals.” NBT Wealth Management is a division of NBT Bank and a provider of investment services and consulting to individuals and businesses and organizations of all sizes.

She is a graduate of Marist College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing.