Saratoga set to kick-off 81st season of harness racing

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (February 3, 2022) – Live harness racing returns to Saratoga Casino Hotel for its 81st season on Saturday, February 5th. The Winter/Spring schedule will feature Saturday, Sunday and Monday racing. First race post time will be 5pm on Saturdays, and 12 noon on Sundays and Mondays.

The summer live racing schedule will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings with a post time of 6:45 pm. For a complete live racing schedule click here. 

Opening weekend promotions on Saturday, February 5 and Sunday, February 6 includes chances to win $25 free bets (Races 2-10) plus a grand prize winner of dinner for two at Morton’s The Steakhouse each day (Race 10). Entry forms are located in the live racing program.

Saturday, February 5 will also feature an exclusive SaratogaBets offer. SaratogaBets members can spin the prize wheel in the Mezzanine between races 2 and 10 to win up to a $100 deposit to their SaratogaBets account.

SaratogaBets members will also earn an additional 10% on their winning Saratoga Harness wagers while playing on property through the SaratogaBets mobile app or any self-service betting terminal all year long. Interested horseplayers can log on by clicking here to sign up for a free account.

“We’re very excited to start our 81st season of live harness racing here at the historic spa oval,” said Director of Racing, John Matarazzo. “We want to thank our loyal fans for all their support and our horsemen for all their hard work during challenging times due to the pandemic. We’re looking forward to a great 2022 with 150 exciting live racing programs.”

“This year, horsemen will be competing for over $15 million in purses, averaging $100K in purses per program, so we’re expecting some great racing,” said Race Secretary, Peter Iovino. “We’ve also increased the purse of our signature race, The Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace, to $250,000. We’re confident this race will attract a field of top pacers.”

New York State Sire Stakes action also returns in 2022 with two- and three-year-old trotters and pacers competing for over $1.5 million in purses.

by Amy Brannigan, for Saratoga Raceway