{"id":38879,"date":"2026-02-17T12:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=38879"},"modified":"2026-02-17T12:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:39:08","slug":"saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/","title":{"rendered":"Saratoga Casino Opens 85th Harness Racing Season With 150 Dates, $17M Purses"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_38880\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38880\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38880\" src=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38880\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harness racing returns to Saratoga Casino for its 85th season with 150 race dates and more than $17 million in purses, which began Feb. 1 at the Spa Oval.<br \/>Courtesy Jessica Hallett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Saratoga Casino Hotel announced the return of live harness racing for its 85th season, beginning Sunday, February 1. The 2026 schedule at the Spa Oval will consist of 150 racing programs running through mid-December, including several Saturday matinee race cards throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p>Horsemen will compete for over $17 million in purses during the season. In addition, the track will host eight New York Sire Stakes programs featuring the best New York bred horses in the state racing for an additional $1.5 million in purses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI expect a very strong season of racing,\u201d said Race Secretary Peter Iovino. \u201cThe horse population has been abundant the last few years and this gives us the ability to offer a high-quality product for our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saratoga Casino\u2019s premier event, the Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Invitational Pacing Series, will kick off on Saturday, July 11 with a new format better suited for local horsemen participation. This year, competitors will vie for points in the $20,000 Invitational over seven consecutive Saturdays, with the top point earners advancing to the $100,000 final on Saturday, August 29. Total purses for the Gerrity Invitational series are $240,000.<\/p>\n<p><b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><span class=\"s2\"><!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/b>Defending their 2025 titles this season are leading trainer Melissa Beckwith and top driver Jim Devaux. Beckwith trained 174 winners in 2025, while Devaux crossed the finish line first 288 times last year.<\/p>\n<p>Saratoga Casino will partner with the Saratoga Harness Horsepersons Association to offer some exciting promotions in the month of February. Highlights include a long-sleeve shirt giveaway to the first 400 customers on Saturday, February 14. Other promotions include a wheel spin drawing on Saturday, February 7 and Sunday, February 15, where all customers in attendance can enter for a chance to spin the prize wheel to win a $25-$100 free bet. One winner will be selected after races two through ten.<\/p>\n<p>This season will also feature an expanded wagering menu that includes two Pick 5s with carryovers, two Pick 4s with carryovers, $1 minimum wager, 20-cent superfectas and $1 triples in every race, plus a $3 minimum late daily double.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the season, SaratogaBets account holders can earn up to a 10% bonus on winning wagers on Saratoga Harness races while wagering on property via the SaratogaBets mobile app or at any self-service betting terminal.<\/p>\n<p>The winter, spring and fall schedule will include matinee racing on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and select Tuesdays, with a 12:00 p.m. post time. The summer live racing schedule will be Mondays and Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m., along with Saturday evening programs beginning at 6:45 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>For Track Announcer Mike Sardella\u2019s race picks, racing recaps and the full live race schedule, visit www.saratogacasino.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saratoga Casino Hotel announced the return of live harness racing for its 85th season, beginning Sunday, February 1. The 2026 schedule at the Spa Oval will consist of 150 racing programs running through mid-December, including several Saturday matinee race cards throughout the season. Horsemen will compete for over $17 million in purses during the season. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":38880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Saratoga Casino Opens 85th Harness Racing Season With 150 Dates, $17M Purses - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saratoga Casino Opens 85th Harness Racing Season With 150 Dates, $17M Purses - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saratoga Casino Hotel announced the return of live harness racing for its 85th season, beginning Sunday, February 1. The 2026 schedule at the Spa Oval will consist of 150 racing programs running through mid-December, including several Saturday matinee race cards throughout the season. Horsemen will compete for over $17 million in purses during the season. [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T17:39:08+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Casino Opens 85th Harness Racing Season With 150 Dates, $17M Purses - Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-17T17:39:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/02\/saratoga-casino-opens-85th-harness-racing-season-with-150-dates-17m-purses\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/02\/saratoga_harness.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Harness racing returns to Saratoga Casino for its 85th season with 150 race dates and more than $17 million in purses, which began Feb. 1 at the Spa Oval. 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