NYRA Expands Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tours for 2024 Season (PHOTOS) – Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is expanding the wildly popular Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm touring program this summer with the addition of a third participant, Sugar Plum Farm, to complement incumbents Old Tavern Farm and Song. Thoroughbreds of the hills.

Thanks to overwhelming fan interest, Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm tours will now be offered Wednesdays through most Saturdays, as well as select Sundays, Friday, July 12 through Saturday, August 31.

Tickets are $95 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under and are available on a first-come, first-served basis on NYRA.com. Each tour can accommodate up to 52 people.

Tours will be available weekly as follows: Wednesdays and Thursdays at Song Hill Thoroughbreds, 290 County Road 75 in Mechanicville; Fridays at Old Tavern Farm, 45 Brown Road in Stillwater; and, new this year, six Saturdays and two Sundays at Sugar Plum Farm, 96 Gilbert Road in Saratoga Springs.

The all-inclusive experience begins with a breakfast buffet at the Saratoga Race Course from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. against the backdrop of world-class thoroughbreds during morning training. At 9:45 a.m., fans board a CDTA cart at the Clubhouse entrance for a short ride to the day’s livestock farm. Upon arrival, fans will enjoy a 60-minute guided tour with the farm’s owners and expert staff before returning to the track for an afternoon of live racing.

“Thanks to our friends at NYRA and CDTA, Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm tours have quickly become an important part of the complete Saratoga experience for racing fans and newcomers to the sport,” said Najja Thompson, executive director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders. , Inc. “These tours showcase the importance of the livestock industry in New York State and also demonstrate the care, dedication and passion that ranchers bring to their craft. Each of these three farms embodies the spirit of New York’s thoroughbred breeding community.

“We are excited about the opportunity to participate in NYRA livestock farm tours. They give us the opportunity to meet new people and introduce them to a different side of the thoroughbred world,” said Robin Malatino, owner and breeder of Sugar Plum Farm. “Everyone loves to see where a racing career begins, and after a tour, people come away with a better appreciation and more comprehensive understanding of the thoroughbred industry. »

Located just minutes from Saratoga Race Course, owners Robin and Tony Malatino have operated Sugar Plum Farm since 2005. More information is available at sugarplumfarmsaratoga.com.

Song Hill Thoroughbreds, owned by Jim and Tina Bond, was established in Mechanicville in 2005. Song Hill joined the Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tours in 2023. For more information on the sprawling 100-acre horse farm, visit jamesbondracing.com /song- thoroughbred of the hills.

Old Tavern Farm is a private thoroughbred breeding operation located near Stillwater, founded in 2016 by Walt and Michelle Borisenok. The farm helped launch the Breakfast and Breeding Farm program in 2022. More information is available at oldtavernfarms.com.

Highlighted by the 155th renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 24 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 3, the annual 40-day summer meet will begin on Thursday, July 11 and continue until to Monday September 2. .

After the four-day opening week, racing will run five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday, with the exception of closing week, when the 2024 summer competition concludes on Labor Day .