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NYRA expands Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm tours for 2024 Season

by Pat McKenna

Fan-favorite experience featuring breakfast at the track and tours of breeding farms to be offered four days weekly and include a third partner

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is expanding the highly popular Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm tour program this summer with the addition of a third participant, Sugar Plum Farm, to complement incumbents Old Tavern Farm and Song Hill Thoroughbreds.

Thanks to overwhelming interest from fans, Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm tours will now be offered Wednesday through most Saturdays, plus select Sundays, beginning Friday, July 12 through Saturday, August 31.

Tickets are $95 for adults and $35 for children 12 years of age and under and are available on a first-come, first-served basis at NYRA.com. Each tour accommodates up to 52 guests.

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 buffet-style breakfast at Saratoga Race Course from 7 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 trolley at the Clubhouse entrance for a short ride to the day’s breeding 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, the 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 alike,” said Najja Thompson, Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. “These tours showcase the importance of the New York State breeding industry, and also demonstrate the care, dedication and passion that breeders bring to their craft. Each of these three farms embodies the spirit of New York’s thoroughbred breeding community.”

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to be involved with NYRA's breeding farm tours. They give us a chance to meet new people and introduce them to another facet of the thoroughbred world," said Robin Malatino, Sugar Plum Farm Owner and Breeder. "Everyone loves to see where a racing career begins and following a tour, people leave with a greater appreciation and a more holistic 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. More information about the expansive 100-acre horse farm can be found at jamesbondracing.com/song-hill-thoroughbreds.

Old Tavern Farm is a private boutique thoroughbred-breeding operation in nearby Stillwater that was 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 DraftKings Travers on August 24 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 3, the annual 40-day summer meet will open Thursday, July 11 and continue through Monday, September 2.

Following the four-day opening week, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from closing week, when the 2024 summer meet will conclude on Labor Day.

For more information about Saratoga Race Course visit NYRA.com/Saratoga.