Saratoga Live returns today with new broadcast partners

by Pat McKenna

NYRA's flagship broadcast show "Saratoga Live," presented by Claiborne Farm with supporting sponsorship from Gallery Racing and Team Runhappy, returns today, July 21 to Saratoga Race Course with live shows during every race day of the 40-day meet.

One year after launching "Saratoga Live" at the 2016 Saratoga summer meet, NYRA has expanded its coverage in 2017, adding new regional markets in California and Ohio via agreements with FOX Sports Prime Ticket, FOX Sports San Diego, and FOX Sports Ohio. With these arrangements and existing deals with FOX Sports 2, MSG+, and Altitude Sports, "Saratoga Live" is now available in 75 million households, resulting in more programming hours of live thoroughbred racing than all other television networks in the United States combined.

NYRA recently announced that veteran horse racing analyst and former Major League Baseball All-Star Paul Lo Duca is joining the talented "Saratoga Live" broadcast team that includes host Greg Wolf, handicapper Andy Serling, analyst Gabby Gaudet, paddock analyst Maggie Wolfendale, and trainer Tom Amoss.

This summer, the broadcasts will go beyond the racing action to shine a spotlight on the culture, history and entertainment that makes Saratoga Springs a special place in a new segment call Postcards from Saratoga, featuring more than a dozen local attractions. This creates a consistent and ongoing national showcase of all aspects of Saratoga Springs, promoting the regional tourism in conjunction with the racing.

"Saratoga Live" will continue to produce several popular features, including the "I Am" segments, bringing the audience behind the scenes to meet the people who make the race track run; showcasing the stewards, to starters, exercise riders, and farriers as well as trainers and jockeys. 

The program will also feature additional special features, building on the library of profiles of prominent owners like Michael Dubb, Andrew Rosen and Sheila Rosenblum and in-depth stories like the look at champion thoroughbred Runhappy and race-horse-turned-military hero Sgt. Reckless. 

Added cameras in the paddock, track and facility mark the continually improving quality of the "Saratoga Live" broadcast. The cameras are also accessible to horse racing fans through the NYRA Now and NYRA XP apps available for iPhone and Android.

The 2017 meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, which includes 69 stakes worth a record $18.775 million in purses, will run from Friday, July 21, through Labor Day, Monday, September 4. After opening weekend, racing will be conducted six days a week, Wednesdays through Mondays.

Beginning on July 21, Saratoga Live will be broadcast nearly every day of the meet from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

To view the full TV schedule, please visit: goo.gl/vt1kMc

To watch some of the feature segments, please visit: goo.gl/cEZqpz