Saratoga ?'s

[Holland Hacker]

Originally Posted by wac

Ok ladies and gents, ive got the fever for toga!!!! im getting married in july and im trying to figure out a way to get my new wife to agree to go to toga some weekend fly up on thur track fri and sat but i need some help.

1) assume fly into albany and rent a car to drive to toga. how far is it there? is it a tough drive difficult to get to etc etc?

The ride is a piece of cake its only about 20 - 25 minutes up Route 87. Watch for cops when you cross the "Twin Bridges" between Albany and Saratoga counties. I got Nabbed me a few years ago.

Originally Posted by wac

2) Where to stay? i know my wife and she is gonna want something nice so no dive motels. i have some money to go up there but would prefer to have the room be no more then 200/night

There are a number of places depending on if you want to stay in down town saratoga or a few miles away. Last time I check there were still rooms to be had, in town.

Originally Posted by wac

3) is there enough to do after the racing to make her happy? and no jokes about "hey you just got married, you shouldn't have to find things to do after the races" ha ha.

There is plenty to keep both of you busy. There are a lot of choices for food, drink and shopping in downtown Saratoga.

Originally Posted by wac

4) i gamble bout 300-500 a day depending on how things are going if good upper level if bad maybe only 150 day so for the 2 full days im thinking 2k spending money gambling food etc.

You should definitely be able to get by on this budget, you just may have to stay a bit further away. I'm staying at the Marriot on Wolf Road this year as my sister in-law moved from Del Mar, NY to Florida, bummer no more free lodging.

Originally Posted by wac

im really thinking about doing this and feel that i need to do it this summer b/c by next summer she may be pregnant then once a child comes along its gonna be tough. This may be my only shot for the next several years. Any input is appreciated.

My wife and I have been going for long weekends since 1995 and after we adopted our son at 4 months old in 2002 he has been coming along ever since. Granted we are only a 4 hour car ride away and not a flight but it has worked out for us.

My wife is not a huge fan of horse racing but she does enjoy our annual trips to Saratoga and actually wants to go up for two weekends this year.

Good luck and have a great time at the SPAAAAAA!

[fantini33]

Just booked a couple of midweek nights at the Saratoga Inn, walking distance from the Barbecue if I am not mistaken, for $219 per night, through Expedia.

The Saratoga Inn website was getting over $325 for the same room.

Check Expedia and Hotel websites and see what you can do.

[blackthroatedwind]

If you can't have fun in Saratoga during racing season then you can't have fun anywhere.

[hockey2315]

Well put.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

If you can't have fun in Saratoga during racing season then you can't have fun anywhere.

How about if you work for PETA, still fun?

[ARyan]

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

How about if you work for PETA, still fun?

They can go help the wayward ducks from Congress Park, that should keep them happy on Tuesdays at least...

[Linny]

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

How about if you work for PETA, still fun?

if you work for PETA you are just not a fun kinda person.

[eajinabi]

You sure you dont want to do the Del Mar trip instead?

[parsixfarms]

As someone from the area, I always thought that the most manageable weeks from a crowd perspective at the track were the first and last weeks; those traditionally have been mostly for "the locals," but there is still a lot going on downtown (after twilight racing cards on Friday), with the music festivals on and off Broadway each of those weekends. Labor Day weekend might be lighter than usual this year, with Labor Day falling as late as possible (September 7).

The second and third weekends will have a lot of people in town for the Whitney and the yearling sales, while there are usually big crowds for the Alabama and Travers weekends.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

If you can't have fun in Saratoga during racing season then you can't have fun anywhere.

see ya there, fun guy!

[pmacdaddy]

I also booked Inn at Saratoga for an off night.

Weekend nights look a lot tougher though. I am paying $201 (Sunday), but see it is $188 on hotels.com today for some days. Called them up directly and they were very accomodating.

Make sure you try Clancy's for a cocktail. That's where all the sophisticated people congregate late in the evening to hob nob.

[wac]

I just want to thank everyone for the tips!!! thank you so much i can't wait and hope that it works out. I hope to meet everyone at the bbq rest. and hope that all works out. Thank you so much for all the help.