Del Mar vs Saratoga

[randallscott35]

The racing in Saratoga is better, plain and simple.

I'm sure the nightlife in Cali is probably better, but I can tell you I've had some really really fun nights out in Saratoga. If you are younger and don't mind very late nights, its perfect.

[blackthroatedwind]

I'm not THAT young and the late nights are perfect for me.

[Togacapper]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I'm not THAT young and the late nights are perfect for me.

I agree with that

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by boldruler

The racing is great but you can't compare San Diego to Saratoga Springs. Del Mar is such a better time than Saratoga that the two really aren't comparable. What is there to do in Saratoga?

Usually check the breakfast at Saratoga feature, catch the morning works, maybe spend a little nap back at the hotel, head over for the card, check out Byk's BBQ...sweat your ass off in the humidity, then back to the hotel, nap, wash up and head out and get bent at the bars.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

The racing in Saratoga is better, plain and simple.

I'm sure the nightlife in Cali is probably better, but I can tell you I've had some really really fun nights out in Saratoga. If you are younger and don't mind very late nights, its perfect.

I agree, you dont even need to be out THAT LATE to have fun. I've gone with my girlfriend and my friends on seperate trips and we have always been able to find something to do. Booze gets expensive though so make sure you hit a few in the afternoon.

I have never been to Del Mar, but would like to.

[Togacapper]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Kenny Mayne never did the seminars with us. I assume you mean Jay Privman.

No Kenny decided to show up after the races one day..I heard his piece on ESPN comparing Saratoga to Delmar.Sorry just had to speak my mind to him...You cant' knock our history our tradition our passion ,no comparision in the daily purses. Blows Delmar away, you want a track next to a beach....then you belong @ Delmar

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by flowing tail

First of all Kee is soooo tiny that a sunny Saturday crowd of 30,000 has absolutely NO WHERE to go. You are shoulder-to-shoulder. The crowd is 90% frat & sorority peeps who are staggering around bleary-eyed and taking up space and getting in the way of the betting lines. Which take forever. The apron is the ONLY one in the country to face INTO the sun, leaving you burnt to a crisp and squinting all afternoon. The speed bias is so ridiculous that the racing is irrelevant b/c the form doesn't hold up.

And yes I'm grateful to have Kee, but now that i have seen real tracks like Arlington and Belmont I realize it is kinda crappy in some ways.

Amen. I was there for two days in the '05 fall meet and though Lexington and the farms are beautiful, I did not get the "atmosphere" at the track that everyone speaks of. Couldn't move. Huge lines for food/drink. Betting lines were okay, if you bet early. No thanks. This is one track that I will stick with the TV for my watching and gambling.

Sar and Dmr are both miles ahead IMO. Hell, I'd rather spend a weekend at Churchill than Kee.

Oh, and to stay on topic. Sar over Dmr. The older I get, the less I care about the night life. For racing and track atmosphere, it's Saratoga for me.

Bigs

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Togacapper

you want a track next to a beach....then you belong @ Delmar

Under that criteria, "track next to a beach", Monmouth comes out ahead of Del Mar too...

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

Amen. I was there for two days in the '05 fall meet and though Lexington and the farms are beautiful, I did not get the "atmosphere" at the track that everyone speaks of. Couldn't move. Huge lines for food/drink. Betting lines were okay, if you bet early. No thanks. This is one track that I will stick with the TV for my watching and gambling.

Sar and Dmr are both miles ahead IMO. Hell, I'd rather spend a weekend at Churchill than Kee.

Oh, and to stay on topic. Sar over Dmr. The older I get, the less I care about the night life. For racing and track atmosphere, it's Saratoga for me.

Bigs

Thanks. Yeah, i almost always bet after looking at horses in the paddock on my way across to the track to watch--just a couple of moments to post. Which is where the lines at Kee are practically impossible down close to the track. This is why, as you say, Churchill is preferable... on a normal saturday you can actually MOVE around, see the paddock... bet, get to a seat... and actually SIT and watch!

For me nightlife is a wash at all of these since they are all close enough to a few good, large bars that the fun is what you make of it.

[Pointg5]

Keeneland's not bad if you stay on the second floor, I don't look at the horses before the races, I think that's very overrated, and kind of silly, but to each their own, also most of my bets are multiple race bets, so I don't care what the horse looks like at that point. If you stay on the second floor, you can walk out and watch the races, it's a great view up there and when the race is over, walk back inside and you can watch silmulcast. The lines aren't bad up there for betting, to get a drink, or get something to eat, if you stay downstairs, it's a mess down there and no wonder it's hard to do anything. I will not go back to Keeneland, until they get rid of the poly track. I have never been to Saratoga or Delmar, so I can't compare them...

[Gander]

As far as Monmouth goes, I actually prefer the racing there to Del Mars by a lot. But you cant for one second compare the beaches. Beaches in NJ just arent in the same league as the beaches by Del Mar. Not even the same sport! And the women on the beaches? Its California by 5, by 6, California opening up under a hand ride!

Originally Posted by Kasept

Under that criteria, "track next to a beach", Monmouth comes out ahead of Del Mar too...

I have been to Monmouth, Del Mar, and Saratoga and Monmouth is a distant third. I prefer Gulfstream to Monmouth. I get the feeling about 5% of the people on this chat have ever been to Del Mar. Saratoga racing is better but no honest person can say they had a better time in Saratoga than in San Diego. Saratoga is great in the mornings and has a couple of nice places to eat but that is about it. It is a town built around horse racing for 6 weeks in the summer. The 1 golf course is ok too but nothing compared to San Diego. I love horses more than any other animal, except maybe dogs, but you also have the best zoo in the world in San Diego.

Originally Posted by Davona Dale

My boyfriend will be in Saratoga for the summer. I'll go up on weekends and what is left of my vacation. I've never been there so I can't wait to go. My boyfriend rents a house with some other people he works with. It should be fun.

The first time there is great, especially the mornings. It gets old though after a few years of paying through your teeth for what you get. There are many better places to go if you want a bang for you buck and want to see good horse racing. For what Saratoga now costs you can travel over to Ascot and tour Europe. Saratoga is arguably the most overpriced vacation spot in America.

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

I've only been to DelMar once ...

... and found it very eery.

It's a beautiful place which attracts decent quality horses ... but the "fans" ... the "fans" ... they're so laid back that they're practically brain dead.

Pleasantly Perfect ran the day I was there ... and when he walked into, through, and out of the paddock ... you could hear a pin drop. Not a peep from anyone. No cheers, no boos, no nothing.

This would never happen at a New York track ... where the fans are much more into the game. Very enthusiastic, very boisterous, very ballsy.

Yeah ... some of the women looked great ... but where were the racing fans?

Let me guess, your from Brooklyn. You obviously have never been to Del Mar. There is plenty of noise. There just aren't idiots yelling at jockeys like in NY, although you rarely see that at Saratoga.

Originally Posted by Togacapper

No Kenny decided to show up after the races one day..I heard his piece on ESPN comparing Saratoga to Delmar.Sorry just had to speak my mind to him...You cant' knock our history our tradition our passion ,no comparision in the daily purses. Blows Delmar away, you want a track next to a beach....then you belong @ Delmar

No comparison in daily purses? What are you talking about? I believe Keeneland beats the both though but Del Mar is almost identical to Saratoga in average purses. Another guy I imagine that has never been to Del Mar. Kenny Mayne, who had been to tracks all over America, has repeatedly said Del Mar is the best track in America. Next you are going to tell me Saratoga harness in the evening is better than going to a Padres game.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by boldruler

Let me guess, your from Brooklyn. You obviously have never been to Del Mar. There is plenty of noise. There just aren't idiots yelling at jockeys like in NY, although you rarely see that at Saratoga.

Really, the crowd in NY at the track are " idiots yelling at jockeys "?

You have a very enlightened opinion. You must spend a great deal of time at the tracks in NY to have such an ill-informed opinion. Of course, the great irony here is that many of your posts contain the " but you've never been to Del Mar " caveat, while you feel free to share the same opinion of ignorance that so bothers you coming from anyone else.

Great, you like Del mar better than Saratoga. Then spend your time there. I hope it's all good. I like Saratoga. It is my cup of tea, so to speak. But liking one does not demean the other....whichever way you go.


And by the way.....it's Saratoga Equine Sports Center!

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Really, the crowd in NY at the track are " idiots yelling at jockeys "?

You have a very enlightened opinion. You must spend a great deal of time at the tracks in NY to have such an ill-informed opinion. Of course, the great irony here is that many of your posts contain the " but you've never been to Del Mar " caveat, while you feel free to share the same opinion of ignorance that so bothers you coming from anyone else.

Great, you like Del mar better than Saratoga. Then spend your time there. I hope it's all good. I like Saratoga. It is my cup of tea, so to speak. But liking one does not demean the other....whichever way you go.


And by the way.....it's Saratoga Equine Sports Center!

I have been to Belmont in the morning and afternoons about 20x already this year. Booing Prado a day or two after the Preakness was my favorite of the NY fans. As for Saratoga, I have probably watched over 1000 races there and I am going back again this summer from the Jim Dandy through the Test, but the amount of money that town now costs is a joke. The racing is great but better to watch on TV. You can now buy a high def tv for about what it costs to spend a week in Saratoga and you get to keep the tv. The 50-50 shot I have of it raining and being 90 degrees and humid excites me too. Maybe I can catch the ballet with Ms. Whitney too while I am at it. LOL.

[blackthroatedwind]

Your constant griping about the supposed high cost of Saratoga is simply not true. I rent a place for the meet, in town, and the price is hardly exorbitant ( and less than a comparable apartment would be in NYC ). Dinner costs what dinner costs, not cheap, but certainly not more expensive than reasonable restaurants throughout the country. And, as far as drinking, I would say it is on the cheap side, and certainly NOT expensive.

As far as one jerk booing Prado, well I hardly think he ( or she ) spoke for the entire crowd, unless you want to go on record as suggesting that one voice speaks for all. Frankly, the diminished crowd at the track in NY is a pretty well educated one and I am guessing you know that.

[Kasept]

Clearly, this is not getting settled in one direction or the other..

I prefer the East Coast generally on everything.. Ess Eff and Portland are the only places on the left coast I care for, and I'd venture to say that La Jolla, and weeks or weekends in and around San Diego, are no less costly than those around here (Toga and vicinity)...

And as for criticizing Monmouth Park, those that would can't possibly have been there.. It's an utter delight. And I'd take an afternoon of sun at Manasquan or LBI, a few races at Oceanport and dinner in Brielle or Sea Girt over similar in San Diego any time.

[paisjpq]

Never been to Del Mar but god I love saratoga--nothing better than getting off the northway and being on the backside of the track to watch horses train while you sit at a stop light or the horse crossing. Or running from the sales grounds to the track to catch one race instead of eating lunch the whole place is fantastic. As for nightlife--Siro's and the Parting Glass--nuff said.