Saratoga Race Course 2022: The Mornings

Luis Boky Díaz exercises Chad Brown trainee Mystic Night.

In my last post, I shared photos I captured at Saratoga Race Course this summer for Saratoga Living. In this post, I will share photos I took of morning workouts and other goings on at the main track as well as the Oklahoma Training Track.

Trainer Eddie Davis poses with Temple City colt Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Oklahoma Track.
A trainer’s dog observes the morning workouts.
An exercise rider gallops a Todd Pletcher trainee.
Vallelujah, who won her first race at Saratoga this summer for East Avenue Racing Stable and trainer Robbie Davis with Robbie’s daughter Jacqueline Davis onboard.
A horse comes off the track after a workout.
Jaime Gayosso leads Cosme Fragoso on a George Weaver trainee.
A horse at the Oklahoma Track.
Alonzo Tapia (right) hugs a fellow exercise rider’s horse at the Oklahoma Track.
Outrider Lexi (right) hugs a fellow outrider at the Oklahoma Track.
Cindy Hutter, assistant trainer and wife of George Weaver, rides a horse at the Oklahoma Track. Sadly, later that morning, Hutter was badly injured when Vindatude, a homebred horse she was exercising, suddenly collapsed and dies. Currently she continues to make progress in her recovery.
A horse glistens after a bath at the Oklahoma Track.
My friend and partner this summer Alex Zhang took this photo of me at the Oklahoma Track.
This summer I got a lot of use out of my new 100-500mm lens and it did not disappoint, despite not having a very wide maximum aperture.
I worked on my panning game this summer. This is one of my favorite panning shots.
This is another panning shot I think came out good.
A horse in its stall at the backstretch at dawn.
The Saratoga starting gate at sunrise.
The beautiful trees of the infield at sunrise.
Members of the H. James Bond team gallop around the track. Bond is known for his clever “007” saddle towels.
Exercise rider Oscar F. Becerra gallops a Chad Brown trainee around the Clubhouse turn.
Sweet Harmony, a 2 year old filly who’s already earned over $100k in just 3 starts (and 2 wins!). She is trained by John Terranova.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher observes his charges.
Panning with a Brad Cox trainee at the main track.
Amelia Green rides a Todd Pletcher trainee.
Lyndsey Buttice rides a horse at the Oklahoma Track in the early morning. This photo made it into the magazine and it’s one of my favorites from the summer.
Here’s another similar photo that I’m quite fond of.
Julia Shining, a Curlin filly trained by Todd Pletcher, is held by her groom at the Oklahoma Track.
A Brad Cox trainee gets some affection at the Oklahoma Track.
The Budweiser Clydesdales visited Saratoga this summer. While they were here, they stayed at the Oklahoma Track. Here are two of them getting walked in the morning.
Despite their large size, the clydesdales are so docile, they can be walked four at a time!
Another photo of the clydesdales being walked at the Oklahoma Track.
Lilly, one of the Budweiser Dalmatians.
I made a point of getting photos of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike working out ahead of the Grade I Runhappy Travers Stakes. Although he didn’t win, I enjoyed getting a chance to see and photograph the horse that won one of the world’s most famous horse races at odds of 80 to 1.
Here is Rich Strike getting hot walked after one of his morning workouts.
Exercise rider Brace Carmouche gives some love to Michael Maker trainee Cross Border at the backstretch. After a successful career in flat racing, Cross Border is now embarking on a new career as a steeplechase horse.
I also made two illustrations based on this photo. Which one do you like better?

While we’re at it, I have published my second of two videos (I shared the first one in my last post) showcasing the track this summer. I call this one “TrackLapse” and it is comprised of over 2000 photos I took during the course of the meet! Email subscribers, click here to watch the video.

Saratoga Living’s fall issue is out now! Click here to browse it and see more photos by me and Alex Zhang!

To see more of my Saratoga area photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. To see more of my equine illustrations, follow @togadoodles on Instagram. To see more of my videos, be sure to follow me on YouTube. All photos, illustrations and videos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.

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