This is my second post featuring photos I took during the 2023 Saratoga Race Course meet. In this post, I’ll share my favorite photos from the morning workouts and activities. Click here to view my other posts about the track.
This is my horse, Mary Union Ave, being hot walked after a workout. When I say “my horse,” I mean I own a small interest. I share her with about 20 other partners, many of whom are photographers like me. Mary shipped up to Saratoga this summer and has been training towards her first start.
One of my partner’s daughters and a friend share an affectionate moment with Sugar It’s Eli, the horse whose stall is directly across from Mary’s.
Belmont Stakes and eventual Travers Stakes winner Arcangelo (left) is ponied out on the main track with assistant trainer Fiona Goodwin onboard.
Arcangelo gallops past.
Trainer Robbie Davis gallops Mary Union Ave over the main track. See my illustrations of this photo below.
My dad gives Mary a pet after meeting her for the first time.
Grade II Jim Dandy Stakes winner Forte gallops around the clubhouse turn on a very foggy morning.
Grade I winner Annapolis comes behind Forte around the track.
A view of the track from the clubhouse on that same foggy morning. On this particular morning, I was disappointed that there was no sunrise, but the fog made for some really interesting photos.
Rudy Rodríguez rides one of his charges in the fog.
A horse is ponied on the main track in the fog.
A Bill Mott trainee is galloped over the main track just as the fog starts to let up.
Steve Asmussen trainee Disarm is walked with exercise rider Roberto Howell onboard. Disarm has only won two races, but, combined with his other in the money finishes, he has amassed earnings of over $1 million.
Assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado, Jr. walks Kentucky Derby winner Mage before he heads out to the Oklahoma Track for the first time.
Mage gets a little frisky!
Retired jockey Ángel Cordero, Jr. is spotted at the Oklahoma Track as Steve Asmussen and some of his charges pass by.
Mage jogs over the Oklahoma Track for the first time with exercise rider J.J. Delgado in the irons.
Kentucky Derby alumnus Rocket Can gallops over the Oklahoma Track.
Curlin Stakes winner Scotland gets a carrot and a kiss from pal Erma Scott.
Two-year-old Hunt Ball, half-brother to Cody’s Wish, gets a little frisky. He made his debut this summer at the Spa, where he finished second.
J.J. Delgado poses with Mage as he is hot walked.
Two-year-old champion Forte rests in his stall at the Oklahoma Track.
His stablemate Nest is in the next stall over.
Robbie Davis gallops Mary Union Ave over historic Clare Court on the backstretch of the main track.
A Bill Mott trainee is exercised over the main track in the early morning sun.
A Saffie Joseph trainee rounds the clubhouse turn.
A Tom Morley trainee is seen in the morning light.
A Mike Maker trainee and exercise rider are silhouetted by the morning sun.
A pleasant morning at the Spa.
I photographed this Ray Handal trainee from the height of the clubhouse.
A Brendan Walsh trainee is walked back to the barn after exercising.
Mage looks quite the picture while getting a bath at the Oklahoma Track.
Gustavo Delgado, Jr. admires Mage while he gets his bath.
Elite Power’s blanket and flower blanket from the Grade I Vanderbilt Handicap were still hanging over the railing of the shed row over at the Mott barn several days after his big win.
Here he is, champion sprinter Elite Power himself, being walked along the shed row.
Nine-year-old Bill Mott trainee Channel Maker, winner of the Grade II Bowling Green Stakes, gets a treat from good pal Gilda.
A Gustavo Delgado trainee is walked before he goes out to be exercised.
Two-year-old Todd Pletcher trainee Hail gets a pet from his exercise rider after his workout.
Todd Pletcher trainee Charge It looks beautiful in the morning light.
Another Pletcher trainee, Munny’s Gold, stands dutifully while she gets a bath.
Trainer George Weaver’s puppy Kingsley is irresistibly cute!
Trainer Steve Asmussen sits atop his pony at the Oklahoma Track.
Trainer Melanie Giddings hot walks her young charge Mel’s Baby Sister after her first breeze.
Sadly, the Bill Mott barn lost a legend this summer in the name of Art Collector. Art Collector was a six-year-old winner of over $4 million, with his most notable victory coming in the Grade I Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes earlier this year. He will be sorely missed. Here are a few photos I took of Art Collector earlier this summer.
Assistant trainer Neil Poznansky exercises Art Collector over the Oklahoma Track.
Art Collector, outfitted in his Pegasus World Cup blanket, is hot walked along the shed row of his barn.
Erma feeds her pal a carrot.
To see more of my equine photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. To see more of my illustrations, follow @togadoodles on Instagram. All photos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.
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One thought on “Saratoga Race Course 2023: The Mornings”
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Fantastic – the light is beautiful!