This is the second post in my series looking back at the Saratoga summer meet. I had the pleasure of shooting for The Saratoga Special this summer, capturing morning preview photos as well as race day shots. In this post, I will share my favorite photos taken in the mornings. Click here to view my other posts about the track.
Charlie Appleby trainee Eternal Hope finished fourth in both the Grade II Glens Falls Stakes and the Grade II Flower Bowl Stakes.
I’m not a morning person, but scenes like this make it worth getting up for sunrise.
Mindframe followed up his runner up finish in the Grade I Belmont Stakes in June with another runner up finish behind Dornoch in the Grade I Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. He has since been sidelined for the rest of the season due to injury.
Outrider Lexi Marquis feeds Leroy the pony while Quinn looks on.
Many different breeds of dog can be spotted on the backside.
Todd Pletcher trainee Miss Justify won the Wilton Stakes, which she followed up with a fourth place finish in the Grade I Alabama Stakes.
I captured this panorama of a beautiful sunrise at the Clubhouse turn.
Erma Scott, long time member of the Bill Mott team, gives Timeout a kiss. The son of Curlin finished third in his sire’s eponymous stakes race.
Erma and Bill Mott’s dog, Winston, pose for a picture.
Erma feeds a carrot to Margot’s Angel, named for Bill Mott’s granddaughter, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
Groom Roberto Ambriz poses with multiple graded stakes winner Buchu. The three-year-old filly didn’t race at Saratoga this summer, but she ran twice here last summer.
Carlos Quevedo rides Grade I Stephen Foster Stakes winner Kingsbarns. The four-year-old colt was recently retired due to injury and will stand at Spendthrift Farm.
Roberto Howell rides graded stakes winner Disarm. The four-year-old colt finished fourth in the Grade I Whitney Stakes and third in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Graded stakes winner Gala Brand, who won her first two starts at Saratoga last summer, didn’t fare so well this year. She finished eighth in the Grade III Lake George Stakes and seventh in the Grade II Lake Placid Stakes.
Hot walker George Grey walks Phil Serpe trainee Miscreant. Back in the day, George hot walked Onion!
Lots of goats call the backstretch home. This one’s name is Princess Pea AKA Julia, and she belongs to trainer Joe Sharp.
Donnie Balthazar, assistant to trainer Al Stall, gives Gavea a mint. The three-year-old filly was fourth in the Grade III Lake George Stakes.
2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Mischief Magic trained at Saratoga this summer, but did not run here. In August, he finished seventh in the Van Clief Stakes at Colonial Downs.
Kelvin Perez rides Chad Brown trainee Expatriate.
Trainer John Ortiz is pictured with barn superstar Brightwork, who has a perfect record at the Spa. After being scratched from the Grade I Test Stakes, she returned to win the Grade III Prioress Stakes.
Grade I winner Candied was favored in the Grade I Alabama Stakes, but finished a close second to Power Squeeze.
Kriss Bon rides Kentucky Derby runner up Sierra Leone.
Irish-bred filly Verbier made her U.S. debut in the Grade II Flower Bowl Stakes, where she finished fifth.
Highland Falls took the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup for trainer Brad Cox and owner Godolphin, currently the leading owner in North America.
Graded Stakes winner Future is Now won the Smart N Fancy Stakes for trainer Michael Trombetta and owner R. Larry Johnson.
Trainer David Duggan rides Primo the pony, a retired Thoroughbred.
Trainer Will Walden poses with Pipsy, who was scratched from the Galway Stakes when it was taken off the turf.
Lorena Perdomo gives a treat to Mickey, a companion goat for Grade I winner She Feels Pretty at the Cherie DeVaux barn.
Speaking of She Feels Pretty, here she is shortly before heading out to the track. The three-year-old filly finished second in the Grade II Lake Placid Stakes.
Another star of the DeVaux barn is Grade I winner Vahva, who finished third in the Grade I Ballerina Handicap.
Saffie Joseph trainee The Queens M G won both the Schuylerville Stakes and the Grade III Adirondack Stakes.
Ian Wilkes trainee Just Basking finished a respectable third in the Grade I Alabama Stakes.
Exercise rider Mary Rose Hitt rides Mark Casse trainee Global Legend. The two-year-old colt finished second in the Grade II Saratoga Special Stakes.
In the mornings, there is a mad dash to claim a picnic table. I happened to snap this photo as folks were running past me.
Belmont and Haskell Stakes winner Dornoch posts his final work before the Travers, where he ultimately finished fourth.
Kriss Bon rides Grade I Hopeful Stakes winner Chancer McPatrick (inside) and Gian Cueva rides maiden winner Incentive Pay, who finished third in the Hopeful.
Barn cats are prevalent at the track. Here a cat goes for a stroll at the Shug McGaughey barn.
Rasheed Pinnock gives Shug McGaughey trainee Pentathlon a pet.
Gustavo Delgado trainee Ferocious broke his maiden this summer, then followed it up with a second place finish in the Hopeful.
Britt Wadsworth cuddles with homebred Burning Munny, who made his debut this summer. I first met the two-year-old colt when he was a foal at Mahoney Eden Manor!
Chad Brown trainee Raging Sea won the Grade II Shuvee Stakes and the Grade I Personal Ensign Stakes, prevailing over last year’s winner, Idiomatic.
John Terranova trainee Nuk Soo Kow’s unique face has already earned him many fans, even though he is as of yet still unarmed.
Chad Brown trainee Domestic Product won the Grade I H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes on the Travers Stakes undercard.
Multiple graded stakes winner Scylla finished second in the Grade I Ballerina Handicap.
First time out maiden winner Uncaged (left) touches base with Call to Service 22 at the Pletcher barn.
Todd Pletcher trainee Mentee, who set a track record in his first time out maiden win at Belmont at the Big A, was scratched from the Grade III Sanford Stakes due to illness, but came back to finish sixth in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes. The two-year-old colt is a full brother to Travers winner Fierceness.
Multiple graded stakes Tapit Trice finished fourth in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Multiple Grade I winner National Treasure sought to add to his resume with the Grade I Whitney Stakes, but finished a disappointing sixth. Nonetheless, it was great to see him at the Spa.
Elinor Wolf, director of marketing and partner relations for Starlight Racing (a partnership that owns part of National Treasure), takes a photo of the Bob Baffert trainee.
Arthur’s Ride won the Grade I Whitney Stakes in his stakes debut. He followed that up with a fifth place finish in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup.
One of Arthur’s Ride’s biggest fans is Erma Scott, who is pictured here giving him a kiss and a carrot.
Thorpedo Anna generated a lot of buzz this summer while training up to the Travers, where she ultimately finished second by a head to Fierceness. She still exits the meet with a Grade I win, having taken the Coaching Club American Oaks in July. Exercise rider Danny Ramsey rode her in the morning.
2023 Champion Two-Year-Old Male Fierceness, exercised by Danny Wright in the mornings, put himself right in the mix for top three-year-old with his wins in the Grade II Jim Dandy Stakes and Grade I Travers Stakes.
I recently made a new video, comprised of over 2000 frames I shot this summer. It’s almost 10 minutes long, so grab a snack and sit back, relax, and relive the magic of the meet! Email subscribers, click here to watch the video.
To see more of my equine photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. All photos and videos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.
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