Early Morning at Saratoga Race Course

A few weeks ago, I went with my friend Alex Zhang to Saratoga Race Course to get some morning shots. I recently posted about a morning shoot at the Oklahoma Training Track, and these photos are similar in nature.

A panorama of the 1863 Club, the clubhouse, and the grandstand.
A horse sporting a bright blue bridle surveys the track during a quiet moment.
Top horse Essential Quality (winner of the 2021 Belmont Stakes and Jim Dandy Stakes and favorite for the Travers Stakes) gets a workout.
An outrider helps with one of H. James Bond’s horses.
This 8-shot sequence shows a horse galloping around the track. This was actually an accidental sequence. When photographing action, I, like most photographers, shoot at full speed in burst mode and go back later to see which shot(s) came out the best. In doing so, I realized I had a sequence here that I could merge into one unique shot.
Two horses run from opposite directions.
An outrider surveys his domain.
A pair of horses make their way around the track.
As a pair of horses turn the corner, a horse and rider can be seen out of focus in the foreground.
I went for a black and white treatment on this one.
Sunrise makes for the best lighting to photograph these majestic creatures and their dedicated exercise riders.
A quiet moment on one of Bill Mott’s horses.
Sometimes a photo isn’t perfectly in focus, but it ticks all the other boxes so you post it anyway.
A sun-kissed horse and a happy rider take a pause on the track.
A rider pets one of H. James Bond’s horses.
A beautiful sky is the backdrop for this photo of horse and rider.
Instead of using a zoom lens, I often opt for my 135mm f/2 prime, which, coupled with my Canon 5D Mark IV, allows me to zoom in with a crop where needed with little reduction in image quality, such as in this photo.
I love the slow moments just as much as the fast ones!
For a brief moment, I slapped on a wide angle lens to get a different perspective.
A member of Chad Brown’s team can be seen in the foreground while others are seen off in the distance.
A rider gives a horse a pet.
Another quiet moment.
A member of Chad Brown’s team gets some assistance.
An outrider photographed from the backstretch.

After photographing at the track, we headed back to the barns to capture some behind the scenes shots.

A little cliché but I couldn’t resist!
Drawn to Race shakes it off after getting a bath.
A thoroughbred rests in his stall.
Another thoroughbred shows me his profile.
A lot of behind the scenes work goes into grooming and caring for the horses.
Unfortunately, I don’t know the names of all the horses, but if you spot one you know, please let me know in the comments!
Eight Weeks Longs peers out of his stall.
Girolamos Attack is held on the backstretch.
Another exercise shot from the backstretch.
A member of H. James Bond’s team gives me a peace sign as he and his horse are led through the backstretch.

To see more of my Saratoga photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. All photos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.

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