When July rolls around, we ladies of Saratoga are presented with a choice: Who do we want to be this track season? While an equestrian vibe is a must, we can go the girly girl route (bright pinks, high heels and all) or we can go all in on all things denim, fringe and yee-haw—a.k.a. full cowgirl. Honestly, both sound pretty good to me, and at Broadway boutique Saratoga Saddlery, both styles are on the table (or should I say rack?).
For a day at the races, you can’t go wrong flaunting this feminine Gretchen Scott maxi dress paired with a wide-brimmed, felt hat from American Hat Makers’ Wanderlust Collection. It even has pockets to stash all the cash you’re sure to rake in while wearing such a winning outfit! Post-races, do a quick wardrobe (and persona!) change into this uber-fringy Scully jean jacket, graphic tee and cowboy hat, and head directly to Nashville of Saratoga, the only place this far north of Tennessee worthy of such a rootin’ tootin’ cowgirl ensemble.
(Dori Fitzpatrick)
SCULLY JEAN JACKET | $119.95
LITTLE FIRE CRACKER T-SHIRT | $39.95
MAVERICK BONE HAT | $69.95
LIVERPOOL HANNAH CROP FLARE JEANS | $109.00
LIVERPOOL BELT | $109.00
WHITE CORRAL BOOTS | $299.95
GRETCHEN SCOTT ARLES DRESS | $199.00
AMERICAN HAT MAKERS WANDERLUST HAT | $129.95
SARATOGA SADDLERY PEEP TOE NUDE HEEL | $179.95
Jackie’s Warrior authoritatively announced to the racing world that he was a force to be reckoned with via a pair of spellbinding victories early in his career at Saratoga Race Course during the summer of 2020. He was a true star in the making. Last summer, Jackie’s Warrior confirmed his status as one of the best horses in training with another double at the Spa en route to an Eclipse Award. This summer? Well, Jackie’s back—and perhaps better than ever.
A horse for the course just about everywhere he goes—he’s won multiple graded stakes at Belmont Park and Churchill Downs in addition to Saratoga—Jackie’s Warrior has an opportunity to establish himself as a true Spa legend if he accomplishes his 2022 summer objectives. The 4-year-old bay son of Maclean’s Music out of the A.P. Five Hundred mare Unicorn Girl won the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt (July 30) and will be pointed toward the Grade 1 Forego (August 27), according to Steve Asmussen, his Hall of Fame trainer. If he is able to win the latter, Jackie’s Warrior would become a perfect 6-for-6 at Saratoga; he won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special and Grade 1 Hopeful as a juvenile and followed up by taking the Grade 2 Amsterdam and Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens as a sophomore. Overall, Jackie’s Warrior owns a record of 11-1-1 from 15 starts with earnings of $2,474,664.
Most recently Jackie’s Warrior earned his tenth graded stakes victory with a 6½-length romp in the Grade 2 True North at Belmont on June 10, prompting Asmussen to say, “The separation he gets without being asked is beautiful. He’s so rhythmic.” His jockey, Eclipse Award winner Joel Rosario, added: “He’s a special horse. He means everything to me. He’s very smart and fast and he’s on my list as one of the top horses [I’ve ridden].”
Bred in Kentucky by J & J Stables, Jackie’s Warrior is owned by Kirk and Judy Robison. He won the Eclipse Award for Champion Male Sprinter in 2021, thanks in large part to his Saratoga success. While cruising to his most recent victory aboard the 1-5 favorite in the True North, the cerebral Rosario thought ahead a bit.
“I looked back,” he said, “and was so far in front and decided to save some for the next one.”
Jackie’s Warrior will be retired at the end of the year and become a stallion at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. But before he transitions to the breeding shed, there are a few more things his connections would like to check off their list, including a Breeders’ Cup victory and another Eclipse Award. But before that, Asmussen has a couple of important dates at the Spa circled on his calendar. Jackie looks ready to make some more history.
Saratoga National has long been revered not only for its gorgeous 18-hole public golf course, but also for the unparalleled al fresco dining available at its onsite steakhouse, Prime. In fact, outdoor dining at the course was so popular that this past May, Saratoga National introduced a second open-air option: The Porch, an elevated-casual gastropub.
How does The Porch differ from Prime? For one, Prime has both indoor and outdoor seating, its outdoor area being the property’s lower patio overlooking the infinity pool, lawn and 18th green. The Porch, on the other hand, is al fresco–only, and occupies the upper patio near the outdoor bar. Then there’s the food. “Prime is a steakhouse,” says the restaurants’ spokesperson, Devin Manz. “The Porch is a gastropub featuring shareable steam pots—lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, potatoes, corn and traditional or Cajun broth.” Also on The Porch’s menu are appetizers including buffalo cauliflower and tuna tartare, mains like fish and chips and a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, and craft cocktails such as a strawberry mule and blackberry jalapeño margarita.
The Porch is open Tuesday-Friday from 11am-9pm, Saturday from 11am-10pm and Sunday from 10am-9pm, with a special Sunday brunch menu served until 2pm. “The Porch is where you bring your girlfriends for a girls’ night out, your golfing friends after your nightly golf league, or a business luncheon with colleagues,” Manz says. “It’s a place you go to after work to relax with friends at an outdoor bar and have a few cocktails while you take in the beautiful grounds that Saratoga National has to offer.”
The 27 acres of farmland owned by Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga (THS) are alive with memories from four years’ worth of heart-lifting work involving some very special retired racehorses. One standout equine was Boots, who is now buried near a cluster of trees behind a therapy paddock. Even though it has been several years since the retired Standardbred racehorse passed away, her presence can still be felt in every corner of the farm.
“She was the mayor of the farm,” says psychologist Dr. Erin Christopher-Sisk, founder of the Saratoga Springs nonprofit. “Boots had chronic pain from an infection in her hooves that caused permanent damage. She became part of our therapy program, and patients with chronic pain really connected with her, and she connected with them. She was such an inspirational presence on the farm. I spend time at her grave with patients, and I can still barely talk about her without crying.”
Founded in 2018, Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga rescues retired racehorses like Boots and retrains them for therapeutic programming. THS works in partnership with certified equine therapists who provide equine-assisted therapy to the community’s most vulnerable populations. I’ve actually volunteered with the program after my niece, a former foster child who’s lived through a lot of trauma, found so much comfort through a similar program in the Pittsburgh area.
A Saratoga Springs native, Christopher-Sisk grew up just blocks from the Saratoga Race Course and mastered the art of reading a racing form by the age of 8. Although she has fond memories of summer days spent at the track, her knowledge of horses was minimal at best. She certainly never imagined she would one day be overseeing a horse farm.
The Siena College graduate earned a PhD in counseling psychology from University at Albany and is the founder and clinical director of ECS Psychological Services, a Saratoga Springs–based mental health practice. In 2004, Christopher-Sisk and her husband, James Sisk, owner of Barrier Free Elevators Inc., purchased a house in Saratoga. After developing a friendship with their next-door neighbor, a horse trainer, the couple took advantage of an opportunity to invest in a racehorse he was purchasing. For Christopher-Sisk, that decision would end up changing the course of her professional career.
THS now has 11 therapy horses and six employees. (Dori Fitzpatrick)
In the years that followed, they invested in more horses, including Broadway Straight (“George”) and DW’s Regal (“DW”). When George and DW suffered career-ending injuries that made it unlikely that they could ever be ridden again, finding them a new home proved difficult.
“After discovering that there were no great rehoming options for horses with injuries—especially those that can’t be ridden—I decided to keep them and fold them into my work as a psychologist,” Christopher-Sisk says. “We found a farm owner in Galway who was willing to let us board them and allow me to tinker around with using them in therapy. I had already been using my dogs in my practice, and I applied the same principles with the horses.”
At the time, the field of equine therapy was only just beginning to develop in the United States. With no tried and true therapy models to draw upon, Christopher-Sisk began developing her own. She brought patients to the farm and allowed them to groom and interact with George and DW. Almost immediately, she realized that she had stumbled onto something big.
“I started to see success pretty quickly,” she says. “People had less anxiety, less depression and reported feeling noticeably better. They loved it, and the horses loved it.”
The therapeutic benefits were so significant that she began training other therapists on her staff to work with George and DW. It was only a matter of time before she and her husband decided the time had come to find a horse farm to call their own.
In 2015, after years of searching for a location that could accommodate both horses and clinicians, they purchased a 27-acre property at 683 Lake Avenue (NY-29), just 10 minutes from Saratoga Race Course. The property contained an 11-stall horse barn and a small house that they converted into an ECS therapy office.
Christopher-Sisk laughs when recalling their early days of farm ownership. “We had no clue how to run a farm and made a lot of mistakes along the way, but making sure our horses were cared for was always our number one priority,” she says. “We leaned on our horse trainers for help and made a lot of friends in the industry. Cornell Cooperative Extension was also a huge resource for us.”
In addition to its own therapy fleet, THS boards the Saratoga Springs Police Department’s three horses. (Dori Fitzpatrick)
Three years later, in 2018, THS was established as a nonprofit. The organization now has six employees and a team of about 30 dedicated volunteers.
According to Christopher-Sisk, obtaining funding has been their biggest challenge. “We are not expert fundraisers, and we are still learning how to do that,” she says. “For the first several years, my husband and I funded about 90 percent ourselves. We fund a little less each year and are now at about 50 percent. We have some private donors who have been very generous, and typically when we adopt a horse, the owner will make a sizable donation.”
THS primarily adopts retired racehorses that can no longer be ridden due to injuries, and its therapy herd has grown to include 11 horses. All horses receive specialized care from the THS team as well as from veterinarians, equine dentists and farriers.
As part of its mission to serve the community, THS also provides free boarding to the Saratoga Police Department’s three horses. The farm is now at full capacity, and in order
to adopt more horses, the organization must raise funds to
build additional paddocks.
As for THS’ equine therapy model, it has evolved over time through a combination of education, specialized training and trial and error. Horses are never ridden during a therapy session.
“Patients go into the paddock and engage in an activity that is specifically planned based on issues they are struggling with,” Christopher-Sisk explains. “For example, with a child who is being bullied at school, we might use horses that are a little more in your space and that are harder to communicate with. If you can communicate with a 1,000-pound horse, you can also do that with a bully on the playground. It’s very empowering.”
Although THS works in conjunction with clinicians from ECS Psychological Services, the two are separate entities. ECS has a therapy office at the farm, and according to Christopher-Sisk, the mental health services they provide are needed now more than ever before.
“In my almost 20 years of being in practice, I have never seen the volume of need that we see and have seen over the past year-and-a-half,” she says. “Our mission has always been to keep up the needs of the community, so we just continued to try to hire therapists and expand staff. We were at seven or eight full-time staff members before the pandemic, and we are now at 21.”
In an effort to introduce their equine therapy model to a larger audience, THS will be offering specialized training to clinicians outside of ECS.
“My vision is to create a solid program that can be replicated by others throughout the country,” Christopher-Sisk says. “There is a need for mental health care everywhere, and there are horses everywhere that need a home. As a racehorse owner, I believe that if we are going to be part of this industry, we need to be part of taking care of the horses once their racing days are done.”
Running both a nonprofit and a clinical practice is no easy task, and Christopher-Sisk spends at least five days a week at the farm. It seems likely that there is no place that she would rather be.
“It’s such a delight for me to see the joy people get from working with horses as well as to see how much the horses enjoy being here,” she says. “It really is a sanctuary for both people and horses, and it just feels really good to be here.”
Carson Kressley may have been the celebrity guest at last Saturday’s Racing & Rosé brunch party and fashion show Saratoga Living hosted with Miss Scarlett Boutique and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, but racing-themed fashions—both on and off the runway—were the true stars of the show. Click through the gallery by Morgan Campbell Photography above to see some of the morning’s best looks, including those from the epic fashion show put on by Miss Scarlett’s Jen Marcellus.
The three best-dressed ladies, as named by Carson: Tammy Gatineau, Kate VanHerp and Yuki Cohen. Ken McPeek, pictured holding his daughter in the gallery above, was dubbed the best-dressed man. (Morgan Campbell)
Thank you to all who made the morning a success, including La Crema, Mionetto, Bocage, Sweet Mimi’s, Uncommon Grounds, Samantha Nass Floral Design, Acacia Courtney and Janet Crawford. Check out our full behind-the-scenes recap of the event on Saratoga Living After Hours.
It goes without saying that the home of a luxury residential builder would probably be one heck of a house, but we’ll say it anyway: The former home of Kevin Maschewski, owner of Bolton Landing–based Adirondack Designers & Builders, is, actually, one hell of a house.
The 11,000-square-foot mansion, located on the western shore of Lake George just north of Chic’s Marina, recently sold for a whopping $8.35 million, the record for private residential properties on the lake. “The kitchen is honestly the nicest kitchen I’ve ever been in,” says Dan Davies of Davies-Davies & Associates Real Estate, which represented Kevin and his wife, Mary Beth, in the sale. “There’s a beautiful pool in the middle of the house, an indoor theater, a bar in the basement, two wine cellars, a really high-end elevator that makes all three levels easily accessible, and a very nice porch on the front with an outdoor fireplace.” Inside, there are four more fireplaces (there’s even one in the kitchen!), a whole-house sound system, home gym and arcade area, and the property also boasts a private beach and six-boat dock. The house, which is situated on two acres, has seven bedrooms, six full baths and three half-baths.
As for the buyers, Davies says they are a young couple from New Jersey, who are going to use the home as a residence, working remotely from the European-style paradise that was built in 2014. Though the couple may have made the biggest splurge on the lake to date, they are just one example of the many that fled and continue to flee the NYC area for Upstate. “I’ve been doing this 30, 40 years and the demand was just off the charts,” Davies says of the pandemic-era Lake George market. “There are still a lot of people wanting out of the city, and remote working allows that.”
Residence, office and vacation home, all wrapped into one? Not bad for $8.35 million.
When it comes to putting on a fashion show, no one in Saratoga does it better than Natalie Sillery, a Rensselaer native who spent years in Boston, Atlanta and New York City before moving back to the Capital Region to care for her aging parents. It was then that she opened Saratoga Trunk, a womenswear store currently in its 28th year in business that carries elegant dresses, accessories and, yes, hats. “Let’s go back,” Sillery said on a recent Friday afternoon. “It was a day in 1995. There were women horse owners. They’d come in, they’d buy nine hats. I’d take the hats out to the chauffeured car. They’d buy three outfits: one for the morning, one for the winner’s circle, and one for later when they went out to dinner at The Wishing Well. People dressed. It was a field day.”
It was in that era that Sillery began showcasing her wares—looks from Kay Unger, Nicole Miller and Don O’Neill of Theia Couture—in fashion shows around the Capital Region, most notably, of course, at Saratoga Race Course. She put on 22 track-side shows between 1998-2019 to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, featuring “real” women—not necessarily models—from the local community.
After two years off from COVID, though, a new idea emerged: a fashion show to benefit not one but two charities doing amazing work right here in Saratoga Springs. The charities? Living Resources, an Albany-based nonprofit that provides supportive services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and Building on Love, an organization based in Cohoes that helps families facing life-altering medical conditions by way of financial support with essential living expenses such as mortgage and car payments. “These are two nonprofits that I think the world of,” says Sillery, who points out that many of the individuals and families served by the organizations live in Saratoga. “I just love them both and think they’re worthy of exposure.”
So, in a first-of-its-kind fashion show fundraiser to benefit two charities with disparate missions, Sillery, Living Resources and Building on Love will present “A Tribute to Transforming Lives: A Day at the 1863 Club” on Sunday, August 21 at 11am. “It’s going to be a great day,” Sillery says of the show that will feature looks from Saratoga Trunk, Lifestyles of Saratoga and Union Hall Supply Co., as well as styles by designer Emily Shalant. “It’s world-class racing and world-class fashion for world-class causes.”
I’ve taken exit 23 of the Northway tons of times—to get to Gore Mountain, Old Forge and Saranac Lake—but never for a dinner reservation. Until last night.
The restaurant is The Bond 1786, formerly known as the Merrill-Magee House and located right in center of the town of Warrensburg. Originally opened by 19th century mill and tannery operator Stephen Griffin as the Griffin House Bed & Breakfast, the property is on the National Historic Registry. Griffin left it to his daughter, Mary Merrill, who left it to her daughter, Grace Merrill Magee. After Grace’s passing, the restaurant and bed and breakfast changed hands several times, and was ultimately purchased by the Warrensburg-based Lotus Group in the spring of 2021. The Lotus Group also owned The Grist Mill, another restaurant in a historic building about a mile up the Schroon River, which burned down in the middle of the night in November 2020, and the staff from that restaurant came to Merrill-Magee, which was rebranded as The Bond 1786. The new name is a nod to settler William Bond, who came to the region in 1786.
But enough about the past—The Bond’s building may be historic, but its menu is anything if not deliciously modern. First, there’s the cocktail menu, which boasts the perfectly sweet Cucumber Basil Smash; the Lemon Delight, made with Deep Eddy and served in a martini glass; and the Strawberry Basil Margarita. “You can’t have a margarita without egg white,” explained our server Andrew, a globe-trotting native Capital Regionite who’s back home and working at The Bond just for the summer. Andrew also brought over samples of the Greenskeeper, a slightly spicy grass-green tequila tipple whose top-secret recipe he brought to New York’s Northcountry from Aspen, CO.
The Lemon Delight, Cucumber Basil Smash and Blueberry Mojito.
For starters, we opted for the simple-yet-delicious Vegetable Spring Rolls and a side of Candied Brussels, which came glazed in a sticky/sweet sauce and topped with red pepper flakes and bacon from Oscar’s Smokehouse, located just up the street. One member of our party got another appetizer for her meal—the Montrachet, a garlic- and red pepper–topped skillet of goat cheese served with grilled baguette slices. (We skipped the crab cake small plate, Andrew’s favorite.)
The mains menu is half surf and half turf, with entrées such as Braised Short Rib, Chicken Carbonara, Faroe Island Salmon and Grist Mill Scampi. We ordered the halibut on Andrew’s recommendation—it came atop a creamy roasted corn purée sprinkled with somewhat-surprising-but-in-the-end-delightful pickled blueberries—and the vegan version of the Maitake Katsu, a giant, panko-fried mushroom served with steamed rice and a vegetable broth that was really more of a savory sauce than a broth. For dessert? A decadent serving of key lime pie with a graham cracker crust to share.
While the 30-minute drive from Saratoga was well worth it just for dinner (getting a reservation is also no problem, unlike at Downtown Saratoga’s restaurants mid-track season), The Bond 1786 is also an inn, boasting 10 unique rooms, each with their own wood fireplace, plus a communal sunroom and attached porch. In other words, if you plan on having more than a couple of Cucumber Basil Smashes, maybe book a room for the evening.
At just over a year old, The Bond 1786 is just getting started. The Dining Room (where we ate) is currently equipped to host parties, showers and weddings with up to 50 guests, and plans are in the works to make the grassy area near the inn into an outdoor wedding venue that will be able to accommodate parties of 150-200. The staff is also working on developing ski packages, mainly for those traveling to Gore Mountain come wintertime—the Tavern (located adjacent to the Dining Room and serving a slightly more casual menu) would make for the perfect cozy aprés ski hangout. But it’s still summertime, and The Bond already has plenty to be excited about (including al fresco dining on the wraparound patio). Make the trip for dinner Tuesday-Saturday from 4-9pm or for brunch—yes, they do brunch!—on Sundays from 10am-3pm.
Abraham Lincoln occupied the White House when Saratoga Race Course first opened in 1864. With a history like that, dating back to the days of the Civil War, horse racing at the old Spa track has a flavor all its own. Each summer, NYRA pays homage to that sacred history by conducting dozens of stakes races that recognize Saratoga’s unique legacy.
Some of the Spa legends with races named in their honor include William Travers, John Morrissey, William Woodward and Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr., while iconic racing families such as the Sanfords and Whitneys are also acknowledged on the stakes schedule. And of course, Hall of Fame racehorses such as Alydar, Curlin, Forego, Personal Ensign, Shuve and Sword Dancer have races in their honor, as do Jim Dandy, Fourstardave, Birdstone, Quick Call and Spinaway, each of whom has a chapter in Saratoga lore.
James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, who won Triple Crowns with Gallant Fox and Omaha, was a four-time leading trainer at Saratoga. (Keeneland Library Morgan Collection)
In recent years, NYRA has recognized popular Hall of Fame trainers Allen Jerkens and Jonathan Sheppard with stakes races, renaming the King’s Bishop and New York Turf Writers Cup, respectively. Both decisions made perfect sense, as Jerkens trained King’s Bishop and Sheppard won the Turf Writers Cup a whopping 15 times.
Some Saratoga standouts, however, have yet to be honored on the stakes schedule. The next time NYRA examines its Saratoga race names perhaps it will find a spot for these three legends of the Spa.
Angel Cordero, Jr.
Churchill Downs has the Pat Day Mile, and Santa Anita conducts the Eddie D Stakes (it’s named for jockey Eddie Delahoussaye). How does the “King of Saratoga” not have a stakes race in his honor at the track he ruled over? Cordero, who won 7,057 races in his career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988, was the leading rider at Saratoga a record 14 times, including 11 years in a row. He remains a visible presence in racing as a jockey agent and is arguably the most popular figure in Saratoga racing history. So, NYRA…How about the Angel Cordero, Jr. Stakes?
James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
The first person to train two Triple Crown winners—Hall of Famers Gallant Fox and Omaha—Fitzsimmons earned his own Hall of Fame induction in 1958. Saratoga was a major part of his story, as he set records for the most wins in the Saratoga Cup (10) and Alabama Stakes (eight). A four-time leading trainer at Saratoga, Fitzsimmons won 13 Triple Crown races and trained seven members of the Hall of Fame. The Sunny Jim Stakes belongs at Saratoga and is long overdue.
The aptly named Upset pulling off his historic upset of Man o’ War. (Keeneland Library Morgan Collection)
Upset
Saratoga is known as the “Graveyard of Favorites,” and Upset pulled off one of the track’s biggest whoppers when he handed the mighty Man o’ War his lone career defeat in the 1919 Sanford Memorial Stakes. Owned by Harry Payne Whitney and trained by James Rowe, Sr., Upset went on to finish second in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Travers in 1920. Jim Dandy was given a Saratoga stakes race on the strength of his victory over Gallant Fox in the 1930 Travers. It would be fitting for NYRA to honor Upset in the same way for his Saratoga shining moment that still resonates more than a century later—with the premiere of the Upset Stakes.
On Wednesday evening, Saratoga Living celebrated the release of “The Races!” issue, which this year featured leading Saratoga rider John Velazquez on the cover, at The Horseshoe. We’d like to thank everyone who made the party possible, including Chandon, Northway Brewing, The Charcutebrie, NYRA, musician Michael LeVan and the team at The Horseshoe. Read a full recap of the festivities on Saratoga Living After Hours, and check out scenes from the night by Konrad Odhiambo in the gallery at the top of the page.
