For the last few summers, Dango’s has been one of the hottest late-night bars in Saratoga, with the line to get in often stretching down Caroline Street late into the evening. Its regular live music, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd and multiple bars made it quite literally the place to be in “the summer place to be.” And it just got even better.
Last year, Dango’s was purchased by Loudonville native Lucas White, who brought Siro’s General Manager Kevin Decker onto the project. This past spring, the duo began renovations on the space, which, despite the popularity of its expansive patio, was falling into disrepair. (If you’ve been in the women’s bathroom, you know.) At press time, the bar’s patio was open on weekend nights, but the inside was still under construction. Its new name? The Wild Horse.
“Right now, Caroline Street’s decimated, with Gaffney’s gone and Sperry’s gone,” Decker told me in early June. “We’re bringing something that the street needs. We’ve done $1.5 million in renovations to the building. That alone makes it a nicer atmosphere to be in. We now have usable bathrooms, which they didn’t have before.”
In addition to the bathroom renovation—which alone cost a whopping $30,000—Decker and White gutted the dining room, adding a VIP room with a terrace that overlooks the patio. After this summer, the patio itself will get a refresh. While Dango’s focused mainly on selling chicken wings and Miller Lite—it was an Irish pub, after all—The Wild Horse has a more upscale vibe, with a menu Decker says is more aligned with local restaurants like Seneca and a cocktail menu that nods to Madame Jumel’s, the “dining emporium” that previously occupied the building.
“We’re opening the dining room as an alternative for somebody that might not be 21, or doesn’t want to be stuck in a crowd with a bunch of kids,” Decker says. “They can come in and have dinner.” And if you want to be right in the thick of it, sweating and singing “Mr. Brightside” with 300 of Saratoga’s most ardent late-night warriors? Well, the live music’s not going anywhere. “It’s almost surreal when you go down the patio steps and into the band area,” Decker says. “It’s a unique experience for Saratoga.”
Joel Rosario will never forget his first visit to Saratoga Race Course. In August 2010, the young jockey arrived at the Spa to ride Blind Luck in the historic Alabama Stakes in a race that would turn out to be one of the most memorable editions of the filly classic ever. Rosario, 25 at the time and emerging as the dominant jockey on the California circuit, made all the correct decisions that day to help Blind Luck defeat the sensational Havre de Grace in a thriller.
It was nothing short of a dramatic, cinematic win: Even Blind Luck’s trainer, Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, was concerned about the race’s pace as it unfolded, but Rosario demonstrated his uncanny sense of timing. With Blind Luck five lengths behind the leader and last through six furlongs of the 1¼-mile contest, Rosario sat chilly. The time splits, which Hollendorfer called “a little worrisome,” weren’t conducive to a late closer like Blind Luck. Rosario, however, knew when to push the button. “I was very, very comfortable where I was,” he says. “I was expecting a pretty slow pace, but I sat in behind them and watched.”
John Velazquez, riding Devil May Care, got his filly into the clear on the turn for home so he could set her down for the stretch run. But Rosario simultaneously turned Blind Luck loose and had her rolling on the far outside as the field straightened into the stretch. The sense of when to pull the trigger is essential for a jockey—and few do it at the elite level of Rosario.
“I kind of warned Joel that Johnny was going to try to open up on him a little bit at the head of the lane,” Hollendorfer says. “He watched for that a little bit and moved a little earlier. It was probably a good thing that he did.”
Rosario after winning the 2019 Belmont aboard Sir Winston (Photography by Susie Raisher)
While Devil May Care weakened, Blind Luck surged. Under the strong and confident handling of Rosario, she took the lead at the sixteenth pole and passed the wire a neck ahead of Havre de Grace. That triumph—in front of a crowd of 30,852—was Saratoga’s first glimpse of a superstar in the making.
“I had never been to Saratoga before that Alabama, but I knew the reputation of the track for being so great, and it definitely is,” Rosario says. “I knew right away it was a special place and that the racing was amazing. The fans really support it. I’ve been lucky to have had a lot of great experiences at Saratoga.”
That first exemplary ride is the sort that Rosario has executed with regularity throughout his career, during which he’s remained enamored with Saratoga. Fittingly, he’ll be inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in the middle of the Saratoga meet, on Aug. 2.
As a child, however, the athlete had his sights set on a very different Hall of Fame.
While growing up in the Dominican Republic, Rosario dreamed of becoming the Caribbean nation’s next great baseball player. Maybe someday he’d hit tape-measure home runs like David Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero or fire blazing fastballs like Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez, all Dominican-born ballplayers whose careers led them to the Baseball Hall of Fame. But by the time he hit his teenage years, Rosario had accepted the reality that he simply didn’t have the ideal physical traits needed to make his diamond aspirations a reality.
“I loved playing baseball growing up,” he says. “It was my passion and I was pretty good, but I didn’t get that growth spurt that everyone else around me did. I had to find a different dream, a different path.”
That new path led Rosario to the racetrack, where the athleticism and strength he possessed in his small frame proved to be an ideal combination. Born in San Francisco de Macoris in 1985, Rosario was introduced to racing by his brother, Juan, at the Quinto Centenario Racetrack in Santo Domingo. At the age of 12, with parental consent, Rosario began a two-year program at his country’s jockey school. He proved to be a quick learner and was riding in races at 14. Within a year, Rosario was the leading rider at Quinto Centenario.
“We had horses on the farm where I grew up,” Rosario says. “I enjoyed being around them. It felt natural to me when I started riding and I just loved it. There’s no feeling like riding a racehorse. It’s just incredible.”
After dominating the jockey standings for five years at Quinto Centenario, Rosario moved to California in 2006 with the help of Dominican trainer and bloodstock agent Herbert Soto. He started out at the Los Angeles County Fair at Fairplex Park, then headed north to compete at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields. Rosario had moderate success in his first year in America, winning 29 races from 219 mounts.
Rosario after a race at Saratoga on the first day of the 2024 Belmont Racing Festival (Photography by Shawn LaChapelle)
“It was all about learning when I first got to California,” Rosario says. “There were ups and downs. I just had to stay patient, be focused, work hard…try to get better every day.”
Rosario’s rise was meteoric. He rode 1,024 races in 2007, winning 154 (15 percent). His first graded wins came the following year when he increased his win total to 193. Rosario piloted five winners on a single card at Hollywood Park in 2008, including the Grade 3 Native Diver Handicap aboard Slew’s Tizzy for trainer Doug O’Neill. After his final mount at Hollywood that day, Rosario went straight to Puerto Rico to ride the colt Sicótico in the Clásico del Caribe (Caribbean Derby). Sicótico, bred in the Dominican Republic, had won that country’s Triple Crown earlier in the year and took a 16-race win streak into the Clásico del Caribe.
With Rosario aboard, Sicótico closed late for a 1½-length victory. It was the first time a Dominican-bred horse won the prestigious race and a proud moment for Rosario, who was given the mount by Dominican trainer Eugenio Deschamps.
“That was a special experience,” Rosario says. “Winning a race like that for my country and a trainer who really supported me early in my career meant a lot and was a great honor. I’m very grateful I had the opportunity.”
Rosario was just getting started. He won his first Breeders’ Cup race in 2009 at Santa Anita in the Sprint aboard Dancing in Silks for trainer Carla Gaines at odds of 25-1. Rosario rode 284 winners that year with his mounts earning more than $13 million.
“Winning that first Breeders’ Cup race was big for me,” Rosario says. “It’s the championship event and it gave me a lot of confidence as I was building momentum.”
From 2009 through 2011, Rosario won six consecutive meet riding titles at Hollywood Park. During that period, he also won three titles at Del Mar and two at Santa Anita. But instead of being content with his status as the king of the California tracks, Rosario desired a new challenge. He hired Ron Anderson as his agent and moved his tack to New York in 2012.
“I love California, but I wanted some different opportunities and going to New York was the best decision for me,” Rosario says. “The timing was right to make the move. I’ve been with Ron for about 12 years now and it’s been great. I’ve had amazing experiences and been very lucky to ride great horses for many great trainers.”
Rosario’s career went to another level after the move. He won the $10 million Dubai World Cup in 2013 with Animal Kingdom for trainer Graham Motion and that year’s Kentucky Derby with Orb for Hall of Fame conditioner Shug McGaughey. He won the Belmont Stakes the next year with Tonalist for Christophe Clement and piloted a second Belmont winner, Sir Winston, in 2019 for Hall of Famer Mark Casse. Rosario has also continued to thrive at the Breeders’ Cup: His 15 wins in the event include two editions of the Classic. Rosario’s 2021 Classic victory with Horse of the Year Knicks Go for Brad Cox was the cherry on top of his best year to date. He led all North American riders in earnings with $32,956,215 and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey.
Rosario with trainer Gary Sciacca (Photography by Walter Wlodarczyk)
“I put in a lot of hard work because I want to be the best I can for all the trainers and owners who believe in me, and I really try to take good care of the horses,” Rosario says. “The horses always give you everything they have and it’s only right that I do the same. I study the [past performances], get as much information as I can from the trainers, and really try to get to know the horses and make them feel comfortable with me. The horses have to trust you. The horse always comes first.”
Through the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, Rosario had ridden 3,623 winners with purse earnings of $320 million. Only Hall of Famers Velazquez, Javier Castellano and Mike Smith have higher career earnings. When given the news of his election to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, Rosario said it is an honor he is both proud of and obligated to share.
“You can’t do it alone,” he says. “You have to make the right decisions when you are on the horse, but so many people have helped me in my career and given me the opportunities. I’m very thankful for that and of course thankful for all the horses. Horses have given me everything.”
Other than while planning his speech and on induction day, Rosario says he won’t spend much time reminiscing about the achievement. There will be a time for that sort of reflection eventually, but at only age 39, Rosario is entrenched in his prime and among the upper echelon in his profession.
“It’ll be amazing to be in the Hall of Fame with so many great jockeys that I admire, but I will still have to work as hard as I always have if I want to keep doing well,” Rosario says. “That won’t change. My approach will stay the same. I love to ride and compete with the best. I hope to be able to do it for a long time. I’ve been very blessed.”
It was exhilarating watching 17-1 longshot Dornoch win the Belmont Stakes in front of a sold-out crowd of 50,000, but leading up to the big race there was no question that a different horse was stirring up the most excitement around town.
Yup, Seize the Grey—with his 2,570 micro-share owners—was the hands-down crowd favorite.
“It was so exciting to watch Seize the Grey run in The Belmont Stakes,” says Saratogian and micro-share owner Deborah Durso, who watched the race in the 1863 club with her husband, Stephen. “It’s been such an exciting experience, and seeing him here later this summer should be fantastic.”
Like all of Grey’s owners, Durso bought in via MyRacehorse, an ownership platform that allows horse racing fans to buy shares of a racehorse for as little as just under $100 (Seize the Grey was $127). After you commit, the app sends you constant news items and behind-the-scenes tidbits on your horse, including real-time updates on race days, revving up excitement and creating a connection. There are even app-exclusive excursions such as private tours of training grounds, meaning that many of Grey’s owners had met him prior to the Triple Crown races.
The MyRacehorse team celebrates Seize the Grey’s Preakness win with some of his owners. (Photography by Eclipse Sportswire)
“These owners bought Seize the Grey at Fasig-Tipton two years ago when he was a yearling,” says MyRacehorse strategist Shona Rotondo. “So they bought him as a baby and watched him grow up as he went through the training process and learned how to be a racehorse. He ran his first race and it was kind of impressive, and then he broke his maiden and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I think I have a good horse here.’”
After Grey won the Preakness, so many owners traveled to Saratoga for the Belmont that a pre-party at The Night Owl sold out in 30 minutes. Devoted fans such as Saratogian Sue Jeffreys went to morning workouts every single day for an “I love you!” ritual for both Grey and his training rider whom they know by name (Miguel). And there was some angst about who’d go to the Winner’s Circle if he won after NYRA declined to create a contingency plan for the more than 400 owners at the track that day.
Even though in the end Grey didn’t win, place or show, his legion of micro-owners remain wide-eyed.
“It’s been a rollercoaster because sometimes he didn’t do so well, and then he came back and ran really well again,” Rotondo says of Grey. “Then to go on to win a Grade 2 race on Kentucky Derby Day, then go on to win the Preakness, and then to have a shot at winning another Triple Crown race…it was absolutely mind-blowing—the stuff dreams are made of.”
August Rosa has seen a lot in the decade since he opened his first beer store/bar in Albany.
“We’re all sick of talking about the pandemic, sick of thinking about how it’s changed the way we live and hang out,” Rosa says. “But it did change everything. For the first time in five years, I feel like the vibe on the street is returning to what we saw before 2020, and rebranding as DIVE is really a way to move forward with a clean slate.”
Rosa first opened a small craft beer shop called Brew on the corner of State and Lark in Albany on July 4, 2014, followed by Pint Sized in Saratoga in 2017. Initially, the focus was on offering hard-to-find craft beer for aficionados—there were also 12 beers on tap, board games and rotating snack options—and his vision for the business and space evolved quickly.
“In the past 10 years, I feel like all I’ve done is pivot,” Rosa says. “In Saratoga, the space quickly turned into a neighborhood joint that was more about hanging out than buying cans. Then the pandemic happened, and society changed. People interacted with each other differently, and they began wanting different things.”
While the core supporters in the neighborhood remained, they no longer necessarily wanted high-ABV craft beers.
“I had the same people drinking,” Rosa says, “but they wanted spirits-based options, lower calorie options, non-alcoholic drinks and budget-friendly beers.”
In addition to renaming the spaces in Saratoga and Albany, Rosa is selling his live music venue, No Fun, on River Street in Troy. No Fun opened in late 2021 and has become a favorite for alternative music fans across the region.
“I have three kids under the age of 10, and I am selling No Fun because I feel like I want to live in the moment with my family,” he says. “Constantly promoting and booking bands ahead of time makes that difficult. I want to be living in the here and now.”
DIVE, at 489 Broadway became official on July 5. Hop heads will still find classic and cult craft in the cooler, alongside hard teas, ginger beers, NA options and seltzers. Nothing will cost more than $10. And rumor has it, the next snack on tap will be hot dogs.
“Very simple,” Rosa says. “Just hot dogs with mustard and ketchup packets. I like to keep things simple.”
It’s understandable that the 3-year-old male horse division traditionally takes center stage at Saratoga Race Course. Following the Triple Crown series, the focus of the sport’s marquee division shifts to the Spa for the prestigious Travers Stakes and its local prep, the Jim Dandy Stakes. That will certainly be the case once again this summer with the strong likelihood the Triple Crown race winners—Mystik Dan (Kentucky Derby), Seize the Grey (Preakness Stakes), and Dornoch (Belmont Stakes)—and several other top contenders in the sophomore male ranks will target the Midsummer Derby on Aug. 24. While the 3-year-old males will get considerable attention at Saratoga, there will be numerous other superstars in town this summer for major stakes engagements. Here are five standouts outside the glamour division with the potential to make some big headlines during the upcoming 40-day meeting:
Thorpedo Anna
Kenny McPeek became the first trainer since Hall of Famer Ben Jones in 1952 to win both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby in the same year when Thorpedo Anna and Mystik Dan pulled off the Oaks/Derby double this spring. The filly will be pointed to the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama Stakes, and perhaps the Travers—if the circumstances are right. She has won all three of her starts this year and will come into the Saratoga meeting off a dominant win in the Acorn Stakes on Belmont day.
“She’s going to run in the Coaching Club and Alabama,” McPeek said of Thorpedo Anna. “We may nominate her to the Travers, but I think it’s more likely that Mystik Dan will come back in the Travers. She’ll stay in the filly division at this point.”
National Treasure
National Treasure wining the Metropolitan on Belmont day (Photography by Brien Bouyea)
The 2023 Preakness Stakes winner also has Grade 1 wins this year in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park and the Metropolitan Handicap, the latter in dominant fashion on Belmont day at Saratoga. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said National Treasure will next be pointed to the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 3 following his 6¼-length romp in the Met Mile.
Idiomatic
Idiomatic winning the Personal Ensign by four lengths
Trained by two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox for the mighty Juddmonte operation, the 5-year-old Curlin mare is the reigning Eclipse Award winner for Champion Older Dirt Female. She boasts a remarkable career record of 10-2-2 from 14 starts and has earned $3.1 million. At Saratoga in 2023, she won by four lengths in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, defeating a loaded field that included champion Nest, Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath, and multiple graded stakes winner Clairiere. Idiomatic won her 2024 debut in the La Troienne at Churchill before finishing second to Randomized in the Ogden Phipps Stakes on Belmont day. An attempt at a Personal Ensign repeat on Travers day will be a high summer priority for the Cox trainee.
Randomized
Randomized is 3 for 3 on the Spa dirt. (Photography by Brien Bouyea)
One of the top horses in the Chad Brown barn, Randomized has an affinity for Saratoga Race Course, sporting a 3-for-3 mark on the Spa dirt. Last summer, the daughter of Nyquist won the Wilton Stakes at Saratoga and followed with a four-length victory in the Grade 1 Alabama. She went on to finish a half-length behind Idiomatic in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita. As a 4-year-old in 2024, Randomized began with a second in the Ruffian before besting Idiomatic in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes day at Saratoga. A third showdown with Idiomatic is a strong possibility in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 23.
Cogburn
Cogburn is fresh off a win in teh Jaipur on Belmont day.
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Cogburn has won five of his past six starts, including Saratoga victories in the Troy Stakes last summer and the Grade 1 Jaipur on Belmont day. Cogburn earned a career-best 111 Beyer Speed Figure and set a North American record of 59.80 seconds for 5½ furlongs on the Mellon turf at Saratoga in his Jaipur win. That victory earned Cogburn a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. His expected next start will be an attempt at a repeat in the Grade 2 Troy on Aug. 2. Cogburn has an overall record of 8-2-0 from 14 starts and has earned $1.2 million.
Experience the breathtaking beauty and spirited essence of horses through the lens of acclaimed photographer Jesse Frohman, whose latest exhibition, entitled “Equine Elegance,” will be showcased at The Adelphi and Salt & Char beginning July 16, right after the start of the annual Saratoga Race Course meet.
Photographed at two major show barns in Florida—Uphill Farm and Evermore Farm—this collection features champion show horses such as Circa and the legendary Catch Me. For this exhibition, Frohman has used his distinctive visual style to capture horses’ magnificent grace, power and soul, set against the charming landscapes of beautiful Wellington, Florida. This collection celebrates the profound impact of horses on human culture and history, perfectly complementing Saratoga Springs’ rich equestrian heritage.
Renowned for his compelling portraiture of cultural icons, Frohman cemented his reputation with his iconic photo series “Kurt Cobain: The Last Session.” Beyond celebrity portraits, his work spans fashion and editorial photography and has been featured in major publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. His work is also in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Musuem of Modern Art (MOMA).
Join us for this captivating exhibition, curated by Nicole Ianniello, and immerse yourself in the majestic beauty of Frohman’s photography. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness these stunning works during Saratoga’s vibrant summer season—and come back this fall for Frohman’s artist talk, to be scheduled soon.
In the rich history of the Belmont Stakes—the oldest of the American Triple Crown races—nobody has distinguished themselves in the legendary event quite like James Rowe and James McLaughlin, two Hall of Famers from the yesteryear days of the sport.
Among the greatest in their respective disciplines, trainer Rowe (eight Belmont victories as a trainer, two as a jockey) and jockey McLaughlin (six Belmont wins) still rank atop the leaderboard of the historic contest generations after their glory days.
Rowe, a native of Richmond, VA, was one of America’s finest jockeys before he transitioned to the training game. He was just 14 when he rode the first of his consecutive Belmont winners, Joe Daniels, in 1871. Rowe piloted Springbok to win the Belmont the following year, but his days in the saddle were numbered because of a growth spurt that necessitated a new career.
Jumping ahead a decade, Rowe had established himself as a top trainer in the sport. One of the elite riders in the game during the 1880s was McLaughlin, a brash 21-year-old from Hartford, CT. McLaughlin won his first Belmont in 1882 aboard Forester— and was just getting started. The budding talent partnered with Rowe to win the next two Belmonts with George Kinney (1883) and Panique (1884), both owned by the powerful Dwyer Brothers Stable.
James Rowe (at left) with 1915 Kentucky Derby–winning filly Regret and owner Harry Payne Whitney. (The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame)
In the mid-1880s, Rowe had a dispute with the Dwyers and quit as their trainer. McLaughlin, meanwhile, continued to prosper for the stable and its new trainer, Frank McCabe. The decorated jockey ran his incredible record in the Belmont to six wins in seven years with his second three-peat, achieved with Inspector B. (1886), Hanover (1887), and Sir Dixon (1888). (Only one other rider, Hall of Famer Eddie Arcaro, has won six Belmonts, his over a less dramatic 14-year span; McLaughlin’s record stood for 70 years until Arcaro’s sixth win in 1955.)
After retiring from the saddle in 1892, McLaughlin had some success as a trainer and spent time as a racetrack official. He died in 1927 at the age of 65.
Splitting with a prominent stable like the Dwyer Brothers would have been a major detriment to the careers of most trainers, but the best was still to come for Rowe. Seventeen years after winning the 1884 Belmont, Rowe remained a dominant trainer in the new century. In the Belmont, he scored victories in 1901 (Commando), 1904 (Delhi), 1907 (Peter Pan), 1908 (Colin), 1910 (Sweep), and 1913 (Prince Eugene) to give him eight wins in the event as a trainer and 10 overall, spanning 42 years. He also won the race at three tracks—Jerome Park (1871, 1872, 1883, 1884), Morris Park (1901, 1904), and Belmont Park (1907, 1908, 1910, 1913).
The year after he won his 10th and final Belmont, Rowe scored one of the most monumental victories in the history of the Kentucky Derby, training Harry Payne Whitney’s legendary Regret, who became the first filly to win the Run for the Roses in 1915. Rowe continued to have success at the top of the sport and died in Saratoga during the 1929 racing season at the age of 72. Almost a century later, Rowe’s all-time records of champions trained (34), Hall of Famers trained (10), and combined Belmont wins (10) seem otherworldly.
Rowe and McLaughlin were inaugural inductees of the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1955, their remarkable success in the Belmont Stakes serving as a central narrative in their respective legacies.
With a name like The Wine Bar, it’s not entirely surprising that a lot of Saratogians don’t know that the longtime Broadway establishment serves entrées in addition to small plates and wine. But thanks to the arrival of not one, not two, but three ambitious, up-and-coming chefs, all of Saratoga will soon be aware: The Wine Bar doesn’t just have food. It has some of the best food in the Spa City.
“It’s hard to compete in the culinary world of Saratoga,” says Wine Bar owner Melissa Evans, who opened the restaurant in 1999, back when there weren’t nearly as many fine-dining establishments in town as there are today. “Everyone is doing such a nice job, and being the old kid on the block, we’re not thought of as ‘the hot, new place to go.’”
Chefs Skyler Jackson, Joseph Augustine and Peter Wurtmann
Evans hopes to change that perception in time for the Belmont and track season with her not-so-secret weapons: Chefs Peter Wurtmann, Skyler Jackson and Joseph Augustine. Since their arrival in February, the co-chefs have gotten to work not so much remaking The Wine Bar’s menu as elevating it.
“We’ve always had tenderloin and rack of lamb and venison,” Evans says. “This is just a lot more creative.” Now, instead of mashed potatoes, the venison is served with thousand-layer potato pavé, cherry bordelaise and charred Romanesco. Other standout dishes? The 14-day dry-aged duck breast, served with a mushroom parmesan risotto; mussels, which come with sausage in a slurp-able beer sauce; and ratatouille, served atop a creamy Romesco sauce.
And then there’s dessert. “Peter’s our in-house artist,” Evans says. “He’s got a very artistic brain, and he loves doing the desserts because he can be really fun and creative with those.” Case in point: His angel food cake comes served with a slightly spicy Szechuan strawberry syrup and pomegranate-sumac whipped cream. (You also musttry the lemon curd layer cake.)
So, with three chefs, is there risk of there being—literally—too many cooks in the kitchen? It doesn’t seem like it. “We wanted them to work together as a team and see how that works out,” Evans says. “And so far, so good. They’ve all settled into their specialties and work together to make it all happen.”
New York City Ballet will hit the SPAC stage July 9-13 for its annual summer residency—and this year, the dancers’ arrival also marks an opportunity to skip down memory lane. That’s because the world-famous company—founded in 1948 by famed choreographer George Balanchine and impresario Lincoln Kirstein—is celebrating its diamond anniversary.
“Saratoga is going to be a nice culmination of this 75th anniversary year,” says Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford. “We’re going to bring lots of energy. It’s been such a special year for us, and we can’t wait to be up there in front of those great audiences in Saratoga.”
Stafford, who was also a principal dancer and ballet master at the company, joined NYCB in 1998 and has been coming here for almost as long.
“My wife and I went on our first date in Saratoga,” he says of Brittany Pollack, a NYCB soloist. “So it’s been a special place for us for many years. I’ve gone up to Saratoga every summer since 1999. I have not missed one, including during Covid—my wife and I drove up here to go to all of our favorite spots. We walked around the grounds just so I could keep my streak intact. I love seeing the people who’ve been coming to the ballet for many, many years who I’ve gotten to know. We all have a great love and appreciation for the community here and love reconnecting every year.”
NYCB’s contemporary works feature Justin Peck’s ‘The Times are Racing’ sneaker ballet, among others. (Photography by Erin Baiano)
Dancing outside on the SPAC stage always comes up while chatting with performers, who have in the past reminisced about magical moments such as seeing fireflies while dancing Midsummer Night’s Dream. Stafford, however, falls for the more passionate side of Mother Nature. “I have a memory of performing in a severe thunderstorm and how fun that was because of the drama of the thunder and lightning in the background while we’re doing a dramatic piece on stage. Another time I was dancing Emeralds in Jewels. It was a hot and hazy night, and with the scenery, I felt like I was in the forest—it didn’t feel like that when dancing inside in the theater! It was such a cool experience.”
We’ll see what the weather does this year—the company is bringing back Jewels, plus crowd favorite Swan Lake, Stars and Stripes, Steadfast Tin Soldier, and scenes from Coppélia, which will feature 24 local children. The contemporary program includes the SPAC debut of Gustave le Gray No. 1, the dynamic Red Angels, and Justin Peck’s The Times are Racing.
“I hope people come out and see us, and enjoy one, two, three evenings at the ballet,” Stafford says. “We’re really excited about the programming we’re offering for this special year. And then let’s just hope it’s not too hot!”
If there’s one thing most modern-day weddings are not, it’s relaxing. Between wrangling the florist, photographer, hair/makeup artists and venue, there’s not much time left to sit back and enjoy your big day. But at Sacred Saratoga, a new wedding venue that opened last year in Schuylerville, all those details are taken care of. And if you require even more relaxation during your wedding weekend, Sacred also just so happens to be one of the area’s most luxurious holistic spas.
It all started when chiropractor, acupuncturist, yoga teacher and massage therapist Dr. Abby Melfi fell in love with a guy on the East Coast. She relocated from Kansas City, MO to Saratoga, and Abby and Anthony Melfi teamed up with partner Gary Gullo to buy GMP Farm, a 100-acre horse rehabilitation facility located 20 minutes from the Spa City that’s complete with cold water therapy, a vibration plate and several equine hyperbaric chambers. “It’s basically a spa for horses,” says Melfi of the farm. “And then we have a spa for humans.”
Sacred Spa and Wellness opened in August 2022 in a 10,000-square-foot converted horse barn. That’s right: The horse stalls are now treatment rooms where Melfi and her team provide noninvasive medspa treatments including laser genesis, laser hair removal, microneedling and body sculpting as well as traditional spa offerings such as massages, Hyrdrafacials, infrared sauna sessions and lash extensions. There’s also an on-site yoga studio, and in the summer, when Melfi is in Saratoga full time, chiropractic services.
While Sacred Spa is open to the public year-round, it shines especially brightly during wedding season. Couples can pamper their bridesmaids with massage treatments the day before the wedding, or host a yoga class for their entire guest list the morning of. For favors, Sacred offers guests discounted spa treatments, whether the wedding is for 500 (hosted in Sacred’s horse arena) or 50 (hosted in the intimate eurociser building). All-inclusive wedding planning services, an in-house florist and photographer, and on-site hair and makeup services are just icing on the (wedding) cake.
“My husband and I got married on the farm, and we were like, ‘Why aren’t we sharing this with other people?’” Melfi says. “It was a perfect setting for our love story. The whole point of Sacred is that it’s a sacred journey.”
Still not sure what a horse farm/wedding venue/spa hybrid looks like in practice? Well, it seems a trip to Schuylerville is in order.
