The best way to tell people you love horse racing without telling them you love horse racing? By displaying your very own quarter pole at your home or business.
For the uninitiated, a quarter pole is the large, striped pole on a racetrack that indicates to jockeys that the finish line is a quarter mile away. But this is Saratoga, where the Travers is a holiday and rooting for the longshot is a religion…Did you really think someone wouldn’t make the quarter pole into a piece of home décor?
Enter Saratoga Quarter Poles, a business run by Marylou Doyle and her husband, James, that sells miniature versions of—you guessed it—Saratoga quarter poles. They come in several sizes, from an 18-inch one all the way up to the custom seven-footer Frivolous Boutique owner Beth Jameson hangs dresses on in her store. The couple has made poles for Saratoga shops, a Massachusetts horse farm, and even a wedding, with the couple’s names replacing the traditional “Saratoga” lettering. All the poles are made by hand in a tiny workspace in Saratoga. A portion of profits go to Double H Ranch and ReRun.
“The most rewarding part is making people happy,” Doyle says. “I’ve seen them draw incredible emotion from people, and that really touches me. To create something that warms a heart or brings back a special memory is such a gift.”
Premade 18-inch and 54-inch quarter poles can be purchased at Impressions of Saratoga; for custom poles, contact Doyle on Instagram at @SaratogaQuarterPoles.
