Blogger Road Trip: Saratoga Race Course

Happy Monday! If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you may know by now that I was lucky enough to take a road trip with 19 other Boston bloggers to Saratoga this past Saturday courtesy of America's Best Racing! It was such a fun day and I want to recap it all for you now.

photo copyright Heather Foley
We got up bright and early and met downtown at 7am to board our private luxury coach and hit the road for Saratoga, NY! Noelle of Rue Le Chat worked with America's Best Racing to get the trip organized and got us prepared for the fun day ahead.

photo credit: Alexis Kletjian
For our 3.5 hour drive down, we were gifted with boxed white and rose wine courtesy of Richer Pour.

When we arrived in Saratoga, we visited Fasig Tipton where we all got changed into our finest racing attire and were treated to a delicious VIP brunch, complete with a bloody Mary & mimosa bar and French macarons for dessert!

During brunch, we met our sponsors from Centennial Farms, a Boston-area horse racing operation that is committed to promoting the sport of horse racing. President Don Little Jr. spoke to us about his horse, Wicked Strong, who has an amazing Boston story! Wicked Strong ran the Kentucky Derby in May and a portion of all money he earns is donated to the One Fund in support of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. How cool is that?

photo copyright Dan Tordjman
We also met Tom Amello from Trackfacts who taught us the basics of understanding how to play the races and knowing what the odds mean so we would be prepared if we wanted to bet. One of my coworkers had given me his picks and some money to play for him, but unfortunately none of the horses won!

photo copyright Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance
Off we went! We had a private tent to hang out in just outside the racetrack, but I wanted to get out and see as much as I possibly could! Some of us watched the first couple of races from the sidelines and got a nice view of the horses crossing the finish line.

Then we ventured off to the paddocks with our hosts Dan and Victoria where we got to see the horses being warmed up and exercised for their races. I learned that the different "accessories" the horses wear, including socks and headwear, represent which farm they come from.

We got up close and personal with the horses, which was definitely my favorite part of the trip! Since I'm such a huge animal lover, it was a real treat to be able to meet one of the talented and beautiful horses face to face.

Another one of our hosts, Chip, showed me up to the private box seats where horse owners and serious racing enthusiasts sit. Each box has a small TV in it so they can see the races from all angles. It was an amazing view and I was lucky enough to take in a couple of races from a box belonging to his colleague Stephen Panus. I was so thankful to experience the races from these magnificent seats and learn a lot of interesting facts about horse racing and Saratoga itself!

Then Chip introduced me to one of the winning jockeys after he completed a race.

The day was an absolute blast - I finished on a high note by taking a photo with Noelle who worked so hard to make this trip a success! Thanks Noelle and everyone at America's Best Racing for treating us to a super fun day - we all appreciate everything you did to provide us with such an amazing experience!

Throughout the trip we were photographed and interviewed by a videographer from The Jockey Club. Last night, a bit of the footage was featured on Fox News 1 which was super exciting! Here's Vanessa and I standing on the sidelines.

Stop by my blog tomorrow for the full download on what I was wearing to the races in Saratoga - you won't want to miss my outfit details!