Growing up in Connecticut, we did a lot of exploring. We spent summers on the cape, did day trips into New York City and Boston, even would go up to Maine’s islands for the weekend. One place I never really explored was upstate New York. Saratoga Springs is known for a lot of things. Most popularly, the oldest horse track in the country, some of the only natural mineral springs east of the Rockies, and it’s strong culture of performing arts.

Back in August a group of us went up to Saratoga to celebrate a friend’s bachelorette. (I know, I know, this has been the majority of my travels recently.) We had a weekend completely packed of seeing all things Saratoga and we tried to fit in as much as we could. But there is a lot to do in the horse racing capital, so one weekend just wouldn’t be enough.

What we did – Rack Track Tips

For the main day of our trip, we decided to immerse ourselves in the Saratoga lifestyle and head to the race tracks. We were there for one of the most popular race days of the year: the Whitney. No matter what your opinion is on horse racing, the truth is it is a huge culture in Saratoga and what most of the town is focused on. There are statues of horses and jockeys through out parks around town, and lining Broadway. So, although many of us had a lot of our own opinions about the sport, we decided to jump in head first and live like the locals.

One thing we noticed is there are a lot of ways to do race day. There are a few tour options, which we didn’t take part of, but I would be super interested in learning more about the track and the history of horse racing since so much history has happened right in Saratoga. As far as seating goes, there is reserved seating, and tickets sell out pretty fast according to their website. We sat in an area that was essentially a small sports bar inside the betting area. I wouldn’t really suggest it. From there we watched the races on TV screens and because that weekend was so busy, the service was pretty slow.

I would recommend buying a General Admission ticket for $7 and getting there SUPER early to stake out a picnic table. From there you can have a home base and bring in small coolers with sandwiches and drinks (including alcohol). If you don’t want to bring food in, there are plenty of vendors and food trucks you can purchase from. Most of the areas are open to the public, except for the reserved seats, so you really are not missing out on anything by grabbing a picnic table.

Where we ate

We started our weekend at the Saratoga Winery. Us Northeasterners have a little secret. About three and a half hours west of Saratoga Springs is the Finger Lakes. This area is arguably the best wine region in the country and home to the oldest vines in the US. Saratoga Winery stayed true to their New York routes and many of their wines come from the grapes grown in that region. They also are famous for their seasonal Moonshine drinks. A few of us tried the Strawberry Jam Moonshine which was out of this world. The pizza was pretty good and they had a ton of options which was perfect for our big group.

After the race on Saturday we headed to a local spot that was suggested to us by our girlfriend who lives in town, the Horseshoe Inn Bar & Grill. It was packed! We asked for a table because we knew we needed to eat but if we were waiting to just get in to have drinks, we would have waited in that line a lot longer. They have a live band and it seemed like a lot of fun, but we were focused on the food. They had simple bar food, nothing too crazy. I had fish tacos and a bite of their Mozz Bombs which were amazing. A few of the vegetarians said their veggie quesadilla was the best they have had.

When we first pulled into town on Friday morning, I noticed a cute little Victorian house on the corner of South Broadway and Lincoln Ave called the Thirsty Owl and said we needed to go there. It was super cute, very quaint and just looked like somewhere I’d like. So, Sunday before we headed out, we stopped there for lunch and it was amazing we were the first ones there and the staff offered us a wine tasting in their bar while our lunch was being prepared. Three of us had a five-tasting flight with wines from their vineyard in the Finger Lakes. They just kept getting better and better. And what I liked even more was the staff was super attentive and knowledgeable about their wines.

As good as their wines were, the food was even better. We started with their soup of the day, a seafood bisque, and bacon wrapped scallop appetizer with crispy spinach. Insane! For lunch I had a salmon special which was just what I needed after indulging the day before at the race track.

There were a few other restaurants we checked out but weren’t able to fit in time to stop at. Here they are:

• Salt & Char at the Adelphi hotel
• Druthers Brewing Company (we had their beer and it was awesome, but their food looked great too)
• The Wine Bar
• The Mercantile Kitchen & Bar
• Gaffney’s