Saturday, July 4, 2026

Daily Digest: Horse racing fans enjoy opening day at Saratoga Race Course

Also: ValleyCats dominate nightcap, split twinbill with Brockton • RITTNER: Hey, Big Boy, Coming to Visit?
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Saturday, July 4, 2026

 
 

Happy Saturday!

Happy Fourth of July! Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. Before you head out or enjoy that morning cup of iced coffee or tea, check out some of the top stories on our website.

Be safe and enjoy the day. — Nicholas Buonanno, Assistant Senior Editor


e-edition                            obituaries

Horse racing fans enjoy opening day at Saratoga Race Course

Horse racing is once again underway at the Saratoga Race Course, as fans braved the heat to enjoy a sunny opening day for the summer meet and the July 4th Racing Festival on Friday.

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ValleyCats dominate nightcap, split twinbill with Brockton

TROY, N.Y. — The Tri-City ValleyCats dominated the second game of a doubleheader with 12 runs in the first two innings and won, 14-5, over Brockton, entertaining 3,018 fans with fireworks at the plate, man-made, and from Mother Nature as the game was shortened to five innings due to thunderstorms on Friday. The ValleyCats, wearing […]

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RITTNER: Hey, Big Boy, Coming to Visit?

If you were on social media a week or so ago, there were lots of videos of the “Big Boy,” No. 4014, steam locomotive chugging East. It never made it to Schenectady. When people think of Schenectady, they usually think of General Electric, “The Electric City.” Yet another industrial giant helped shape both Schenectady and the nation: the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). Among the thousands of locomotives built in its sprawling works along the Mohawk River, none has captured the imagination quite like the legendary Big Boy. Schenectady was the “City that lights AND hauls the world.” The Big Boy […]

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HORSE RACING: Saratoga Race Course Opening Day (PHOTO GALLERY)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Opening Day at Saratoga Race Course, Friday, July 3, 2026, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

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FROM OFF THE PACE: Belmont Derby, Suburban Stakes put Saratoga’s stars in the spotlight

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Saratoga Saturday features rising turf stars, and veteran dirt standouts, between the Belmont Derby and the Suburban Stakes. BELMONT DERBY (G1) It hasn’t taken the Belmont Derby long to establish its importance on the U.S. turf scene. Winners of the now 1 1/8-mile race for three-year-olds between 2017-2025 have averaged more than $1.8 million in career earnings, with all nine topping the $1 million mark. Oscar Performance started the streak in 2017 when he followed up his win in the Belmont Derby by winning the Secretariat Stakes and Woodbine Mile. Since his retirement, the son of […]

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HORSE RACING: Andrew Champagne’s Saratoga bankroll, selections, analysis, Day 2

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — BANKROLL: $973 You might not know of Robin Howlett, but he’s done much, much more to try to grow the game than some who are paid to do so. A few years ago, he created a free program called Handycapper that Equibase shut down with a tactless cease-and-desist. He’s back with a game called 14-0. It’s similar to recent games that have popped up for basketball and baseball where you spin for teams and eras and pick the best players to fit certain positions. Here, you go through four decades of Breeders’ Cup winners and attempt […]

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