Saratoga Track Trends

NYRA handicapper Andy Serling analyzes Saratoga track trends and conditions in hopes to uncover insights about potential track biases. This can be a helpful resource for handicappers, as track conditions can change from one day to the next.

2025

Sunday, August 24

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 75
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH South

All surfaces, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Saturday, August 23

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 78
Wind: 10 to 20 MPH SW

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly with a mix of running styles succeeding throughout the day.

Friday, August 22

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 80
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH NNW

The rail was good on the Main Track, but no seeming advantage, as the track played fairly. Hard to read the two Mellon Turf races though they played fairly. The rail was good on the Inner but not a clear advantage. Tough read.

Thursday, August 21

Track Condition: Fast / Good
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 72
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH NE

The rail was good on the Main Track but not a clear advantage. The rails were down to zero on both turf courses. The one race on the Inner played out fairly, while arguably the rail was an advantage on the Mellon course.

Wednesday, August 20

Track Condition: Sloppy ( sealed ) / Off
Weather: Showers
Temperature: 65
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH East

Despite the conditions, the track played fairly with horses running well both outside and inside.

Sunday, August 17

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 87
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH South

It appears that inside speed was an advantage on the Main Track. Not clear how strongly but worth following. The turf courses continue to play fairly.

Saturday, August 16

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 85
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH South

It seemed like much of the best running on the Main Track was done off the rail, but enough horses ran well inside to suggest the track was fair. Both Turf courses played fairly.

Friday, August 15

Track Condition: Fast / Good
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 83
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH NE

Forward horses dominated on the Main Track. Could have been situational but might be worth following. The turf courses played fairly.

Thursday, August 14

Track Condition: Fast ( 1-2 ); Sloppy ( sealed ) 4-10 / Firm ( 3 )
Weather: Clear, with a brief storm after the 3rd race, clear thereafter
Temperature: 85
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH NW

The Main Track was fair both before and after the rain. Arguably the rail was good after the rain and possibly an advantage. The one turf race played fairly.

Wednesday, August 13

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 91
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SW

Speed did well on the Main Track, but with mostly short prices it's hard to say it was a bias. The rails were out 27 feet on both Turf courses, and they played fairly

Sunday, August 10

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 88
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SSW

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Saturday, August 9

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 82
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH South

The Main Track played fairly, as did the turf courses. The rail was good on the Inner but it's not clear it was an advantage beyond saving ground.

Friday, August 8

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 83
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SE

The Main Track played fairly. Saving ground was helpful on both turf courses. It might have been situational, particularly on the Mellon, but it's worth considering it was an advantage on the Inner Turf.

Thursday, August 7

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 82
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH South

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly

Wednesday, August 6

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 82
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SSE

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly. The rails were out 18 feet on both turf courses.

Sunday, August 3

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 82
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH West

All surfaces, dirt and turf, played fairly.

Saturday, August 2

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 75
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH NW

The Main Track was a bit hard to read at times. There were races that made it appear the rail was not good, but given the 7th race, that's extremely hard to defend. Perhaps in some cases the riders stayed off the inside, for whatever reason, but it's hard to say it was bad. Might be worth following. Overall, the main track was likely fair, as were both turf courses.

Friday, August 1

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 75
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH NE

Much of the best running on the Main Track, which saw a mix of successful running styles with most of the success from forwardly placed horses, was done off the rail. Not a lot of evidence the rail was bad, however, though might be worth following. The turf courses played fairly.

Thursday, July 31

Track Condition: Muddy ( sealed ) / Off
Weather: Rainy
Temperature: 65
Wind: 10 to 20 MPH NNE

The rain was not heavy during the day, with intermittent drizzle for the most part. Speed did well but there was some effective closing. Horses stayed at least a path or two off the rail for the most part as there is some question of whether you wanted to be right on the rail.

Wednesday, July 30

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 90
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH WNW

Most of the effective running on the Main Track was done off the rail. Hard to say, however, the rail was bad. Worth following. Otherwise, different running styles were effective. The rails were at zero on the Mellon and 9 feet on the Inner Turf. Both courses appeared to play fairly.

Sunday, July 27

Track Condition: Sloppy ( sealed ) / Yielding
Weather: Showers early
Temperature: 75
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH WNW

Arguably, especially as the day wore on, speed may have been a bit of an advantage, as was possibly the rail. Worth following. We did, however, see some effective runs from well back. Tricky day. There was one turf race, on the Inner, and it played fairly and logically.

Saturday, July 26

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 83
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH NNE

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Friday, July 25

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 86
Wind: 5 to 15 MPH NW

All surfaces, dirt and turf, continue to play fairly.

Thursday, July 24

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 89
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SW

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Wednesday, July 23

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 81
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SW

All courses, turf and dirt, appeared to play fairly. The rails were at 27 feet on the Mellon Course and zero on the Inner Turf. With only one flat race on each course, it's hard to identify any trends. 

Sunday, July 20

Track Condition: Fast ( 1,4,5 ); Sloppy ( sealed ) 8-9 / Firm ( 2-3 ); Good ( 6,7,10 )
Weather: Clear - Short Thunderstorm Midday
Temperature: 83
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH NNW

The Main Track played fairly before the rain. After the rain the rail appeared to be an advantage.The turf courses played fairly before and after the rain.

Saturday, July 19

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 79
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SSW

The rail was good, and speed did well, but there was no clear bias on the Main Track as we saw some closers prove successful. The turf courses appeared to play fairly.

Friday, July 18

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 76
Wind: 8 to 15 MPH NNW

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Thursday, July 17

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 86
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH South

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Wednesday, July 16

Track Condition: Fast/Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 92
Wind: 5-10 MPH SW

Speed did OK on the Main Track but ultimately the track played fairly. The rails were out 12 feet on the Mellon Turf and 18 on the Inner. Both courses appeared to play fairly.

Sunday, July 13

Track Condition: Fast/Yielding
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 84
Wind: 5 to 15 South

It's possible the rail was still an advantage but overall the track played fairly. There was one turf race, on the Mellon course, and it likely played fairly. While listed as Yielding, it may have been closer to Good. 

Saturday, July 12

Track Condition: Sloppy ( sealed ) 1-5; Muddy ( Sealed ) 6-7, 9-10, 12/ Yielding
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 84
Wind: 5 to 10 MPH SSE

The rail was a significant advantage on the Main Track, with even successful closers spending a significant portion of the race on the rail, for the most part. There was one race on each turf course which likely played out fairly. Hard to know. Both courses were listed as Yielding but the Inner played closer to Good with the Mellon ( outer ) on the Firm side of Good.

Friday, July 11

Track Condition: Fast/Good
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 88
Wind: Wind 5 to 10 MPH SSE

After Thursday night's wild storm, which dumped close to an inch and a half of rain in a short period of time, we were off the turf except the Stake, which was run on the Mellon ( Outer ) Turf course. The course was listed as Good but seemed to be closer to Firm. The Main Track played fairly. Much of the effective running was done outside, but enough horses ran effectively inside to suggest the track was fair.

Thursday, July 10

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 83
Wind: Wind 5 to 10 MPH SSW

The Main Track played fairly. There were times it looked like it might have been better off the rail, but the 3rd winner closed from last on the inside, which makes that unlikely. The rails were at zero on the Mellon/Outer Turf and nine feet on the Inner, and both courses played fairly. 

Sunday, July 6

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 89
Wind: Wind 5 to 15 MPH SW

The courses were very similar to 75, with the Main Track playing fairly, the Outer ( Mellon ) Turf also playing fairly, and the rail being a distinct advantage on the Inner Turf. The rails will be moved for 7/10, zero on the Mellon and nine feet on the Inner.
 

Saturday, July 5

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 78
Wind: Wind 3 to 8 MPH SW

While we saw inside speed do well on the Main Track, it was likely situational as we saw some runs from well back prove successful. The turf courses are very firm, as evidenced by the final times, with the Mellon/Outer Turf playing fairly with saving ground continuing to be an advantage on the Inner Turf. 

Friday, July 4

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 77
Wind: Wind 8 to 15 MPH NW

The surfaces played similarly to 7/3, with speed being an advantage on the Main Track but we did see some runs from the back. The Mellon Turf was fair while there was a significant inside bias on the Inner Turf.

Thursday, July 3

Track Condition: Fast / Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 78
Wind: Wind 8 to 15 MPH WNW

Forward horses did well on the Main Track, though horses made runs from behind, still it was at least an edge to be forward. The Mellon Turf, rails at 18 feet, played fairly. The rails were at zero on the Inner Turf and there was a clear inside/speed bias. Very little significant movement in those races.

Sunday, June 8

Track Condition: Fast/Good
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 72
Wind: Wind 5 to 10 MPH SE

The rail was good on the Main Track, but not a clear advantage, as overall the track appeared to play fairly. There was on race on each turf course, with the rails at zero, and they courses appeared to play fairly.

Saturday, June 7

Track Condition: Sloppy ( sealed ) 1-8; Muddy ( sealed ) 10; Good ( 11 ); Fast ( 13-14 )/ OFF
Weather: Rain early, cleared later
Temperature: 65
Wind: Wind 5 to 15 MPH South

The track played fairly, despite the changing conditions, throughout the day.

Friday, June 6

Track Condition: Fast ( 1,2,4,5,6 ) Sloppy ( sealed ) 9,10,11,14  / Firm ( 3 ); Good ( 7&8 ); Yielding ( 12&13 )
Weather: Cloudy / Rain (second half)
Temperature: 76
Wind: Wind 5 to 15 MPH Variable, higher later

The Main Track played fairly before the rain, while speed and forward horses dominated after the rain. The turf courses seemed to play fairly before and after the rain.

Thursday, June 5

Track Condition: Fast/Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 87
Wind: Wind 5 to 10 MPH SW

Speed dominated the dirt races. The Inner Turf played fairly. The Mellon was kind to speed, but it may have been situational.

Wednesday, June 4

Track Condition: Fast/Firm
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 80
Wind: Wind 5 to 15 MPH South

Speed did well on the Main Track, where you might have been best off at least a path off the rail, but some were fairly logical and we did see some closing. Somewhat ambiguous. The rails were out 18 feet on both turf courses, and they appeared to play fairly.

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