Saratoga Springs prepares for summer meet, puts safety at the forefront

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Preparations are underway in Saratoga Springs for the start of the 2020 Saratoga racing season. Without fans allowed at the Saratoga Race Course, both the city and the Saratoga Springs Police Department are working together to ensure the safety of residents and those who are visiting.

While preparations are a little different than years before, the Saratoga Springs Police Department says they are ready.

“We’re writing an operations plan that literally will be reviewed day-to-day. We’re going to see how things go, we’re going to see if people start showing up to hang out on the fence line, we’re going to see if the governor changes somewhere along the way and starts allowing some fans. So we have to be fluid,” said Saratoga Springs Assistant Chief of Police John Catone.

King Tut and Apollo, police horses in Saratoga Springs that are usually stationed at the track during the meet, will be seen patrolling downtown.

City of Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly sees the increase of foot traffic already, despite SPAC being cancelled and the track being closed to the public. With the increase of people, she wants to make sure people are continuing to social distance and wearing masks.

“It’s up to each individual to keep it the city safe. Wear your mask, social distance. We don’t want to become Texas or California or Arizona there’s 30 plus states that are going the wrong way now with Covid. We want to stay as safe as we can here in upstate New York,” said City of Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly.