Belmont Racing Festival revenue not booming for Spa City

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) – As the Travers Stakes, the biggest racing event of the season at the Saratoga Race Course, will be taking place this weekend; city officials are discussing the economic impact of the Belmont Stakes on the region.

Thanks to the 2024 Belmont Stakes, the racing season began early in Saratoga, and according to recent reports from the city, Todd Shimkus, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said the downtown businesses faired well. This all stems from high occupancy and income taxes.

“It’s great for our opportunity. It’s going to have a lasting positive impact for years to come,” Shimkus said.

Shimkus also said that the Belmont racing festival brought in $50 million.

“We know it had a huge economic impact, not just in Saratoga Springs, but in Saratoga County in the entire region,” Shimkus said.

However, Commissioner of Finance of Saratoga Springs, Minita Shanghvi, said after looking at the numbers, the revenue from city sales tax for the four-day festival was underwhelming. While, the June number was $1.8 million, between overtime for police, public works, and I-T, the net was only about $80,000.

“We are definitely looking at the different organizations that we can work with county, state, county police, FBI to figure out how we can work on overtime cost how we can better support the event and our downtown businesses while also keeping our costs down,” Sanghvi.

The Mayor of Saratoga Springs, John Safford, said even though the costs for Belmont were high, they did not outweigh the benefits the event brought to Saratoga.

“Half of the people who come here once love this place, and then they come back again, and then the percentage of them want to live here, and that drives all of our businesses, and something like Belmont just gives us a whole level,” Safford said.

According to city official, a huge crowd is anticipated for this weekend, both at the Saratoga Race Track and on Broadway in downtown Saratoga. The entirety of the Travers meet is expected to generate nearly $370 million.

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