06/06/2026
It's officially Belmont weekend in Saratoga! The final year of Belmont in the Spa City promises to deliver over 120,000 visitors -- and untold millions in economic impact -- for Saratoga and surrounding areas.
But behind the high stakes races, glamor, and celebrity appearances, a coalition of 3,000-plus backstretch workers have been in a protracted fight to earn the right to collectively bargain.
"NYRA has borrowed $450 million from the taxpayers to rebuild Belmont Race Track, and the state collects revenue from the wagering pool. So we and our elected officials all are involved in this enterprise," noted our own Gordon Boyd in a recent letter to the editor in the Daily Gazette. "A global collective bargaining agreement covering all trainers and backstretch employees at New York tracks would be good for racing... getting racing’s business model updated to the 21st century through the dignity of collective bargaining for its essential workers."
Are you heading to the track this weekend? The hard-working stable hands, grooms, hotwalkers, exercise riders, and others seeking dignity in their work will be there, too. 🐎
