Two of the country’s most storied race meets are closing out their summer seasons this Labor Day weekend, with Saratoga Race Course in New York and Del Mar in California both wrapping up on Monday, Sept. 7. Saratoga’s closing stretch began Sept. 2, kicking off a six-day run that includes some of the meet’s best remaining stakes racing.
Saturday’s card at Saratoga features the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes and the Grade 3 With Anticipation, while Sunday brings the meet’s showcase race for 2-year-olds, the Grade 1 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes — moved to Sunday this year instead of its traditional Labor Day slot. The Hopeful has long served as an early form guide for the following season’s 3-year-old classics, making it appointment viewing for anyone already looking ahead to next year’s Triple Crown trail.
Del Mar’s closing weekend caps a meet that included the Pacific Classic on Aug. 22, one of the summer’s premier main-track races. FanDuel TV is broadcasting every race of Del Mar’s final weekend as part of its season-long coverage commitment to the Southern California track.
Both closing weekends arrive in the shadow of the DraftKings Travers Stakes, run Aug. 29 at Saratoga, where Leading Change delivered one of the meet’s biggest upsets. That result has already reshaped early conversations about the divisional picture heading toward the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, now less than two months away.
For racing fans and bettors alike, the simultaneous closing of Saratoga and Del Mar marks the unofficial end of summer racing season — and the start of a stretch run toward the sport’s biggest fall prizes.
