SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs business owners are seeing double digits sales increases as visitors have flocked to the Saratoga Race Course for the first two weeks of the 2021 season. The positive outlook comes on the heels of a disastrous 2020 when many Saratoga Springs business owners had to fight for survival during the COVID pandemic. During the summer of 2020, city sales were down 30-40% overall, and a survey found that 30% of equine related business owners were concerned about losing their entire investment.
“The Saratoga Race Course is the oldest sporting venue in the US with an estimated annual regional economic impact of $240 million,” said Todd Shimkus, President of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. “Every business in every sector here feeds off the Track. The City and the Track are inseparable when it comes to our economic health and history.”
For the summer of 2021, it is like night and day. The city of Saratoga Springs projects 2021 tax collection will surpass $14.5 million, more than $1 million more than the amount collected in 2019, pre-COVID.
