Put Your Hats on for Hats Off
Saratoga Race Course’s Victorian roots bring to mind an image of well-dressed men and women attending the races in the 1800s. The major difference between the original Victorian attendees and the racetrack junkies of today? Hats! Saratoga Racetrack, the oldest thoroughbred track in the country, keeps its history alive by encouraging fancy hats throughout the season, since hats are not an everyday accessory for most. In keeping with this tradition, the 19th Annual Hats Off event will be taking place at the Saratoga Race Course on Sunday, July 25th.
The event features several competitions, where both young and old break out their creative caps in hopes of winning in one of three categories. The Kreative Kids group is for the younger generation, ie children and adolescents under the age of 18. For those over 18 who prefer beautiful and elegant hats, there’s Fashionably Saratoga, and for those nontraditional headpieces that stand out from the crowd, there’s Uniquely Saratoga. There’s no cost to enter, and three winners are chosen for each category.
Judges for the contest have yet to be announced, but you can pretty much count on them being members of the racing committee and local media celebrities. With hundreds of entries each year, the Hats Off contest inspires contestants to put on their thinking caps (so to speak) in order to come up with a truly unique design. Past contests have seen a variety of inventive hats, including ones with battery operated horse races, hats made out of Saratoga chips, hats made out of old admission tickets, and one with a papier mâché “Sam the Bugler.”
The contest “tops off” the Hats Off to Saratoga Festival, which runs Friday, July 23rd–Saturday, July 24th, and celebrates the opening weekend of the track. Two nights of live music and special events compliment the event, with both local and national artists performing jazz, country, bluegrass, Latin, a capella, and classical music. Some of the bands include Bluz House Rockers, Bourbon Renewal, Incendio, Disposable Culture, Sirsy, the Saratoga Soundtrack Chorus and the Sonny Daye Trio. A complete list of musical groups for the festival can be found at www.saratoga.org under Visitors. Registration for the Hats Off Hat Contest takes place at noon on Sunday, July 25th under the grandstand at Saratoga Race Course.
–Jessica Nicosia is an Assistant Editor of The Free George.
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