I have been going to the Saratoga every year for over 50 years. Each year, our group gets seats in the Grandstand or Clubhouse and often spends at least one afternoon at a picnic table in the Paddock. In addition, we spend one day in either the Turf Terrace, Club Terrace, or the Porch.
This year we reserved a large table for 8 in the Club Terrace. The Club Terrace has never been as elegant as the Turf Terrace, but it has always been a fine dining experience in a casual atmosphere and a covered roof to protect from the elements but also allowing for a cool breeze to pass through. The tables used to be set with a linen tablecloth, linen napkins, actual silverware, glassware, one menu per person, and a centerpiece vase of flowers.
Not anymore. When we arrived, the table had no cover, paper napkins, plastic silverware, and one menu for the entire table. While the service was fine, the food was awful and delivered in plastic and paper to-go boxes. It was the equivalent of food that you would expect to get from a gas station minimart refrigerator that was prepared three days ago and then microwaved. It was awful and beneath what anyone would expect from a dive diner.
In addition, the tables were crowed together and it was an obstacle course trying to navigate through the arrangement of tables and chairs to go to a bathroom or watch the race live from the rail behind the clubhouse seats. In addition, as the day wore on, the adjacent bar and serving stand was leaking ice and water all along the floor so everyone was walking through muck to get back to your seat at the table.
It was such a let down from the morning anticipation for a glorious day that quickly turned into a miserable afternoon. And no, I did not lose on the horses - I won, but that didn't overcome the feeling of NYRA and Saratoga becoming just another company/organization with short term thinking about the bottom line instead of valuing the actual customers who would love to come back year after year but after this experience mutter the words "Never Again".
Overall - just a horrible experience.