[Updated May 2026]

NEW for 2026: “Meet Me at the Paddock Bar” can cooler, an homage to the infamous former paddock bar tent at Saratoga Race Course!

While the old tent with its prime spot next to the paddock and the rail along Champions Way has been replaced with the permanent structure, we can still raise our drinks to toast the iconic red & white striped canopy of yore while keeping refreshments cold with these can coolers! Made of high-quality neoprene, the coolers will last all Saratoga racing season and beyond.

The can coolers are available exclusively on Etsy here at this link.

Also available is our line of Saratoga Race Course Horse Racing History items, with a focus on the early John Morrissey years.

At the end of the Civil War, “Old Smoke” John Morrissey observed that the racing stock of the South was nearly extinct, having been killed in the cavalry. With this, he saw an opportunity.

In an 1874 interview, Morrissey recalled his plan: “Them people will return to Saratoga as in former years, and bring their horses, when they can revive and reimport them. I will anticipate the time and buy a track.” In 1863, Morrissey had successfully organized Saratoga’s first Thoroughbred racing meet at the town’s old trotting track.

To honor the memory of this founding father of Thoroughbred racing in Saratoga, Turf History Times launched a line of “Saratoga Horse Racing History: The John Morrissey Years (1863-1877)” postcards in 2023. In 2024, two new limited edition cards were released to celebrate the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on June 8, 2024. These cards feature Harry Bassett, one of the earliest winners of the Belmont Stakes in 1871 at Jerome Park and a hero of the Saratoga track, while the legendary “Old Smoke” also makes an appearance in the cards’ historic stories. 

Last year the 3″ x 3″ fridge magnet was created that features an illustration from a New York Dispatch ad for the first race meet in 1863.

The John Morrissey racing items, including the magnet, postcards and sticker, are available online in our TURFHISTORYTIMESShop on Etsy.

Additionally, these historical items are sold in Downtown Saratoga Springs at The Dark Horse Mercantile retail store at 445 Broadway; magnets and stickers are located on rotating displays near the front check-out counter, and the postcards are also on a display that may be located at the front or back of the store. Please note that the online Etsy shop is open seasonally beginning in the spring through the Saratoga race meet period from to September, but feel free to message us on Etsy if you wish to make a purchase outside these months.

For more information about the first series of four postcards, read more about them here.