Replying to James Robison:
Gary, Is there any record of the horses that raced in 1863? Did "Old Smoke" own thoroughbreds?

I don’t really know and I haven’t had time research it but I hope I will get there eventually. He probably had his nose in a few horses because to my understanding he had a piece of everything going on in that town around that time that he knew about. I would be willing to bet that someone has some kind of hand written stuff in Grandma’s attic somewhere if you could find it or some of his kin. I just recently found a family Bible in an Aunt’s pantry in South Dakota dating back to 1792. It’s so big I can hardly lift it over my head. There are all kinds of hand written entries of births, deaths, and marriages. My earliest family entry is 1836. I love history, all kinds, but I’m short on time to read it all. For the last 2 ½ years I’ve been working on an epic poem about horse racing and the first thoroughbreds to come to America til present starting with the Byerley Turk (1680s), the Darley Arabian (1704), the Godolphin Arabian (1729). Most people except those to be the first 3 but I’m sure someone else could have and probably did bring other horses here. I will probably never finish it because of all the research I have to do not mention making it rhyme. I’m not even to the 1800’s yet and I’m not sure how accurate my research is.

Replying to Gary Moulton:
In my poem 'Saratoga', John Morrissey, also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish bare-knuckle boxer and a gang member in New York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman from New York. John established "The Club House," a casino in Saratoga that attracted such notable guests as Chester A. Arthur, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Ulysses S. Grant, as well as Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Rockefeller, and Mark Twain. After establishing a successful gaming house in Saratoga Springs, Morrissey held a 4 day party in the park across the street from where the track is now and offered horse racing. The following year the Saratoga Race Course was created by William R. Travers, John R. Hunter, and Leonard Jerome. After his retirement from boxing, Morrissey focused his attention on gambling establishments, owning stakes in 16 casinos at one point. In 1866 he ran for Congress with the backing of Tammany Hall and served two terms (1867–1871) in the House for the 40th and 41st Congress, representing the 5th Congressional District. As a Congressman, he always looked out for the interests of the Irish, and was known to use strong-arm tactics to accomplish his legislative goals, at one point declaring that he could "lick any man in the House." Old Smoke was so crooked that when he died they had to screew him into the ground.

Gary, Is there any record of the horses that raced in 1863? Did "Old Smoke" own thoroughbreds?

Replying to James Robison:
Odd to to realize that Saratoga began in 1863 with a four day meet when most horses, thoroughbreds included, were being thrown into the battles of the Civil War.

Nothing is stranger than history! Did not know the track opened so long ago...very interesting.