SARATOGA GALLERY

For horse lovers who respond to verdure and beauty as well as racing, Saratoga remains an episode of quiet charm in a hectic season and one of the handsomest tracks in the world. Its ambience encourages repose, even in the little men who tide the lively animals. With dew still on the ground and misty light just beginning to penetrate thick foliage, exercise boys work out their charges without their distraction of city traffic or airplane noises. Owners, trainers, jockeys and bettors love Sratoga, not only for its quality racing but for its cool, slate-paved paths and the 19th century architecture of much of the surrounding town, for its graceful elms, for its pure air and water and unmapped tranqillity—which photographer Stephen Green-Armytage portrays on the following pages.

In ladies' hats and other matters, the Saratoga style is relaxed and informal. For jockeys there is a secluded area in which to rest between races while owners socialize in flower-graced boxes and victorious horse and rider leave the track. For all—quests and participants—these are the best of days.

Action down and action up in the saddle by the best jockeys in the land, on the best thoroughbreds, make Saratoga in August an aficionado's paradise. At left, they're off; at right, the race is over. At the famous Oklahoma training track (above) horses and men prepare for the afternoon's fray on turf and dirt.

Homes on the quiet streets near the track recoil Saratoga's early days as a center of racing. On the Hudson at nearby Schuylerville, some horsemen still moor their boats and live aboard for the month. This one belongs to Colin MacLeod Jr. of Virginia.

ELEVEN PHOTOS