Look for Yachty. A new (curated) thrift store.
Tracksider is here! Dinner Club adds Bibulous.
Hey, everybody!
I missed a Dispatch or two this week — I’m co-chairing tomorrow night’s 65th Anniversary Gala for Opera Saratoga — but then get ready.
It’s Belmont time.
I might be the most excited to see the great 2025 Preakness winner Journalism run in the Met Mile on Saturday, my first time seeing him live.
Trust me when I say that I’ll bet on journalism every time.
Not just the horse — the craft, too.
A lot has changed in the 25 years since I started in this business. The way people want authenticity over polish is different; the way local news survives is different. Some days I’m learning as I go, stretching parts of my brain that I never expected to use and putting myself out there more than I ever did before.
But the mission hasn’t changed: Tell people what’s happening, celebrate what’s wonderful, hold onto the stories that make a place feel like home.
About 50 million Americans live in a news desert, with no one covering their communities.
Saratoga won’t be one of them if I can help it.
I live here, I love it, and I’m honored that you trust me to tell its stories.
— Abby
🙌 Support our Dispatch
The Dispatch is FREE to read — and only possible because of our paid subscribers. Don’t want to commit? Leave a tip of any dollar amount below!
Local, real, never corporate.
LOCALS CORNER
Next Dinner Club is June 17
After a brief pause for Belmont, the Dispatch Dinner Club is BACK — see you all June 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Take the quiz.
Get matched with five of your neighbors — who will remain a mystery until you show up to dinner. (Signing up with a Plus 1 is also an option.)
Also a mystery: which local restaurant you’ll be dining at/supporting. Check your phone that morning!
Then join us at Bibulous for a nightcap to gossip about how it all went down.
OUT OF THE GATE
“The horses are here, Broadway is closing, the restaurants are bracing, and every guy with a program now believes he has solved the Belmont because he watched one replay twice.”
— The Tracksider’s first daily Belmont edition is here!
AND THEY’RE OFF
The Belmont Festival kicked off earlier today, and Saratoga Goose was on the scene to catch all of the firsts.
CELEB CORNER
Look for Lil Yachty
Alas, still no Lil Wayne … As I mentioned Saturday, the A-list rapper co-owns Vitruvian Man, a late entry into the Belmont. At the time, Rauw Alejandro was coming to Saratoga to represent their star-powered Run Fast Racing. But now? It’s Lil Yachty to keep your eye out for.
“Rauw was planning on coming,” says the syndicate’s CEO, Adam Kluger. “But he had a personal issue he has to attend to, so Yachty is flying up for the races.”
He also told me that Rauw, who’s from Puerto Rico, has been a fan of horse racing since childhood. And Lil Wayne? He’s also been a fan of the sport “for quite some time.”
Lil Wayne might not make the Belmont, but he will be at SPAC July 2.
Keep reading!
PLAYING HOOKY
Saratoga welcomes curated thrift at the new Stirrup
“I love your Issey Miyake.”
That’s exactly how Matt Acevedo introduced himself to me late last summer. During that same sitting, he also clocked my friend's very rare baguette, the designer of which I've since forgotten — though he most certainly has not.
And now the only man ever to recognize my “if you know you know” geometric bag is opening a clothing store of his own.
Acevedo and his girlfriend, Noel Piontek, gave me a sneak peek of their new “curated thrift” shop, Stirrup. It’s so welcoming that I may or may not have hidden out there when I was supposed to be somewhere else…
“‘Curated thrift’ is probably our technical term,” he says, since not everything in their store is old enough to technically be vintage. “It’s mostly Ralph Lauren, L.L. Bean, and vintage Saratoga horse — a lot of American brands.”
A clue about the couple’s style: they call the blue Ralph Lauren Polo bear their mascot.
"We take this very seriously,” he continues. “But we don't take ourselves seriously. I want people to be here and have fun and hang out and buy some cool sh*t. That's really all it's about."
Their back-of-the-room collection features fun collector’s Saratoga pieces — in the future, there will be vintage band tees, cartoon tees, car tees. The rest of the ever-changing racks are curated by the couple to match the seasons.
"I hate a stale store, especially in thrift,” says Acevedo. “It sucks when you go and see the same stuff every week. What's the point of going back?"
The new shop, located in the former Flores Art Gallery at 19 Maple, will be open Thursday through Sunday starting next week.
TRACK-ADJACENT
Unique fascinators and equestrian art, plus Greg Montgomery on Sunday
Impressions knows that not every person who likes horse racing will be at the track all weekend. Hitting up downtown while the masses are watching the races? To consider:
Shop fascinators
Milliner Nicole Bracken will host a pop-up at Impressions Friday through Sunday. Her headpieces are, says the announcement, “in huge demand each year at The Kentucky Derby and rival those worn by The British Royalty.”
Browse art
Equestrian artist Melissa Crase will also be on hand on three days with her original works and prints, to commemorate this final third Belatoga.
Meet Greg Montgomery
(Sunday only, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Pick up your collector’s item Greg Montgomery poster and have the man himself sign it. He’ll also be offering a full set of the three Belatoga posters: 2024, 2025 and 2026 while they last.
Impressions is located at 368 Broadway.
ICYMI…
Best sale shopping? 🦞 Maine-core.
Driving from AZ for 🏇 Belmont? — and the classical/jazz schedule from now until June 11