NYRA Whitney Viewing Stand
Saratoga Springs, NY

Phinney Design Group has been working with the New York Racing Association (NYRA) on multiple projects for the historic Saratoga Race Track which originally opened to the public in 1863 making it America’s oldest sporting venue. As part of the 2013 celebration of the 150th anniversary of thoroughbred racing in Saratoga Springs, the New York Racing Association decided to create a permanent landmark to commemorate the historic milestone. The stand is named for the Whitney family, dedicated patrons of the Saratoga Race Course since 1901.

Phinney Design Group worked with Turnberry Consulting to recreate an iconic piece of Saratoga’s lost history, a public viewing stand with design details replicated from an 1892 judges’ stand which once stood alongside the main track. This historic replica, located at the Oklahoma training track, is a handcrafted, douglas fir-heavy timber structure. With a steeply-pitched roof, The Whitney Stand is capped by a copper weathervane finial that echoes the sweeping silhouette of the 1892 Grandstand.