SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Overseeing 4,500 slot machines at Aqueduct may be the primary reason there are as many as 16 entities formulating bids for the franchise to run Thoroughbred racing in New York. For the rest of the story, pay attention to the next six weeks.

Saratoga, the premier meet on the Thoroughbred racing calendar, opens the gates on Wednesday for its 138th season. From the backstretch, to the jockeys' quarters to the owner's boxes to the betting windows, Saratoga is the place where the elite meet to race, gamble, and party.

"It's 36 days of a 250-plus New York racing calendar; in those 36 days the weight that it carries is considerable," said Bill Nader, senior vice president for the New York Racing Association, which holds the franchise to conduct racing at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga through the end of 2007. "It's a huge part of our economic numbers, obviously attendance and wagering, and in terms of awareness and visibility for New York racing and for racing nationally and worldwide, it's clearly the biggest race meet in North America. It's clearly the reason why people want to invest so much in owning and breeding horses, because they want to win at Saratoga."

Flower Alley is expected to run in the Aug. 5 Whitney Handicap for four-time meet-leading trainer Todd Pletcher.