Horse Racing: The 100-Year Binge

Some dyspeptic Iroquois brave named it "Se-rach-to-que," which has been translated as "Floating Scum upon the Water." Among dip-minded suburban housewives it enjoys minor fame as the birthplace of the potato chip. James Gordon Bennett was moved to entitle it "the seraglio of the prurient aristocracy." To the rheumy rich of the '90s it was "The Spa," and its eggy sulphur waters were just the ticket for constipation and gout. But now the seltzer baths belong to the state, and for eleven months out of the year Saratoga Springs (pop. 16,000) is...

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