It was held as an experiment. Well, the experiment, four days at Saratoga Raceway that began Aug. 3, 1863, was a huge success. So much so that the quartet decided to expand the following year and move across the street to construct a bigger track to accommodate larger crowds.

They called it Saratoga Race Course, located in the resort of Saratoga Springs where the first thoroughbred race in this country was held in 1847. The principle players were:

William R. Travers, a lawyer named president of the Saratoga Association, who was such a force in racing that the oldest major American thoroughbred race bears his name.

John “Old Smoke” Morrissey, former bare-knuckle champ, gambler and a soon-to-be lawmaker on state and national levels that once was a New York gang member in the 1850s.

Leonard Walter Jerome, flamboyant entrepreneur, father of Churchill’s mother and another successful stock speculator known as “the King of Wall Street.”

John R. Hunter, whose horses ran on both sides of the Atlantic and co-owned the first winner of the Travers with Travers in 1864 named Kentucky.

The Saratoga meeting originally consisted of four weeks, but subsequently was lengthened another week and finally became a six-week meeting that now ends on Labor Day.

Saratoga Springs, located in upstate New York, was known as The Spa for the mineral springs in the area. And it later became known as the Graveyard of Favorites as well as the Graveyard of Champions.

Some champions that tasted defeat at the hands of unheralded opponents included Man ’o War, Gallant Fox and Secretariat.

Big Red’s only loss in 21 races came in 1919 in a sprint on a muddy track to the aptly named Upset, ’73 Triple Crown champion Secretariat was surprised by Onion in the Whitney Stakes and another Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox, was defeated by 100-1 shot Jim Dandy in the ’30 Travers.

The Jim Dandy later became a stakes race, established in ’64 as an appropriate prep for the Travers.

The 36-day meeting that opens July 25 features significant purse increases of more than 13 ½ percent, the New York Racing Association announced. That’s up from an already industry leading daily average exceeding $678,800 to an expected $771, 535.

Open allowance races at 1 1/8 miles jump $17,000 to $68,000 and purses for open maiden sprints climb $15,000 to $62,000. Overnight stakes rise $10,000 to $75,000.

There will be 47 stakes, included 33 graded races. And 15 stakes are Grade 1 events. In addition, there are seven multi-stakes days, including the track’s richest two afternoons.

On July 28, the 80th running of $750,000 Whitney heads four stakes worth more than $1.7 million. On Aug. 25, the 138th Travers, worth $1 million, is the headliner on a four stakes card of more than $1.5 million.