National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Even nonracing fans will want to step into the one-of-a-kind National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (191 Union Ave., 518/584-0400, www.racingmuseum.org [1], 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Mon.–Sat., noon–4 p.m. Sun., with extended hours during racing season, adults $7, seniors and students $5, children under 5 free), filled with intriguing exhibitions on the history and mechanics of thoroughbred racing.

Exhibits on the horse explain how all thoroughbreds trace their origins back to one of three Arabian progenitors, and how at a full gallop, a horse takes in five gallons of air a second.

Exhibits on racing champs tell the stories of Man o’ War and Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Exhibits on Saratoga tell of the resort’s gambling heyday, when it was frequented by Diamond Jim Brady, Lillian Russell, Lillie Langtry, and Florenz Ziegfeld.

In summer, the museum offers tours of the training track Wednesday–Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ($10 per person).