SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Race Course — or at least one bar on its grounds — is staying open late Friday night to allow fans on hand for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to embrace Knicks fever.
The Post Bar, located next to the paddock near Shake Shack and Gate C, is staying open late Friday night for Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
The New York Racing Association announced the late-night hours for The Post Bar via social media on Friday morning.
The post time for the 14th and final race on Friday’s Saratoga card is scheduled for 7:43 p.m. Game 2 of the NBA Finals is set for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff.
The Knicks, who are playing in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, won Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday night in San Antonio. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and Karl-Anthony Towns provided 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 105-95 victory.
New York has won 12 consecutive games since going down 2-1 in its first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks. After winning three straight to knock out Atlanta, the Knicks produced back-to-back series sweeps against the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers to get to the Finals.
The Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs, who knocked out the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, will attempt to even the series on Friday before the Finals head to Madison Square Garden next week.
Friday is the third of five days of racing at Saratoga for the track’s final Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, with the event set to return to the rebuilt Belmont Park in 2027. The day’s racing card features five stakes races, including three Grade 1 events: The Acorn, New York and Ogden Phipps.
The festival will be highlighted on Saturday with the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes.