A TORCH DINNER
Looking Back at Saratoga’s Complicated Past
For decades, Saratoga Springs cultivated an image of elegance — a resort city of mineral waters, thoroughbreds, and summer refinement. Yet beneath that polished surface lay a more complicated reality, one shaped by gambling interests, political alliances, and figures connected to organized crime. In his upcoming presentation to the Saratoga Torch Club, historian Greg Veitch will explore this lesser-known chapter of the city’s past, when Saratoga stood at the intersection of entertainment, influence, and illicit enterprise.
Greg Veitch
Veitch’s research draws on local archives, newspaper accounts, and the physical geography of Saratoga itself to reconstruct how the city became attractive to mob-connected operators during the Prohibition era and beyond. Saratoga’s seasonal influx of wealthy visitors, its permissive atmosphere around gaming, and its location within easy reach of New York City created conditions ripe for underground networks to flourish. Rather than focusing only on notorious figures, Veitch situates the story within the broader civic context, examining how business interests, municipal leaders, and state authorities responded — or failed to respond — to these developments.
His talk will trace how gambling halls, nightclubs, and backroom deals shaped both the city’s economy and its reputation. Some ventures brought prosperity and excitement; others introduced corruption and instability that lingered long after individual enterprises disappeared. Veitch’s narrative highlights how communities negotiate the line between economic opportunity and ethical compromise, a tension that continues to resonate in discussions about development and tourism today.
Equally compelling is Veitch’s attention to place. He invites listeners to reconsider familiar streets, buildings, and landmarks as witnesses to a more complicated past. By grounding his account in the local landscape, he shows how history is not abstract but embedded in the spaces residents pass every day. The presentation promises to offer not just stories of crime and intrigue, but a deeper understanding of how Saratoga’s civic identity was shaped by forces both visible and hidden.
This preview of Saratoga’s “mob era” is not intended as sensationalism but as historical inquiry. Veitch’s work underscores that confronting difficult chapters of the past can strengthen a community’s understanding of itself. His presentation offers Torch Club members an opportunity to look beyond the postcard image of Saratoga and consider how its history of ambition, risk, and reinvention continues to inform the city we know today.
To Join Us for Dinner Before the Presentation
Dinner will be at the Saratoga Springs Holiday Inn starting with a cash bar at 5:30 p.m. $40 payable by cash or check at the door. To make a reservation, email Richard Lynch at torchman999@gmail.com.
Thanks to the Smartacus Story Accelerator.