Saratoga Springs, NY – March 1, 2008. The Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust has provided the Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.) with a very generous $40,000 grant that will make it possible for backstretch workers to have on-site dental services at Saratoga Race Course in 2008.

As the health and human services agency for backstretch workers, B.E.S.T. welcomes this opportunity to further meet the needs of the people who are devoted to caring for New York racing’s thoroughbreds.

For the past three years, B.E.S.T. has operated a health clinic in the backstretch to help meet the medical needs of Saratoga’s backstretch community. But it has been difficult to locate accessible dental services.

Workers who care for thoroughbred horses in Saratoga’s backstretch start early in the morning and put in long hours. Many of them work seven days a week, and some work second and third jobs, so they can send money home to their families. When they face a medical or dental emergency, they have little time to wait for doctors’ appointments and x-ray services. Previously, workers had to travel to Schenectady or wait until they returned to their winter home bases to get the dental care they needed.

The Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust grant makes it possible for B.E.S.T. to modify its existing medical clinic to offer annual cleanings and checkups by professional, bilingual dental staff. Appointments with local dentists for more extensive surgical treatments will also be scheduled through the clinic. Dental services will be recorded in workers’ health files, enhancing the comprehensive healthcare management each person receives through B.E.S.T.’s programs.

Alfred Z. Solomon was a horse racing enthusiast. Because he was also committed to supporting community health care delivery, B.E.S.T.’s Saratoga dental clinic will be named in his honor.