Saratoga: “Heaven’s nice, but it ain’t Saratoga” (joke)

New York State’s Saratoga Race Course is sometimes compared to heaven. According to an old joke, a horseplayer dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter shows him around the pearly gates and asks how he likes it. “Heaven’s nice, but it ain’t Saratoga,” the horseplayer says. This story was printed in the book Twin Killing (2003) by James Stanley.
   
Saratoga has sometimes been called the “pearly gates of horse racing.”
 
   
Wikipedia: Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States, with a capacity of 50,000. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actually the fourth oldest racetrack in the US (after 3rd oldest Pleasanton Fairgrounds Racetrack,[3] 2nd oldest Fair Grounds Race Course, and oldest Freehold Raceway).
 
The Saratoga meet originally lasted only four days. The meet has been lengthened gradually since that time; for many decades, the meet lasted four weeks and began in late July or early August. The meet today lasts a total of 40 racing days, with races held six days per week, and traditionally spans from mid-July through Labor Day in early September.
     
Google Books
Twin Killing
By James Stanley
Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse
2003
Pg. 134:
There’s a story about Saratoga Race Track that is often repeated. Randy and Annie must have heard it 100 times.  was always received with nods of agreement. Randy repeated the story to himself one more time. It involves a dedicated Saratoga horseplayer upon dying and going to heaven. He’s asked at heaven’s pearly gate, “What do you think of Paradise?” “It’s nice,” he replies, surveying his new surroundings, “but it ain’t Saratoga.”
   
DerbyTrail.com 
Payson Dave   
12-04-2013, 08:35 PM
An old horse player dies and goes to heaven…St Peter greets him at the pearly gates and says “Let me give you the grand tour.” They do the tour and St Peter asks him what he thinks? The old horse player says “Well it certainly is nice but…. It ain’t Saratoga.”
 
Getting Out of the Gate
August 9, 2014
THIS COULD BE PARA-PARA PARADISE – IMAGES FROM SARATOGA
(...)
COMMENTS
I’ve been going to Saratoga for my vacation since 1981, and it’s truly all you say. A good friend once related a story about a horse player who upon dying, happened to make it to heaven. He entered the Pearly Gates, and was met by St. Peter, who showed him around. “How do you like it?”, St. Peter asked, The fellow replied, “It’s nice, but it ain’t Saratoga!”
Jim Purgerson on August 10, 2014 at 1:54 pm
 
US Racing
July 8, 2019
Spa-Tacular! It’s Post Time At Grand Ol’ Saratoga Race Course
There’s an old joke about a horseplayer who made it to heaven, where he was greeted at the pearly gates by St. Peter and given a tour of paradise.
 
“Well, what do you think?” asked St. Peter.
 
“It’s nice,” admitted the horseplayer, “but it ain’t Saratoga.”