Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on downtown Saratoga Springs and the Saratoga Race Course this weekend, and local law enforcement tell Spectrum News 1 they’ve been preparing for the influx of people for months now.

The Belmont on Broadway festivities kick off downtown Wednesday with a free concert from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Stretches of Broadway will be closed to traffic at various points between 5 a.m. into the early morning hours on Thursday, June 6  – detours will be posted. You’re asked not to bring coolers, backpacks, large bags, strollers, pets, glass bottles alcohol or weapons of any kind.

As for the rest of the nearly week-long festival, Saratoga Springs Police have partnered with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for personnel and resource support. There will be an increased police presence downtown and at the track to deter any potential issues and respond to any that may arise. Officials say anyone coming to town should be prepared for traffic congestion and delays.

“The residents here in Saratoga are pretty familiar with the hustle and bustle of the track season and they know a lot of alternate routes to get around the city quickly, but for visitors we do urge you to be patient – especially on the Belmont on Broadway day,” said Saratoga Springs Police Chief Tyler McIntosh.

Chief McIntosh said his department partnered with the FBI’s crisis management unit ahead of this week to run through different scenarios to identify how they would respond to a large-scale incident, should anything happen.

For those not familiar with the area or if you’d like more information on the week’s events you can check out Discover Saratoga.