Barber to the Spa’s top jockeys opens downtown shop
The new Saratoga Barber Club offers sharp cuts for jockeys and anyone aiming to look race day ready.
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It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for the owners of the barber shop trusted by the area’s NFL athletes and top jockeys.
When their new building — a little house at 48 Henry Street near Lafayette that was most recently a hair salon — became available, the owners of Ballston Spa Barber Club jumped at the chance. Within four weeks, a new lease was signed, and the “open” sign went up just 15 days later.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Saratoga Barber Club.
“It's been a crazy month!” says Dylan Capone, a partner in the barber shop with Ralf Rispo and Gil Nunez. “The build-out was already done [since it used to be a hair salon], so we had a quick turnover. We had gotten too big for what we had in Ballston Spa and needed to expand. We’re excited.”
The new Saratoga locale opened on Tuesday, July 15 and has room for four clients at a time. A shampoo and men’s haircut ranges from $35 to $40, hot towel shaves are $20, and other offerings such as skin fades and beard care are also available.
Capone — who has more than six years’ experience as a barber — is the newest partner, after working with Rispo and Nunez at the Ballston Spa location. “We had this opportunity to go in on Saratoga, and they offered me a partnership,” he says. “I was like, ‘absolutely.’”
Capone rose to fame as the barber of choice for Saratoga’s top jockeys, including Irad Ortiz, Jose Ortiz and 2025 Preakness winner — and Netflix star — Umberto Rispoli.
“We’re family friendly and relaxed,” he says. “I really didn’t know I was known in Saratoga for cutting the hair of celebrities, until a client came in who said Chat GPT told him. That is absolutely crazy.”
Saratoga Barber Club is located at 48 Henry Street between Lafayette and Phila streets.
Find the two barber shops on social media at 518 Barber Club. Both locations are open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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