Paul Umbrello has a favorite spot at Suffolk Downs. After the third of the 11-race event concluded Saturday afternoon, he left the crowded, third floor Turf Club to escape to his spot. He traversed the grandstand, hiked past the press box, and walked up dozens of stairs, until he finally reached the roof that overlooked the 161-acre property.

From his perch, Umbrello can see houses miles away and faraway airplanes hovering over trees. Umbrello smiled as he looked from one end of the track to the other.

He, like many others who attended Saturday’s races, grew up watching races on the 82-year-old track.

“In the heydays, this place would be jam-packed,’’ said Umbrello, who has attended Suffolk Downs since he was 6 years old. “It would be filled.’’

Saturday was one of six days on which the track will host racing this year. The HYM Investment Group bought the property for a reported $155 million on May 26, effectively numbering the days of racing at Suffolk Downs. Chief operating officer Chip Tuttle is hopeful that the track will host races next year, but no one really knows.

For a race track nearing its closure, Suffolk Downs put on a successful day of racing that attracted many of the sport’s top trainers, including Christophe Clement, Linda Rice, and John Servis. The daily purse was set at about $500,000.

Perhaps more importantly, Saturday’s event garnered lots of local interest. Last year, at the same type of event, Tuttle estimated that attendance was between 7,000 and 8,000 people. This year, 10,219 fans filled the track.

“The operation has gone well, and the response from the fans and horsemen alike has been excellent,’’ Tuttle said.

Hundreds of people crowded the large area located in front of the track during the races.

“I have never seen so many people down there,’’ remarked an old man in a blue shirt.

Most of the indoor booths were occupied as people frantically made their bets, and dozens of others stood in lines at the gambling counters. The grandstand seats were initially closed for the day, but the excess of people who wanted a place to watch the races as they ate their food encouraged the staff to open the massive seating area.

“As bittersweet as it is, it’s a homecoming for a lot of people,’’ Tuttle said.

As Tuttle and his staff prepared for the event, they were reminded of the deteriorating nature of the place.

The turnstiles no longer work, so the staff counts the vehicles in the parking lot to gauge attendance. The grandstand dining room doesn’t have a kitchen, so food trucks were used. Up in the press box, the simulcasting crew occasionally had trouble communicating with the camera crews. The air conditioning only works in specific areas of the facility.

Despite the limitations, the day of racing went as smoothly as the staff could have hoped. Tuttle credits the success to a hardworking staff of more than 200 people, comprised of year-round employees, volunteers, and former employees who returned to help.

“It’s a testament to the people who work here that were able to rally and pull this off,’’ Tuttle said. “Everything that was in our control, we worked hard to make sure we were ready for today.’’

The days at Suffolk Downs are numbered, but Saturday proved there is still plenty of local interest in the sport.

Umbrello is the executive director of the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, a group conducting the search for Massachusetts’ next world-class race track. He said he sees Saturday’s major success as a bridge to that plan.

“We are hopeful that the horsemen’s plan for a new facility somewhere else in the state comes to fruition,’’ Tuttle said. “There are a finite number of days left for this facility. Some people are here because they want to experience it again before it goes away.’’

Brad Almquist can be reached at brad.almquist@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bquist13.