285 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, California 91066
(626) 574-7223
http://www.santaanita.com

Santa Anita Park, a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California was opened on December 25, 1934 and is the oldest racetrack in Southern California. The racetrack at this 320 acre Park offers some of the most prominent races in the United States every fall and winter. The 1,100-foot-long grandstand, which is a historic landmark, seats 26,000 people and the track infield area, a park-like setting with picnic tables and mature trees can accommodate about 50,000 racing fans. The Park’s 61 barns can house more than 2,000 horses and there is also an equine hospital on the grounds.

California legalized pari-mutuel wagering in 1933 thus opening the door for investors to develop racetracks. The Los Angeles Turf Club was formed by the uniting of two groups of investors and racing at Santa Anita began on Christmas Day in 1934. Just two months later, in February 1935, the first Santa Anita Handicap was run with a purse of $100,000. This was the largest purse for any race at that time and the race promptly became known as the Big ‘Cap.

Seabiscuit won the Santa Anita Handicap in his last start in 1940 (a Seabiscuit statue, created by German immigrant Frank Buchler, stands at Santa Anita Park). In 1942, racing at Santa Anita was suspended due to World War Two. For the next three years, until 1945, Santa Anita was used as an assembly center for Japanese Americans. When it reopened the track enjoyed a postwar prosperity and even added a downhill turf course in 1953 reminiscent of the European grass courses.

Santa Anita has been the leader in many of the innovations that we take for granted in today’s racing. This racetrack was the first to use starting gates and photo finishes for all races.

The Oak Tree Racing Association was established by a group of horsemen, including Clement Hirsch, and has since become the operator of the autumn meet at Santa Anita Park. This meet runs from the end of September to the middle of November every year and has been the host track for the Breeders’ Cup races on three previous occasions, in 1986, 1993, and 2003. In addition this track will host the Breeders Cup for two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009. Many preps to the Breeders’ Cup races are also run at Santa Anita in addition to other important stakes races throughout the meet.

Santa Anita holds some of the best racing in the country, along with some of the highest purses, during the winter/spring meeting and racing of equal quality during the Oak Tree Meeting which begins in the fall. This track boasts some of the largest attendance records at any racetrack in the county and the wagering that accompanies this attendance guarantees the future prosperity of Santa Anita.

California now mandates synthetic surfaces on all racetracks in the State. Santa Anita first replaced its dirt racing surface with a new synthetic surface called Cushion Track. However this Cushion Track proved to have numerous problems so it has been replaced with a new artificial racing surface manufactured by Pro-Ride, an Australian-based company.

Santa Anita is one of the most beautiful Thoroughbred racetracks in the United States and with the upcoming Breeders’ Cup races that will be contested there in 2008 and again in 2009, everyone’s eyes will be on this track. The Breeders’ Cup has never been run on a synthetic surface and it will be very interesting to see how these top-quality horses from around the world perform on this surface. Let’s hope they all run their best and that the best horses truly win!