I used to go to the racetrack with my Dad and Grandfather when I was a kid. Santa Anita Park, in Arcadia, has always been one of my favorites along with Del Mar in near San Diego. It’s exciting to watch the horses around the track screaming for one of them to win.
Find things to do and where to stay in Arcadia, here.
The FrontRunner Restaurant
One of the best viewpoints to watch the horses race is inside the FrontRunner Restaurant, where you can enjoy cocktails and good food. If it’s hot outside, as it often is in the summer, it’s the coolest place to be.
It’s located on the 5th floor and features floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to the track. You also get a panoramic view of the San Gabriel Mountains in the background.
The restaurant has a 215 ft bar which is the second-longest bar in the world.
The FrontRunner is often used for conferences, private parties, and other events.
Order their Macho Mary
The Macho Mary is the Santa Anita version of a Bloody Mary and is one of Santa Anita’s specialty drinks. The mix includes citrus and part of the reason it’s so good is that the mixture marinates for at least 24 hours. Believe me, it’s good!
The history of Santa Anita Park
Movie studio owner and producer Hal Roach along with his partner Dr. Charles H. Strub, a San Francisco Dentist, opened Santa Anita Park in 1934 after parimutuel gambling was made legal in 1933. It was designed in art deco style by leading Los Angeles architect Gorden B Kaufmann. The track is located in Arcadia about 45 minutes from Downtown Los Angeles and is just east of Pasadena.
It was preceded by an earlier racetrack located nearby that was erected by Elias J.”Lucky” Baldwin, in 1907. He owned a great deal of property in Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and Arcadia at the time. His old home sits across the road from the racetrack at the L.A. Arboretum.
The Old Turf Club
We used to watch the races at the old Turf Club when I was a kid. It is still there and is often used for parties and filming.
The most elite venue at Santa Anita Racetrack is The Silks (Turf Terrace) on levels 3 and 4. It offers a more formal and elegant sit-down dining experience.
The Chandelier Room is an event space that has a private entrance and elevator. It holds up to 500 guests for receptions and 250 for seated dinners.
The races
One of my favorite things to do at the track, (because I’m clueless about betting) is to go down to the paddock to watch the horses get ready to race. You can see them being fitted in an open stable at the front of the Park.
A few minutes before post time, the jockeys will parade them quickly around the grass paddock and head off to the gate. A statue of Sea Biscuit, who raced at Santa Anita Park before winning the Triple Crown, sits on the grass area on the paddock.
Gotta love those jockeys
I remember watching Bill Shoemaker and Liffit Pincay Jr race at Santa Anita Park. Today’s jockeys still hang out near the stable in the jockey room until their horses are ready to race.
Women’s intuition
My method of betting is to watch the horses walk the paddock and then try to guess who will be the winner based on their spirit. It isn’t very methodical and rarely ever works but it’s fun.
While I was sitting inside the Frontrunner, a man told me about the time his mother got fed up with his dad because he teased her for going with her intuition rather than analyzing the stats. One horse had just taken a big dump on the paddock right before a race was about to start. She told her husband that it would win because it felt so much better now. The horse won and Bill’s dad never teased his mother again.
Thoroughbreds are stunningly majestic and magical to watch as they saunter before the crowd. I know some people are opposed to horse racing, but as someone told me, “You can tell they love to race.” Some have attitudes like “I’m the big enchilada. Watch me annihilate those other weenies.”
Going to a horserace at Santa Anita Park is a lovely way to spend a beautiful Southern California afternoon.
Santa Anita Racetrack has experienced numerous horse deaths in recent years due to shady medication practices. New regulations have been put in place to resolve the situation. It is considered to be one of the safest racetracks in the country. If those measures fail, the future of horseracing and racetracks will be in serious jeopardy.
Trivia – The racetrack horse stalls were where Japanese citizens were temporarily housed during their internment during WWII. Read this post about Little Tokyo, here.
The Santa Anita Racetrack is located at 285 W Huntington Dr, Arcadia, CA 91007
If you love horses you may also enjoy reading my post about the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.
It’s always fun to spend a day at the track. I’ve never been to Santa Anita but we do try to get to Del Mar every season. I love when I actually win my $2 bet!
I love Del Mar too. So beautiful. I haven’t been there in ages but am supposed to be nearby later this month.
My family (some) were gamblers so I spent a lot of my childhood at racetracks..I could pick a Daily Double almost before I could read. But it’s been a really long time since I’ve been to one.
I love it. I wish I could do that. Sadly, gambling isn’t my strong suit. Fun to watch though.
This sounds like a delightful day!
It definitely was. A real “girlfriend” day.
I use to go to Santa Anita often when I was a young girl. It was a regular family outing. I remember a brown wooden restaurant that was situated on the lawn. The food was delicious. I remember the sandwiches in particular. And I’ll never forget the voice of the announcer – “And they’re off” Thanks for bringing back the memories.
That must have been so much fun Glenda. Now they have jump tents on the lawn in the center of the track and playground equipment to keep the kids busy while the parents gamble. The sandwich restaurant must have been great.
This looks like such a fun and wonderful day! Bloody Mary is my favorite drink!!
Me too! Always so tasty. We had a wonderful time. Can’t wait to do it again.