Santa Anita Park - Arcadia, CA
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 34° 08.393 W 118° 02.284
11S E 404292 N 3778152
Santa Anita Park is a world class thoroughbred racing facility and the oldest in California, featuring a classic art deco grandstand. The Santa Anita Derby and Handicap races are held here. It is located on the old Route 66 in Arcadia, California.
Waymark Code: WM34MG
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/09/2008
Views: 54
SANTA ANITA PARK - ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA
Entrance Sign & Fountain
Santa Anita Park was opened on December 25, 1934 and is the oldest racetrack in Southern California. In February of 1935, the first Santa Anita Handicap was run. The race's $100,000 purse, the largest of any race ever up until that time, produced its nickname the Big 'Cap.
In 1940, Seabiscuit won the Santa Anita Handicap in his last start. Two years later, in 1942, racing at Santa Anita was suspended due to the Second World War. From 1942 to 1945, Santa Anita was used as an internment camp for Japanese-Americans.
Santa Anita has a one-mile (1,609 m) synthetic "cushion" main track which rings a turf course measuring 9/10 of a mile, or 7 furlongs plus 132 feet (1,448 m). In addition, it has an unusual hillside turf course which crosses the dirt and is used mainly to run turf races at a distance of "about" 6½ furlongs (exact distance 64½ feet less than same). This type of track is one of the few of its kind in America.
Santa Anita will race with a new synthetic surface called Cushion Track, a mixture of silica sand, synthetic fibers, elastic fiber, granulated rubber and a wax coating. The new Cushion Track opened for training on Sept 4, 2007 and hosted its first live race on Sept 26, 2007.
SANTA ANITA PARK - ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA
Club House Entrance
Santa Anita occupies 320 acres. It has a 1,100-foot-long grandstand, which is a historic landmark that seats 26,000 guests. The grandstand is done in an Art Deco style and is the original facade from the 1930s.
The track infield area, which resembles a park with picnic tables and large trees, can accommodate 50,000 or more guests. The Park also contains 61 barns, which house more than 2,000 horses, and an equine hospital.
[Information compiled from
Wikipedia: Santa Anita Park]