Santa Anita Park

Corporate Name: Los Angeles Turf Club, Incorporated
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 60014, Arcadia, California 91066
Street Address: 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, California 91007 (click for map)
Telephone: (626) 574-7223; Telex: 675580
Fax: Executive Offices: (626) 821-1514; Marketing: (626) 574-5074; Publicity: (626) 574-6682
Website: www.santaanita.com

Santa Anita Park has played a major role in the history of Thoroughbred horse racing in California, which dates back more than a century. Spanish dons in olden days staged races in improvised straightaways on the land purchased in 1875 by E. J. “Lucky” Baldwin. A colorful gambler and entrepreneur, Baldwin established Rancho Santa Anita and built a public one-mile course which opened in 1907.

After Baldwin’s death in 1909, there was no racing until pari-mutuels were legalized in California in 1933. Los Angeles Turf Club, Incorporated was organized and purchased part of Rancho Santa Anita. The founders, including Dr. Charles H. Strub and Hal Roach, built a $1 million race track and offered a $100,000 stakes race, The Santa Anita Handicap, for the inaugural 1934–35 racing season. Only four other races anywhere had such a large purse and now the Big ‘Cap is the oldest continually run “hundred-grander.”

The United States’ first European-style turf course, with a hillside leg that crosses the main track to connect with the infield oval, was built for the 1953-54 season and on March 6, 1954, Santa Anita presented the first $100,000 race ever run on grass. It was the San Juan Capistrano Handicap, which utilizes the full distance of about 1¾ miles of this unique course.

The equestrian sports of the 1984 Olympic Games were presented by Santa Anita at the track and in Rancho Santa Fe. The 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008 and 2009 Breeders’ Cups were held at Santa Anita by Oak Tree Racing Association, which leased Santa Anita for an autumn meeting from 1969 to 2010. The Autumn Meet at Santa Anita was the host site for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Breeders’ Cup World Championships and will host the event again in 2016 on November 4 and 5.

Santa Anita annually presents the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, considered one of the most prestigious honors for race riders. The late Bill Shoemaker, winner of the award in 1951, rode the final race of his illustrious career as a jockey at Santa Anita on February 3, 1990.

Frank Stronach’s Magna International Inc. purchased Santa Anita Park in December of 1998. The Stronach Group now owns the track privately, along with Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and Portland Meadows in Portland, Ore., as well as other racing related facilities.


TSG Developments Investments Inc. Officers: Mike Rogers, President; Alon Ossip, Chief Executive Officer; Tim Ritvo, Chief Operating Officer; John Simonetti, Chief Financial Officer; Jane Lynn, Secretary
LATC Officers: Keith Brackpool, Chairman; Joe Morris, Senior Vice-President, West Coast Operations; Frank De Marco, Jr., Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs and Secretary; Mike Rogers, Vice-President, Operations; Scott Daruty, Vice-President; Gina Lavo, Controller; Jane Lynn, Assistant Secretary
Vice-President, Director of Broadcasting: Amy Zimmerman, (626) 574-6394
Vice-President, Racing/Racing Secretary: Rick Hammerle, (626) 574-6473
Racing Director: Mike Lake, (626) 574-6472
Horsemen’s Liaison: Ami Atkinson, (626) 574-6471
Director of Publicity: Mike Willman, (626) 574-6417
Track Photographer: Benoit & Associates, (626) 574-6463
Announcer: Michael Wrona
Track Caterer: Santa Anita Hospitality, (626) 574-6480
Nearest City: Los Angeles, 14 miles
Nearest Airports: Hollywood-Burbank, 15 miles; private planes may land at nearby El Monte Airport; runway length 3,350 feet, maximum weight 12,500 lbs., small jets permitted (ATIS: (626) 444-1107)
Track Data: Dirt track, 1 mile with chutes of 7 furlongs and 1¼ miles; stretch, 900 feet; turf course, 7/8 mile; hillside infield turf course, approximately 13/4 miles; training track, 6 furlongs; 2000 stalls in 55 barns; total acreage, 323
Seating Accommodations: Grandstand, 10,107; Club House, 5,068
Price of Admission: Grandstand, $5; Club House, $10; age 17 and under free with parent
Minimum Age Admitted: Children admitted and must be accompanied by parents at all times
Accommodations for Children: Recreation and playground area in Infield
Parking Facilities: Capacity, 20,500; General, $4; Valet, $10
Fan Club or Morning Program: Public is invited to watch workouts daily during live racing seasons, 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. at “Clockers’ Corner” with full breakfast service available; Seabiscuit tours on weekends at 8:30 and 9:45 a.m. (reservations recommended)
Simulcast Information: Santa Anita racing is available for full-card or special event simulcasting through April 10, 2016, May 5 through July 10, 2016, and from September 29 to November 6, 2016, with racing typically Thursday through Sunday and holiday Mondays; days only