Santa Anita Park

Entrance of the Santa Anita Park

Seabiscuit statue on the racetrack grounds

Santa Anita Park is a racecourse and equestrian center in Arcadia , California .

The racetrack opened in 1934. It is an important route in the USA, on which Seabiscuit , among others , started in the late 1930s and early 1940s . Important races include the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap.

Santa Anita Park was one of the sports venues for the 1984 Summer Olympics .

history

On December 25, 1934, the Santa Anita Park racetrack opened after horse racing had been legalized in California the previous year.

The first Santa Anita Handicap took place in February 1935, and at $ 100,000, it was the highest prize money in the United States to date. The circuit was innovative, introducing start boxes and the photo finish that became the standard in horse racing. The famous Seabiscuit racehorse won the Santa Anita Handicap on its last start in 1940.

During the Second World War , an internment camp for Americans of Japanese origin was set up on Santa Anita Park between 1942 and 1944 . The racetrack opened in 1945 after the end of the war, and an off-road course was added in 1953.

The equestrian competitions of the 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Santa Anita Park. In 2006 there was an application to close the racetrack and build an amusement and experience center, but it failed.

In spring 2019, racing was suspended “for an indefinite period”.

Breeders' Cup

Start of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Race, 2008

The most valuable racing day in the world, the Breeders' Cup , has already been held several times in Santa Anita.

• 1986 - Lady's Secret wins the Breeders' Cup Distaff and was named Horse of the Year
• 1993 - Arcangues wins the Breeders' Cup Classic
• 2003 - Trainer Richard Mandella wins four races, including the Classic
• 2008 - Horses from overseas win five races, including the Classic
• 2009 - Zenyatta is the first mare to win the Classic
• 2012 - Wise Dan wins the Breeders' Cup Mile and was named Horse of the Year
• 2013 - Wise Dan repeats his success
• 2014 - Bavaria wins the Classic
• 2016 - Beholder wins the Distaff after an exciting fight with the previously undefeated Songbird , Arrogate wins the Classic ahead of the favorite California Chrome

Important races

Important races that are held in Santa Anita Park are listed below.

Group I races : (sorted according to first event)

• Santa Anita Derby (1935)
• Santa Anita Handicap (1935)
• Santa Anita Oaks (1935)
• Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (1935)
• Hollywood Gold Cup (1938, also called Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes , formerly Hollywood Gold Cup )
• Gamely Stakes (1939)
• Beholder Mile Stakes (1940, formerly Vanity )
• Malibu Stakes (1952)
• Triple Bend Invitational Handicap (1952, also called Triple Bend Stakes )
• Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap (1960)
• Chandelier Stakes (1969, formerly Oak Leaf Stakes )
• FrontRunner Stakes (1970, formerly Norfolk Stakes )
• La Brea Stakes (1974)
• Rodeo Drive Stakes (1977, formerly Yellow Ribbon )
• Awesome Again Stakes (1982, formerly Goodwood Stakes )
• Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (1985, formerly Ancient Title Stakes )
• Shoemaker Mile Stakes (1990)
• Zenyatta Stakes (1993, formerly Lady's Secret )
• American Oaks (2002)

Group II races :

• Arcadia handicap
• Buena Vista Handicap
• City of Hope Stakes (formerly Arroyo Seco Mile Stakes )
• Californian stakes
• Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap
• El Encino Stakes
• Goldikova Stakes (formerly Las Palmas Handicap )
• Honeymoon handicap
• John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (formerly Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship Stakes ) (1969)
• Kona Gold Stakes
• La Canada Stakes
• Las Virgenes Stakes
• Mathis Brothers Mile (formerly Sir Beaufort Stakes )
• Monrovia handicap
• Palos Verdes handicap
• Potrero Grande Handicap
• Robert J. Frankel Memorial Handicap (formerly San Gorgonio Handicap )
• Royal Heroine Mile Stakes
• San Antonio handicap
• San Carlos handicap
• San Felipe Stakes
• San Fernando Stakes
• San Luis Obispo Handicap
• San Luis Rey Handicap
• San Marcos Stakes
• San Pasqual Handicap
• San Rafael Stakes
• Santa Ana handicap
• Santa Catalina Stakes
• Santa Maria handicap
• Santa Monica handicap
• Santa Ynez Stakes
• San Vicente Stakes
• Strub stakes
• Summertime Oaks
• Twilight Derby

Group III races :

• Adoration stakes
• Affirmed Handicap (1979)
• American Handicap (1938)
• Autumn Miss Stakes
• Baldwin Stakes
• Bayakoa handicap
• Carleton F. Burke Handicap
• Daytona handicap
• Eddie D Stakes (formerly Morvich Handicap )
• El Conejo handicap
• La Habra Stakes
• LA Woman Stakes
• Los Angeles Handicap (1938)
• Las Flores Handicap
• Last tycoon stakes
• Megahertz stakes
• Midnight Lute Stakes
• Providencia stakes
• Robert B. Lewis Stakes *
• Robert J Frankel Stakes
• San Gabriel handicap
• San Juan Capistrano Handicap
• San Simeon Handicap
• Santa Barbara Handicap
• Santa Ysabel Stakes
• Senorita stakes
• Sham stakes
• Tokyo City Cup
• Tuzla handicap
• Wilshire Stakes

further races :

• Blue Norther Stakes
• California Cup Derby
• California Cup Oaks
• Desert Stormer Handicap
• Eddie Logan Stakes
• Landaluce stakes
• Las Cienegas handicap
• Santa Paula Stakes
• Senorita stakes
• Speakeasy stakes
• Surfer girl stakes
• Thunder Road Handicap
• Tiznow stakes
• Zuma Beach Stakes

literature

• Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee: Official Report of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad. Los Angeles, 1984 . 2 volumes. Edited by Richard B. Perelman, Los Angeles 1985, ISBN 0-9614512-0-3 (Volume 1: Organization and Planning . Volume 2: Competition Summary and Results ). Online at la84foundation.org as a PDF in six parts: Volume 1, Part 1 , 26.1 MB; Volume 1, Part 2 , 12.3 MB; Volume 1, Part 3 , 21.0 MB; Volume 2, Part 1 , 24.1 MB; Volume 2, Part 2 , 11.1 MB; Volume 2, Part 3 , 11.4 MB; last accessed on September 30, 2009.

See also

• List of horse tracks

Web links

Commons : Santa Anita Park  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Site of the race organizer in Santa Anita Park oaktreeracing.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 21 horses dead - horse races suspended in Santa Anita
2. ↑ Event By Year . Retrieved June 2, 2012.
3. ↑ "Santa Anita Honors Legendary Trainer Frankel, San Gorgonio Becomes Gr. II Robert J. Frankel" ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Santa Anita Park , December 27, 2010. 
4. ↑ "Santa Anita Stakes Names After Frankel" , The Blood-Horse , December 27 of 2010.
5. ↑ Jack Shinar: Unbridled's Note Takes Eddie D in Turf Debut . In: BloodHorse.com . September 28, 2012.
6. ↑ Blood-Horse Staff: 2011 Graded Stakes: 13 Fewer Than '10 . In: BloodHorse.com . December 2, 2010.