The Santa Anita Companies are slowly making their way around Arcadia City Hall preparatory to construction of a $12 million, 70,000 square foot medical office building on race track property across Huntington Drive from Methodist Hospital.
On a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Jeff Dring dissenting, the Arcadia City Council Tuesday night approved General Plan and zone changes to allow construction of and $11 million medical office building on Santa Anita Park race track property directly across Huntington Drive from Arcadia Methodist Hospital.
The Anheuser-Busch Inc. brewery will move its Clydesdale horses from the Santa Anita Park race track stables because of a disagreement in the cost of housing them.
The city of Arcadia has already received two checks from Santa Anita Park race track, the first payments on its one-third of 1% of the parimutuel take.
In a pre-dawn raid at Santa Anita Park race track, immigration and border patrol agents arrested 173 illegal aliens from 8 countries. As many as 600 other illegals believed to be working at Santa Anita Park escaped arrest by moving to Hollywood Park.
The Santa Anita Companies have chosen the Pasadena architectural firm of Neptune & Thomas Associates to design the new $12 million, 70,000 square-foot medical office building to be constructed on race track property in Arcadia.
5,133 attended the first day of inter-track wagering at Santa Anita Park where wagering was offered on racing at Del Mar. $1,069,980 was wagered on the simulcast races. Santa Anita Park is one of 10 off-track wagering satellites.
Because of negative reactions by neighbors, it is "very doubtful" that Santa Anita Park race track will put a helipad on the north side of its property.
If Santa Anita Park race track and other tracks cannot successfully compete with the just instituted state lottery that results from the passage of Proposition 37, the horse racing industry may go to Sacramento to seek tax relief, according to Robert Strub, president of the Los Angeles Turf Club.
Mayor Charles Gilb said he has been assured that a helipad will not be constructed on the north edge of the Santa Anita Park race track property due to protest by neighbors.
Santa Anita Park will have thoroughbred racing from December 26 through April 22, a season expanded by two weeks. The horse racing bill AB 3383 provided other changes in the sport that will affect Santa Anita Park.
A bill that could generate an estimated $700,000 yearly in additional race track revenue for Arcadia cleared the State Assembly on Thursday and now heads for the Senate. The bill, AB 2780, seeks to authorize Arcadia and other cities to collect up to 1/3 of 1% of the total amount bet at a race track within their boundaries if the city were willing to forego any tax on admissions or parking. Arcadia has never charged a parking tax at Santa Anita Park. Arcadia city officials are neutral at this point, according to City Manager George Watts.
Santa Anita Park Race Track would like to build a helipad on the hillside on the north edge of its property and has sent a letter to its neighbors to the north asking if they have any objections.
Ground was broken Friday for Arcadia's newest office building, the Arcadia Executive Plaza, on the triangular site bounded by Colorado Boulevard and Colorado Place, immediately east of Santa Anita Park race track.