City Councilman Gino Roncelli, who was named last year to the board of directors of Santa Anita Park, will also join the board of the race track's parent company, MI Entertainment Corp.
Opening day at Santa Anita Park stirs memories for Andrea Van de Kamp of Pasadena, shown in photo, with Gino Roncelli, Trinity Roncelli, Bingo Roncelli. History of the Santa Anita Park race track and memories by columnist Patt Diroll.
City Councilman Bob Harbicht, now running for the 59th Assembly District seat, accepted a $25,000 donation from the entity that manages Santa Anita Park.
There are seven people running for two seats in the April 11 Arcadia City Council election: Sheng Chang, Charles "Chuck" Chivetta, Mary Dougherty, Vincent J. Foley, John S. MacDonnell, Gino Roncelli and Mark "Mickey" Segal.
New season began at Santa Anita Park on December 26. This season's opening day drew 41,000 fans, a significant increase over last year's turnout and a morale boost for the iconic venue that has been protected by National Registry of Historic Sites since 2006. In order to appeal to a younger crowd, the clubhouse space has been reconfigured, and the strictly reinforced dress code of yesteryear has been eliminated, along with the private Turf Club--now called Turf Terrace and is open to the public. The decor of the Chandelier Room has gone mid-century modern and the Directors' Room can be rented out for private parties. Gene Simmons of rock band KISS is a marketing advisor and the new management policy seems to be "anything goes." (Photos)
On April 6, Arcadia will have a local election to fill two City Council seats and the position of City Clerk. Seven candidates are profiled: Charles Chivetta, George Fasching, Vincent Foley, Ruth Gilb, Bob Harbicht, Dennis Lojeski and Gino Roncelli. June Alford is also profiled. She is running unopposed for the office of City Clerk. Photos.
Council member Gino Roncelli is unable to vote on race track decisions due to a conflict of interest. Some rival candidates for council question whether he should run for re-election.
A Los Angeles preservation group that protested Arcadia's approval of construction at Santa Anita Park has demanded the city halt the project until a full environmental review is done.
The California Horse Racing Board has approved fall racing's return to Santa Anita Park, in 2011, after a 1-year hiatus, but this time Oak Tree Racing Association will not be running the show. Oak Tree could participate, but would not operate the Directors Room or handle the money raised for the industry.
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.
A spokesperson for Santa Anita Consolidated has indicated that there is no intention of moving the Santa Anita Park race track to the $100 million sports complex proposed for the City of Los Angeles by Hollywood Park, Inc.
Santa Anita Park is making a bid for the 2012 Breeders' Cup. Former Breeders' Cup CEO Greg Avioli has taken over as Chief Executive Officer of Stronach Entertainment, and now oversees Stronach Group's race tracks and other assets. Avioli's experience brings strength to Santa Anita Park's bid. Santa Anita Park last hosted the Breeders' Cup in 2008 and 2009. The city of Arcadia gets one-third of 1 percent of all monies bet on the track. The event generated nearly $57,000 in betting handle in 2008 and nearly $58,000 in 2009 for the city.