The opening day of Oak Tree marked the introduction of satellite wagering on Santa Anita Park races at Hollywood Park and Los Alamitos. After years of resistance, Santa Anita Park has fully embraced satellite wagering in a bid to win back fans lost to the lottery and urban congestion.
Gov. Pete Wilson has signed a tax cut bill that cuts in half the amount of taxes race tracks pay on daily wagering. The news was greeted with enthusiasm at Santa Anita Park.
Plaza de las Fiestas, a new multipurpose arena in the northwest quadrant of the infield at the Santa Anita Park, has been created to accommodate Family Faire weekend outings for groups of 25 or more, as well as company picnics, concerts, trade shows, equine shows and other special occasions that can share the day with racing.
Santa Anita Park will auction off 10 paintings by Sir Alfred J. Munnings worth an estimated $10 million. They will be sold by Sotheby's New York City auction house on Dec. 1, 1998.
Concerns about a proposed entertainment complex next to Santa Anita Park race track have been expressed by representatives of three stores in the Santa Anita Fashion Park.
55,130 racing fans saw the 10th Breeder's Cup, which included the upset 133-1 final race win by Arcangues. Over $36 million was wagered, including $15 million in on-track betting.
Santa Anita Companies have submitted a down-scaled entertainment complex with the new proposal for developing the South parking lot of the Santa Anita Park race track property.
Some residents north of Santa Anita Park are organizing to protest plans to build an enclosed 16,000 capacity concert arena in an unused portion of the race track parking lot.
City officials met with new Santa Anita Park owner Frank Stronach to discuss his plans for the race track. He wants to build a retail and entertainment village and an interactive horse racing theme park.
The Santa Anita Park race track will be allowed to work round-the-clock on the renovations to be completed before the beginning of Oak Tree on September 29th.