Art Wilson writes about some of the famous names in Santa Anita Park's 75 year history, including Charlie Whittingham, Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Seabiscuit, Citation and John Henry.
Eddie Delahoussaye retired after a riding mishap on August 30, 2002. He fractured his neck and suffered a bad concussion. As he stood before adoring fans to receive an honor at Santa Anita Park race track, he wished he was still riding. He is a longtime resident of Arcadia.
Johnny Longden, the Hall of Fame jockey who rode Count Fleet to the Triple Crown in 1943 and was the first rider to win 6000 races, died on Feb. 14. Services will be held on February 24 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Arcadia.
Rape suspect Arcadia man Philippe Lutete, 30, not mentally competent to stand trial. He will be taken to Patton State Hospital for treatment. Once he is deemed competent, the criminal case against him will proceed.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's horse Gabby's Golden Gal (owned by Arnold Zetcher) won the Santa Monica Handicap at Santa Anita Park. The jockey was Martin Garcia.
Race horse Bourbon Bay became the first horse in 17 years to sweep Santa Anita Park's trio of marathon graded turf stakes races with a half-length victory in the $150,000 Grade 2 San Juan Capistrano Handicap on closing day of the track's 75th anniversary meeting. The jockey was Rafael Bejarano, the first jockey since Laffit Pincay, Jr. in 1978-1981 to win three consecutive Santa Anita Park riding titles.
Newly chosen mayor Robert Harbicht outlines his goals for the city. The single accomplishment he most hopes to achieve during his term is completing designs, finding funding, and going out to bid on a contract to build a new City Hall.
Arcadia resident and business owner Fawaz Elmasri, who was born in Lebanon, conveyed a message that Muslim people are peaceful and the Islam religion condemns killing of civilian people and the destruction of property. He explained that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were acts against God.
Santa Anita Park's parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., faces the threat of bankruptcy amid mounting losses and a $600 million debt burden. The current racing season and status are unaffected. Frank Stronach of Magna Entertainment Corp. said he was looking for partners for the track.
Newly elected City Councilman Bob Margett has had a lawsuit filed against him by Roy Speirs charging malicious mischief for destroying campaign signs in April.
The City Council approved preliminary plans Tuesday for a nearly $2.7 million fire station that will replace the city's fire station No. 2 at the northeast corner of Huntington Drive and Baldwin Avenue.
Ron Buckholtz and Bob Anderson have been promoted to lieutenant positions at Arcadia Police Department. The article includes their biographical information and career paths.
Santa Anita Park's synthetic track surface will be removed and a new $5 million plus dirt surface, closely resembling the ones at Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park and the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga, will be installed. Ted Malloy is the racing surface consultant. He hopes to have the new track in by December 6.
Arcadia resident Bob Wieland, 62, lost both legs in the Vietnam War, but that didn't stop him from majoring in physical education at California State University Los Angeles. He has walked on his hands and biked across the United States, competed in 6 marathons, completed a triathlon, and set world weight-lifting records. He will be inducted into the California Powerlifting Hall of Fame today.