And they're off…crowds turn out as Santa Anita Park opens 82nd year of horse racing. Turnout was 41,373, surpassing last year's opening day turnout of 40,023.
Opening day of its 72nd season of thoroughbred racing at Santa Anita Park brought in 33,112 fans. Santa Anita Park officials were pleased with the turnout.
Santa Anita meet opens: no fans but record betting. Santa Anita park began its 84th winter-spring meet yesterday with no audience, but had a record-breaking opening day in betting handle, as $23,003,159 was wagered on the 11-race card. The old record of $20,491,016 was set in 2018. First-year General Manager Nate Newby hopes fans will be allowed back soon. Until such time only essential personnel and horses' owners are allowed to attend races.
Santa Anita Park race track draws 44,000 plus fans on this season's opening day December 26. Hero John Shear (photo) returns to track duties as paddock guard after saving a child's life last spring. Jockey Mike Smith rides Mr. Bossy Pants to win the 7th race (photo).
Major traffic jams during Santa Anita Park Race Track's record breaking opening day. All parking lots were full by 12:20 PM on December 26, 2017. See also Mountain Views News, p. B1, December 30, 2017 opening day recap crowd of 40,000.
HRTV (Horse Racing Television) has reached agreement with independent Los Angeles broadcaster KVMD to give Southern California horse racing fans live racing television access to the upcoming Santa Anita Park winter/spring meeting.
Santa Anita Park has live-racing for the first time on the same day as Kentucky Derby. The track will be rooting for Santa Anita Derby winner California Chrome, a California-bred race horse.
Santa Anita Park to open Friday, March 29 with California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) approval. Santa Anita Handicap now to be run on Santa Anita Derby Day April 6.
Santa Anita Park opens today. It kicks off its 75th winter/spring meeting with its first post at noon. The 79-day race meeting continues through April 22.
Joel Rosario's (photo) big return to Santa Anita Park a success. He rode racehorse Mind Your Biscuits to win the Malibu Stakes during opening day of Santa Anita Park's Winter Meet.
Santa Anita Park's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Verge, 44, a horse owner and entrepreneur, has big plans for the race track. He wants to expand its fan base, partly by reaching out to the local Asian community and to locals who grew up attending the track during the sport's heyday. While Santa Anita Park President George Haines is still running day-to-day operations, Verge will focus on bringing in more people, including celebrities, like actor Vince Vaughn.