Santa Anita - Definition

Lily Okuru, a Japanese-American woman held at Santa Anita Park, poses with the statue of Seabiscuit, 1942

Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California opened in 1934 and is the oldest and most prestigious horse racetrack in Southern California. Founded by the Los Angeles Turf Club, its success was built on the Santa Anita Handicap, whose $100,000 purse made it the richest race in America. The race is still held there, and is presently a Grade 1 listed race, with a prize of over $1 million. Due to its proximity to Los Angeles, Santa Anita has traditionally been associated with the film and television industries. The Marx Brothers classic A Day at the Races was filmed there, and many stars, including Bing Crosby, Spencer Tracy, Errol Flynn and Alex Trebek have owned horses that raced there.

Santa Anita was also the home track of the great thoroughbred Seabiscuit. The track boasts statues of both Seabiscuit and George Woolf, hailed as the best jockey of his generation, who owned the nearby Derby Arcadia restaurant.

During World War II the U.S. government used the site for Japanese American internment activities and then turned it into an Army base. It is presently undergoing a controversial reconstruction that threatens the original Art Deco exterior.

External links

• Santa Anita Park Official Website (http://www.santaanita.com/)
• National Trust for Historic Preservation: Santa Anita Racetrack (http://www.nationaltrust.org/11most/2000/santa.htm)