Follow in the hoofsteps of Seabiscuit
Known as the home of Triple Crown winners Seabiscuit and American Pharoah, the Santa Anita Park racetrack owns a prestigious place in horseracing history. Few know that a free behind-the-scenes tour of the track is offered on Saturday and Sunday mornings during racing season. Advance reservations are required, although it’s also wise to arrive 15 minutes prior to departure or risk losing your seats to the ticketless early birds.
Mornings at the track see a group of smiling bettors with briefcases meandering the grounds, while the gorgeous high-strung thoroughbreds work out, the sound of the their muffled hooves on the sand track beating through the air. Technically known as the Seabiscuit Tour (sorry American Pharoah), the excursion begins west of the grandstand in the small parking lot adjacent to the outdoor cafe, Clockers Corner (favorite menu items: coffee, Daily Racing Form, cigarettes).
Info
Address Santa Anita Park, 285 W Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007, +1 626.574.7223, www.santaanita.com, info@santaanita.com | Public Transport Gold Line to Arcadia Station, then a .8-mile walk | Getting there Free lot at Gate 8 off Baldwin Avenue | Hours Tours: Sat & Sun 8:30am & 9:45am by reservation only, call +1 626.574.6677. Track hours vary. Open during racing season, Dec-June. Check www.santaanita.com/full-calendar for details.| Tip Zelo Pizzeria (324 E Foothill Boulevard, Arcadia, CA 91006), less than two miles away, offers a cornmeal-crust pizza that will break your heart and delight your taste buds.
Smart tour goers bring friends and pack the 8:30am tour (which is canceled if fewer than ten people show up). The “tram” heads past the gap where the horses enter and exit the track and meanders through the network of forest-green stables, which feels like a rural equine city. More than 1800 horses train at Santa Anita, and 600-plus people live at the stables, providing around-the-clock care.
The tour ends with a walk that follows the horses’ steps from stable to track, and a visit to the jockeys’ clubhouse. Entering through the clubhouse’s side door, visitors pass through the silks room, where the jockeys’ brightly colored jerseys hang wall-to-wall on pegs. The silks room opens to a small workout area that includes a mechanical horse. Deeper into the clubhouse, jockeys lounge in their robes next to lockers, some topped with rows of riding boots in a rainbow of colors.
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