Santa Anita Racetrack

285 W. Huntington Dr.
Phone:

East < GO > West

This racetrack was built in 1934 and held its first race in January of 1935 in the middle of the Great Depression. In 1940 the famous racehorse Seabiscuit finally won the Santa Anita Handicap after two earlier attempts.

For several months in 1942, while racing had been suspended thousands of Japanese Americans lived in converted stables here as part of the U. S. Wartime Civil Control Administration before being transferred to other camps. That bit of the tracks history might be of special interest to Japanese tourists traveling Route 66.

The Colonial Revival and Art Deco style structure was designed by Architect Gordon Kaufmann. An earlier nearby Santa Anita Racetrack nearby had burned down many years before this track was built..

Photo(s): 2019