Looking Up at Santa Anita

The Santa Anita grandstand. (All photos courtesy of Cynthia Holt)
"What gift do you open the day after Christmas? SANTA ANITA!”
This was one of the media ads that ran several years ago, promoting the traditional Dec. 26 opening of the winter meet. Anticipation runs high among Southern California racing fans for weeks prior to the big event, and with good reason. Santa Anita is a splendid place to be not only on the day after Christmas, but any day. As an employee of “The Great Race Place,” one of the things which I enjoy most about my job is watching the reaction of newcomers when they first glimpse the spectacular panorama of the glorious San Gabriel Mountains towering above the racetrack.
The setting is so idyllic, it might have been designed by the gods. Many are at a loss for words to express their admiration of the stunning scene. It was that way for me. I was 6 years old when I visited Santa Anita for the first time. It left a vivid memory, which has never grown old, although I have. I spent most of that day looking up, fascinated by the giant girders which seemed to support not only the roof of the grandstand but the sky itself. The pageantry captured my imagination and heart as nothing ever has, before or since. As I grew up, the racetrack became my palace of dreams and cathedral of prayers.
But gradually over the years, I stopped looking up. Perhaps that is the natural way of things, but we miss a lot when we start studying our feet. Recently, I decided to reach back in time and re-discover some of the treasures of Santa Anita that hover above our heads. It reminded me that the racetrack is a living, breathing thing. It has stories to share, written in steel, stucco, and stone. Despite renovations and the additions of restaurants, sports bars and luxury suites, there are still pieces of history that remain and are longing to speak to us, if we will stop long enough to listen.
THE ART DECO GRAND ENTRANCE

Santa Anita was designed by George B. Kaufmann, a leading Los Angeles architect whose landmark projects include the Hoover Dam, the Los Angeles Times Building and the Hollywood Palladium. Since Santa Anita opened its doors on Dec. 25, 1934, modifications to the original structure have taken place on a regular basis as times changed and demand grew for more seating and patron-friendly conveniences. In 1938, Santa Anita’s massive new main entrance was unveiled, which was a monument to the 1930s art deco style. With its huge flags whipping in the wind high overhead, it is impossible not to feel a rush of excitement when walking through the cavernous opening which leads to the ground floor and the racetrack apron.
ENTRANCE PILLARS

Fierce guardian of the grand entrance, this is one of a pair of fiery-eyed horse heads which are affixed to twin support pillars. Illustrations of these sculptures have been seen in early Santa Anita advertisements.
THE FRIEZES

The south side of the 1,100-foot grandstand is decorated with a series of punched-metal friezes (pronounced freezes), depicting stylized racing horses. These were created by Chet R. Phillips, an architect and designer for George Kaufmann. The figure lying beneath the horses’ hooves is known as “The Fallen Rider” and represents those jockeys who have lost their lives on the racetrack. The frieze is synonymous with Santa Anita, and is widely recognized as its signature design. Representations of this free-flowing panel can be found throughout the structure and the city of Arcadia.
THE RECEIVING BARN

Unlike many other racetracks, Santa Anita’s receiving barn is not used as temporary housing for horses who have been transported from other places to run in a particular race. Instead, the “round barn,” as it is also called, is the first stop for horses on race day. Before entering the receiving barn, the horse inspector examines the horse’s shoes to ensure that they are within regulatory guidelines. Once inside, the horse identifier checks the tattoo imprinted on the underside of the horse’s upper lip, which is a series of numbers unique to that horse.
Further verification is authenticated through paperwork and ID photos. Prior to the race, blood samples are drawn from all runners. Following the race the winner returns to the receiving barn, and is joined by seven to nine other horses randomly selected throughout the day’s races, and both blood and urine tests are performed. If the value of the race is $100,000 or more, the top three finishers must report to the receiving barn for this additional testing.
RECEIVING BARN CEILING

The roof of the Receiving Barn is a marvel of craftsmanship and design. Supported by a complex pattern of beams which conjoin and crisscross in countless places, it seems to represent the far-flung paths of the many horses who converged on this spot, some of which have exited to run heroic and historic races.
THE STALLS

The natural light, which streams into the receiving barn from hopper (swing out) windows, has a soft quality that is inherent in old glass. Stalls numbered from one to 17 encircle the barn. Yes, at one time there really were fields that large on a regular basis! Bowing to racing’s reverence for superstition, the number 13 has been omitted, and the numbering runs from 12 to 12A to 14.
An interesting sidelight to the receiving barn, is that when racing was halted by the government during World War II and Santa Anita was utilized as a Japanese-American assembly center, the barn was used as a communal shower for the detainees. Plywood planks separated the women’s and men’s quarters.
THE SADDLING BARN

Today’s saddling barn is not the original 1934 structure, which was semi-circular in shape and located to the west of the paddock gardens. In 1938, it was demolished to make way for the expansion of the gardens and the Kingsbury Memorial Fountain, which is situated just south of the grand entrance. Like its early counterpart, the 1938 saddling barn was designed by George Kaufmann. Following their mandatory stop at the receiving barn, the horses are led along a path through the gardens to the saddling barn, where their equipment is applied by the trainer and her or his assistants. Young and inexperienced horses are also brought to the saddling barn for schooling most mornings between 10 and 10:30 a.m., as well as during races, so they may become accustomed to the pre-race routine and the noise and close proximity of the crowd.
THE SHELTER

Split in the center by the jockeys’ room, there are eight stalls on each side with a three-walled shelter on each end, its opening facing away from the crowd. The shelters provide a more private place for horses who may be skittish or prone to pre-race nerves.
THE VIEWING AREA

There is a very unique quality of light in the saddling barn, which is diffused by high hopper windows that line the back wall and the front eave. This photo was taken inside the saddling barn, looking out at the public viewing area.
The fans love to congregate here, especially prior to major races. To stand on those steps is to recognize that the saddling barn is infused with a special kind of magic. This is where Zenyatta strutted her stuff, where Seabiscuit marshaled every ounce of his warrior’s heart to win the Big ‘Cap at age 7 in his third attempt, where Citation, Round Table, Affirmed, Swaps, Spectacular Bid and so many horses who cast a giant shadow over the sport touched hooves to this hallowed ground.
During the government's occupation of Santa Anita during World War II, the saddling barn was converted into a hospital, which cared for an average of 75 patients per day.
THE CUPOLA

Perched on an outside corner of the grandstand roof almost directly in front of the finish line is a single box, or “cupola.”  This very exclusive cubbyhole was constructed for Santa Anita’s co-founder and mastermind, Dr. Charles H. Strub, as an observation point for watching the races. Although from ground level it looks to be the size of a gardening shed, it had some amenities and it was reported that Doc Strub had a desk and telephone installed in the rear of the cupola, so that his secretary would be no more than an arm’s length away.
THE CUTOUTS

Adjacent to a snack bar in what has become an increasingly lonely section of the western portion of the grandstand, a herd of columns featuring metal cutouts of handsome horse heads can be found. They are all that remain of a 1938 revision of the grandstand, in which the cut outs were fastened to columns on the track side of plastered archways, which have been lost to alterations.
NAMES ETCHED IN HISTORY

The far western section of the grandstand is where largely untouched remnants of Santa Anita’s past can be found. However, due to the hard math of our times, this section has now been closed off and is opened only on high attendance days, such as the Breeders’ Cup. During those times, take a walk on the main floor and look up. You will see the names of some of the greatest racehorses ever to grace Santa Anita during its 81 years of existence.
THE OBSERVATION POINT

This photo of American Pharoah was taken following his last gallop at Santa Anita. His achievements now belong to history, but there is something else historically significant in this shot. Attached to the upper corner of the grandstand, seen in the background, is a small booth that attracts little attention. Not many realize it was used as an observation point to monitor the Japanese-American detainees, thousands of which were housed in the stable area from March to December of 1942. There were 11 Japanese-American assembly centers located in California, the largest of which was at Santa Anita.