Santa Anita Racetrack

I'm one of the few people in southern California who didn't watch the Lakers beat the Celtics last night. I knew LA won, though, when at about 3 minutes to 9 o'clock my quiet little block erupted with cheers, fireworks and party horns.

I'm thrilled with the Lakers' win. Even if no one got any sleep last night, everyone in LA will be in a good mood for a while. But I admit I'm not much of a sports fan, though I couldn't take my eyes off the equine athletes working out at the Santa Anita Racetrack yesterday morning.

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to going to Clockers' Corner, where you can enjoy breakfast while watching the horses work out on the track against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. I thought about posting a photo of them (horses and mountains), but the Altadena Hiker did a good job of that not long ago. Plus I love the deco style of the stands. The place was built in the 1930's and still has that feel of that bygone era about it. I kept expecting to bump into Bing Crosby.

Some older area residents may not remember Santa Anita so fondly, as it was used as a Japanese American internment center from 1942-1944. From what I gather, the part of the park that was barracks is now the Westfield Santa Anita Shopping Mall.

I found two references on the web about the track's owners, Magna Entertainment, having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I don't know what this means for the future of Santa Anita Racetrack, but it was bliss to sit there yesterday and watch those gorgeous animals reach speeds akin to flight.

Each sport has its own history, its language, its in-crowd--its world. And although I've never been much of a sports fan in general, I'm drawn to the arcanities of certain sports. There's nothing like a baseball game at Wrigley Field, for example. And now that I live in the San Gabriel Valley, I'm glad the Santa Anita Racetrack is still here to enjoy.