Mountains, Ocean and Thoroughbreds: Santa Anita and Del Mar

THE PACIFIC44 JOURNAL · THE JOURNEY TO 60 AND BEYOND

By The Pacific44 Journal · Editorial Features

Two California racecourses offer a journey through sporting history, Hollywood culture and the pleasure of making an afternoon an occasion.

A racecourse is several places at once. It is an arena for athletic competition, a landscape designed for spectators and a setting for people who have decided to spend an afternoon together. History sits in the buildings and names on the program; the present arrives with each new field of horses.

Santa Anita and Del Mar bring those qualities into recognizable California settings. One is associated with the mountains above Arcadia. The other belongs to a seaside town north of San Diego. Both invite a visit with room for architecture, history, a meal and the larger region around the track.

The subject connects with Allen's professional years in racing and Pacific44's Road to Keeneland series. Here, we look beyond those personal memories toward two western institutions a curious traveler can explore on their own terms.

Santa Anita and the western sporting imagination

Santa Anita opened on Christmas Day in 1934, during the Depression. Its development helped make Southern California an important part of American Thoroughbred racing. The grandstand, track and San Gabriel Mountains beyond created a powerful visual identity.

Seabiscuit became part of that identity. After earlier disappointments in the Santa Anita Handicap, he won the race in 1940. His broader story appealed to people living through difficult years: an underestimated horse, a team that found something in him and an achievement that mattered beyond a result.

The National Museum of Racing traces that career. Reading a little before visiting makes familiar names more meaningful. Seabiscuit belongs to a sporting history that helped shape how the public imagined endurance, recovery and another opportunity.

The connection to our next chapter should be thoughtful. A horse's comeback is not a prescription for anyone's retirement. What the story offers is a reminder that an established reputation can be incomplete. There may still be something worth doing after others think they know the ending.

Santa Anita also invites attention to the setting itself. Before racing begins, allow time to notice the entrance, the grandstand and the paddock gardens. A place experienced only from one seat can become much richer when its different spaces are understood.

Del Mar and a summer ritual

Del Mar opened in 1937, with Bing Crosby greeting the first visitor through its gates, according to the track's history. Its connection to Hollywood and the coast became part of its appeal. Racing gave people a reason to travel south, dress for an occasion and linger.

The 1938 Seabiscuit–Ligaroti match added sporting substance to that identity. Del Mar records a crowd of 20,000 and a national radio audience for a close finish won by Seabiscuit. Glamour and competition were becoming parts of the same attraction.

The track's history also describes the Santa Fe railroad bringing horses and racegoers to Del Mar in 1947. For readers interested in rail travel, that is a compelling detail. A day at the races began with the way people reached the coast; the journey helped create the occasion.

A visitor need not memorize every milestone. Choose a thread that interests you: a horse, a rider, the entertainment connection or the relationship between the course and its town. Knowing something specific to look for can change the afternoon.

The people who keep the day moving

A sporting institution's story is larger than its celebrated owners and performers. Riders, trainers, grooms, stable staff and people operating the public spaces all contribute to what a guest sees. Their coordination deserves attention.

Kendrick Carmouche's selection for Santa Anita's 2025 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award offers a contemporary example. The award recognizes professional and personal character through a vote of fellow riders. The sport's history continues through the people working in it now.

The paddock can engage a newcomer without requiring expertise. From permitted spectator areas, notice the preparations, colors of the silks and handlers' attention. A program helps connect the names you read with the horses and riders in front of you.

Respect the boundary between public access and working areas. A racetrack is an active operation whose animals and staff need space. Observation becomes more rewarding when it includes consideration for the work taking place.

Make the afternoon fit the occasion

General admission, a reserved seat, a dining table and a club arrangement can provide different experiences. Read the current options and decide whether your priority is a view of the racing, a leisurely meal or freedom to move around.

For a more elegant outing, consider a reserved arrangement that lets you sit together. Confirm what the price includes, whether the table is yours throughout the day and whether a food or spending requirement applies. An attractive terrace photograph cannot answer those questions.

Dress policies vary by section. Check the rules for the exact area booked and balance a sense of occasion with shoes suited to walking. Shade, weather and the distance between seating, restrooms and the paddock become important over several hours.

Arrive early enough to find your seats and understand the layout. A beginner's guide can help explain distances and race types. The athletic performance and atmosphere can be enjoyed without wagering. If you choose to bet, set a fixed entertainment budget and keep it separate from any idea of earning money.

Let the pauses between races become part of the visit. They are opportunities for conversation, a look around and an explanation of something you noticed. The day has a rhythm that can be appreciated even without a financial stake in its outcome.

Give California a place in the trip

These are not neighboring stops for a casual afternoon circuit. They belong to different parts of Southern California, with substantial travel between them. Build each into its surrounding region and confirm racing is scheduled on your intended day.

A Santa Anita visit can be paired with a Los Angeles-area garden, museum or architectural outing. Choose a companion activity that interests both travelers, with realistic travel time. That balance matters when one person follows racing more closely than the other.

At Del Mar, the coastal setting invites an overnight and time in town. A walk or relaxed breakfast can give race day a beginning and ending beyond the gates. Rail travel may suit part of the journey, but verify the station connection, transfer and current service instead of assuming a train arrives directly at the grandstand.

Arrange your departure from the track around traffic, event crowds and plans for the evening. An overnight can reduce the urge to rush away immediately after the final race. If drinks are part of the afternoon, make transport arrangements beforehand.

History with room for the present

A racecourse can appeal to someone who remembers broadcasts, someone who enjoys California architecture or a couple looking for a different afternoon. An interest need not become a weekly commitment to earn a place in your life.

Read about Seabiscuit, then notice today's horses. Enjoy the Hollywood connection, then attend to the people beside you. A destination earns its place through the experience it offers now, with history supplying another layer.

The Journey to 60 and Beyond invites us to keep those interests open. Santa Anita offers mountains and a long western racing memory. Del Mar brings the coast and its own tradition of gathering.

Both leave room for a simple pleasure: looking forward to a day somewhere distinctive and giving it enough time to become a memory.

Sources & planning

Santa Anita history and visitor information · Del Mar history · Seabiscuit: National Museum of Racing · Kendrick Carmouche and the Woolf Award

Researched Pacific44 magazine feature; no firsthand visit, interview or product review is implied. Documentary image credits appear with the photographs. Information checked October 12, 2026; confirm current arrangements directly.

Opening photograph: Santa Anita entrance, February 2006, by Ellen Levy Finch (Elf), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Original image, displayed responsively.