Laying in the sand – Part two – Santa Anita

So, following on from my trip to Ireland to see Laytown races, I’m now in California and literally laying in the sand.

There are a range of reasons for that, but Santa Anita was another item off the bucket list. I’ve put a load of photos on our Facebook page if you want to see Santa Anita without the crowds.

I always enjoy California. Plenty to do for everybody, the weather is always fantastic and LA bay has miles of wonderful beaches. What ever your mood there is something to fulfil it. When the sun sets over the Pacific here, there is little going on for several hours. So it’s one of those places in the world where the phone will definitely not ring. I’ll often head down to the beach to watch the sun set to celebrate that.

I’ll also often enjoy the prospect of a trek into the desert or up the mountains to enjoy the sheer solitude of it. It gives you plenty of space to think things through and recharge your batteries.

But of course the Breeders Cup is just up the road from me here in so I felt it was time to tick that off the list.

Santa Anita racecourse sits at the bottom of the San Gabriel mountains in Arcadia and as metro areas in Los Angeles go,  Arcadia is quite nice. As with all things in LA the car park is huge and leads you into the racecourse proper. Aside from the garbage in the parking lot the course has been presented beautifully and even the stabling area and grounds are picture perfect. As you enter from the main turnstiles you are greeted with a bronze of Zenyatta and walking through the main entrance and into the stands you suddenly realise just how big the grounds are. The atmosphere on Friday and Saturday is going to be fantastic! It’s going to be warm as well, it’s been in the late 20’s all week so far.

I went to Santa Anita earlier this week to meet up with somebody while it was quiet. I’ve been quietly lobbying for support for exchanges in the US for some time. You can obviously see the potential if they took off here.  I don’t realistically hold much weight in the debate state side, but I can lend my experience and knowledge to key participants and belligerents. I felt that was probably the best use of my knowledge. Though it has to be said that people in all quarters have generally been pretty approachable over here, if some what stuck in their ways. But basically that’s brought me into contact with many people over here and it’s been fun meeting and debating with them. I’ll do a post next week when things are not so manic outlining how I see the market over here.

But basically that’s how I ended up at Santa Anita and getting a tour in the final days before the Breeders Cup starts today.

As for the meeting itself it’s usually perfectly tradeable. Saturday is obviously the big day, but you can usually squeeze something out of the Friday as well. It just means staying up a bit late if you are in the UK. I’ve traded it for a number of years without too many problems, so I’d imagine it will be OK again this year.

Category: Horse Racing