JC / Railbird

Santa Anita

Hey, LA Foodies

Here’s a reason to attend Sunshine Millions Day at Santa Anita:

We think our infield is a perfect location for a Food Truck Festival so we’ve scheduled one for Sunshine Millions Day, Jan. 29. We’ll have Canter’s Deli, Don Chow Tacos, Border Grill, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Baby’s Badass Burgers, Dante Fried Chicken, South Philly Experience, Dogtown Dogs …

Yum, to all.

Posted in Racing on December 9, 2010 / Tagged California, Food Trucks, Marketing, Railbird Approved Mashups, Santa Anita, Sunshine Millions

Circling Back

Jay Hovdey on Santa Anita’s return to dirt:

So it is ahead to the past — sealed tracks and cracked feet, burned heels and rundowns, strung-out fields shying from sandy kickback — a past in which the inability to deal with the effects of dirt tracks inspired the desperate dive into synthetics in the first place. As usual it will be up to the horses, always the horses, to survive this latest shift in the terrain.

There’s been speculation that, with the new surface, old-fashioned California super speed will make a comeback, but Thoroughbred Times reporter Jeff Lowe tweeted late Friday that, “Baffert said it’s closer to Churchill surface than anything he’s seen in Calif,” which suggests not.

Posted in Racing on December 3, 2010 / Tagged Back to the Future, California, Dirt, Santa Anita, Track Surfaces

Working Around

Production is set to begin October 31 at Santa Anita on “Luck,” complicated by the racetrack surface renovation underway:

All of the changes have forced HBO to break up filming of their episodes and have caused problems in booking certain guest cast members and in working with the series’ directors, Bronchtein said.

In addition, the crew has less days to shoot the early episodes and fewer days to prepare for upcoming ones.

“That just adds pressure to the process,” he said. “It’s really forced us to work extra hard and to be at the top of our game.”

The new track surface is expected to be ready by early December, which is when “Luck” plans to stage races for filming. That’s one way to test the dirt …

How has this tidbit not come up before? Bill Barich, author of “Laughing in the Hills” and “A Fine Place to Daydream,” is part of the writing crew on “Luck” and on the scene at Santa Anita. The handicapper-writer, who had been living in Dublin, told the Irish Times, “If all goes well … this gig, as opposed to my books, may keep me out of the Trail’s End trailer park in Santa Rosa.”

Posted in Media on October 23, 2010 / Tagged Bill Barich, Challenges, Film Production, HBO, Luck, Santa Anita, Track Surfaces, TV