Free Fridays, Food Truck Fest II Among Big Happenings at Santa Anita Park

Much is going on at besides rain-soaked horse races. Here is a look at two major non-racing activities planned for this weekend and next.

This Sunday, Santa Anita will present its fourth annual “Santa Anita Uncorked” wine and culinary festival in the track’s Paddock Gardens area. The “Uncorked” event features fine wines, cuisine sampling from popular local restaurants, a paddock art show and a full day of world-class racing.

“Santa Anita Uncorked” is sponsored by the Wine of the Month Club, which is based in Monrovia.

“This event has grown each year and we expect it to be even bigger this year,” said Allen Gutterman, Santa Anita’s vice president of marketing, in a press release. “Our Paddock Gardens area is a perfect location for an event of this kind and we’ve found that horse racing is a perfect compliment to it. We’ve gotten tremendous response from a number of local restaurants and we expect to have several new wineries joining those who have participated in the past.”

“Santa Anita Uncorked” packages will include parking, Club House admission with a grandstand seat, daily race program, wine tasting, cuisine sampling, art exhibit and a souvenir wine glass.

Tickets for admission, parking, program and restricted area wrist band are available for $60 each and can be purchased at the Santa Anita ticket office, or by phone at 626-574-RACE. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at www.santaanita.com. 

Proceeds from “Santa Anita Uncorked” will go to benefit student programs and CARMA, which stands for California Retirement Management Account, a non-profit organizations that helps provide for the care of retired California race horses.

on Jan. 29, what should be a vastly improved Food Truck Festival II hits town next Saturday, April 2.

The main problem on Jan. 29 was the festival drew a much bigger crowd than expected. Thus the lines were long and there was a shortage of food.

This time, instead of 28 food trucks, there will be 80 in the infield. Also, the entire  infield area will be utilized and admission to the festival is free of charge with paid $5 general admission (children under 17 are admitted to the track free when accompanied by an adult).

The festival will also include music and entertainment.

“We’re hopeful that those people who experienced some inconveniences the first time will come back to Food Truck Festival II and enjoy what should be a fantastic day at Santa Anita," said George Haines, Santa Anita president, in a press release. "We feel this is a great event for us and it’s a terrific way to expose our sport to an entirely new group of people.”

Among the many prominent gourmet food trucks that are scheduled to be represented are Nom Nom Truck (Vietnamese cuisine), The Grilled Cheese Truck, the Lobsta Truck, Ragin Cajun, Canter’s, Border Grill, Shrimp Pimp and many more.

Food Truck II will also offer fans a gastropub, wine bar and increased beverage stations throughout the infield.

A 10-race card is planned for April 2, and all Food Truck II attendees will have an opportunity to visit handicapping stations and seminars throughout the infield. Questions are welcome and all stations and seminars will be staffed by experienced racing personnel.

First race post time April 2 is 12:30 p.m. Admission gates will open at 10:30 a.m. Festival operating hours will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on Food Truck Festival II, fans are encouraged to visit www.santaanita.com.

A portion of Santa Anita’s gate receipts this Saturday on Tokyo City Cup Day will be donated by Santa Anita to the Japan Relief Fund. Takashi Toriumi from Santa Anita’s Tokyo City Cup partner, US Equine, will have volunteers from the Japanese-American Society collecting for the Relief Fund and a booth will be dedicated specifically for fundraising in the Cultural Events Center.

Free Fridays are back. In a promotion that begins today (Friday) and will continue on April 1, 8 and 15, all patrons get free general admission, plus the track offers $2 beers, soft drinks and hot dogs.

Amy Zimmerman, Santa Anita’s vice president of business coordination and the director of broadcasting for HRTV, has been nominated for national Sports Emmys for “Outstanding Live Sports Special” on the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic and “Outstanding Sports Feature” on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” piece, “Santa Anita: A Dark History.” Zimmerman also lends her talents as producer on NBC-TV’s Breeders’ Cup telecasts.