Los Alamitos Race Course facts for kids
Los Alamitos, 2016
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| Location | City of Cypress, at 4961 Katella Avenue, (postal address) Los Alamitos, California |
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| Owned by | Ed Allred |
| Date opened | 1951 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred, quarter horse |
| Course type | Dirt |
| Notable races | Champion of Champions Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity Ed Burke Memorial Futurity Kindergarten Futurity Golden State Million Futurity Mildred Vessels Memorial Los Alamitos Super Derby Los Alamitos Derby, Los Alamitos Futurity |
Los Alamitos Race Course is a famous place for horse racing in Cypress, California. Here, you can watch two main types of horse races: Thoroughbred races and Quarter Horse races. This track is special because it holds more big Quarter Horse races with prizes over $1 million than any other track in the United States. Even though the track is in Cypress, its mailing address is in Los Alamitos, California, which is just across Katella Avenue.
Ed Burgart is the announcer for Quarter Horse races. For Thoroughbred races, Michael Wrona calls the action. Thoroughbreds race on a larger track that is about 1 mi (1.609 km) long. Quarter Horses use a smaller, inner track that is about 0.625 mi (1.006 km) long.
Since May 2020, all races have been held without fans in the stands. This is called racing behind closed doors.
Contents
The Start of Los Alamitos Race Course
The story of Los Alamitos Race Course began with Frank Vessels Sr.. He came from Kentucky with very little money but became successful in construction. He eventually bought a large 435-acre (1.76 km2) ranch in Orange County. Horse racing started on his Vessels Ranch in 1947 with special match races between horses.
The first official races where people could bet money (called parimutuel betting) happened at Los Alamitos in 1951. This first racing event lasted for 11 days in December. It rained for 10 of those 11 days! Frank Vessels and his family worked hard to fix the track after the rain. On the last night, a mare named Bart B S set a world record in the Miss Princess Handicap race. She ran 400 yd (365.8 m) in just 20.3 seconds.
After this first event, Mr. Vessels spent $100,000 of his own money to improve the track. He asked the California Horse Racing Board for more racing days, and they gave him 16 days. The 1952 season was a big success, with twice as much business as the first year.
Go Man Go: A Horse Racing Star
The year 1955 brought the first true superstar to Los Alamitos. This was a Quarter Horse named Go Man Go. He had a unique look and a fun personality. Go Man Go was so popular that huge crowds would fill the grandstands. They would cheer his name loudly as he won race after race.
Ed Allred's Ownership and Improvements
Dr. Ed Allred first visited Los Alamitos as a law student. He was there just to see if some distant relatives, the Allred Brothers, were racing a horse. This one visit started his love for the track, and he eventually became its sole owner.
The Vessels Family owned Los Alamitos until the 1990s. Then, the track changed owners a few times. Finally, in 1990, Dr. Allred bought Los Alamitos. In 1995, he opened the $5 million Vessels Club. This is a fancy restaurant at the track, known for its beautiful design and great food. The Vessels Club has even been called the best sports park restaurant in Southern California. Under Dr. Allred's leadership, the track also added other popular spots like the Player's Club, Rodney's Bar (named after trainer Rodney Hart), and Schwanie's Grill (named for trainer Blane Schvaneveldt).
Also in 1995, the Los Alamitos $2 Million race began. This is a championship race for two-year-old horses. In 2008, it was the richest race in California that wasn't part of the Breeder's Cup, with a prize of $2,038,250. It's also the only Quarter Horse race in the country with a guaranteed $2,000,000 prize. Los Alamitos also hosts the richest three-year-old Quarter Horse race in the country, called the Los Alamitos Super Derby.
Thoroughbred Racing at Los Alamitos
In 2014, a big change happened. The Hollywood Park track closed in 2013. Because of this, the Los Alamitos track was made bigger, to 1 mile (1.6 km). It then started hosting races just for Thoroughbreds. The track became very well-known when trainer Art Sherman moved his horses from Hollywood Park to Los Alamitos. His horse, California Chrome, won the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. California Chrome became very popular and was called "America's Horse." The fact that Sherman's stables were at Los Alamitos, instead of the more famous Santa Anita Park, helped make the horse even more loved by fans.
The Los Alamitos winter 2014 racing event included the Grade I Starlet Stakes, which had moved from Hollywood Park. The horse Take Charge Brandi won this race. This win gave trainer D. Wayne Lukas his eighth victory in the Starlet Stakes. It also made him one of the few trainers to win at Los Alamitos with both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds.
Michael Wrona is the announcer for the Thoroughbred races.
Important Thoroughbred Races
Here are some of the important Thoroughbred races, called Graded events, that were held at Los Alamitos in 2019:
Grade I
- Starlet Stakes
Grade II
- Great Lady M. Stakes
- Los Alamitos Futurity
Grade III
- Los Alamitos Derby
- Bayakoa Stakes
Quarter Horse Racing at Los Alamitos
Many famous Quarter Horses have raced at Los Alamitos. Some of these include Moonist, Sass Me Blue, and EC Jet One.
See also
In Spanish: Hipódromo Los Alamitos para niños
