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The arrival of the L.A. County Fair Sept. 3-Oct. 2, brings 13 days of live thoroughbred horse racing, this
year marking its 73rd season.
Racing dates for the quickly approaching meeting are Sept. 9-25, featuring 12 stakes races. The race meet has been a long-standing tradition for the L.A. County Fair, the largest county fair in North America and Southern California’s official stop for fun, food, friends and family. Admission to horse racing at Fairplex Park is free with Fair admission, reserved seating is available. Finish Line Sports Grill at Gate 12 on White Avenue is an alternative site for those wishing to watch and wager on satellite wagering year-round or during the Fair’s meet.
The racing season, opens Friday, Sept. 9 with the Beverly J. Lewis Stakes at six and one-half furlongs with a guaranteed purse of $50,000; and returning Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18, at six and one-half furlongs with $110,000 estimated purses spotlights 2-year-olds purchased at one of the prestigious Barretts auctions, respectively Debutante and Juvenile races.
Stakes also run at six and one-half furlongs include Jim Kostoff Stakes, Sunday, Sept. 11; Governor’s Cup, Wednesday, Sept. 21; and Bangles and Beads Stakes, Friday, Sept. 23. The C.B. Afflerbaugh Stakes is a seven-furlong contest Wednesday, Sept. 14 for 2-year-olds; also at seven furlongs, the Phil D. Shepherd Stakes, for 2-year-old fillies, Friday, Sept. 16; and scheduled for a mile and one sixteenth is E.B. Johnston Stakes for Cal Breds, 3-year-olds and upward; Las Madrinas Handicap and Pomona Derby, Saturday, Sept. 24; and the meetings signature race, the $75,000 guaranteed Ralph M. Hinds Pomona Invitational Handicap at a mile and one eighth is closing day, Sunday, Sept. 25.
Since variety is the spice of life the program will showcase the enormously popular Wiener Dog Races, Saturday, Sept. 10; and Barretts Weekend of Stars, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18. For a big finish Fairplex Park will bring on the classic cars Saturday, Sept. 24; and California Classics Day, Saturday, Sept. 24 and Sunday, Sept. 25.
The L.A. County Fair racing meet is steeped in history most notably as the first track in Southern California to offer pari-mutuel wagering when it was legalized in California back in 1933. The track went to five-eighths mile from its famous half-mile oval in 1985 and was renamed Fairplex Park in 1986. The historic grandstand has hosted nearly 14 million visitors with a lifetime handle of $2,688,467,434.
Fairplex Park established a Hall of Fame in 2003 and to date has inducted such racing luminaries as Mel Stute, Francisco Mena, Ted West and Jerry Fanning. Dining, watching and wagering are available at The Terrace, Top of the Park, Stutes’ Bar & Grille and Finish Line Sports Grill.
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