SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RACE FANS LUCKY.

Byline: ART WILSON 

HORSE RACING 

Sitting in the grandstand at Fairplex Park on Wednesday, watching people munch on their corn dogs, enjoy their cotton candy and sip on their favorite beverages, it suddenly dawned on me that Southern California racegoers are the luckiest fans in the country.

Now, I've been covering the local racing scene for close to 30years, and this realization should have hit me long ago. But sometimes I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'm probably a little like the guy you've made jokes about, the simpleton who makes money on the fifth race and then loses it all back on the replay.

But even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then, and there I was, dreaming of deep-fried Twinkies and funnel cake when the thought hit -- we in the Southland have been witness to the greatest race horses, jockeys and trainers at the best racing venues in the nation.

I mean, think about it.

Santa Anita is the Yankee Stadium of thoroughbred racing. The Bronx had Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Santa Anita had Laffit Pincay Jr., Bill Shoemaker, Johnny Longden and Charlie Whittingham.

It doesn't get any better than that, folks.

Weather?

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more picturesque setting than Del Mar on a mid-August afternoon with that ocean breeze whipping through the paddock as fans are treated to some of the best racing in the world, while perhaps enjoying a Corona or a margarita.

When I die and go to that big race track in the sky, these are the racing shrines -- in order of preference -- I will have had the pleasure of visiting:

Santa Anita -- On those rare days when the smog is non-existent and the San Gabriel Mountains are as crystal clear to us as that horse we think is going to romp home in the seventh race, there is not a more beautiful race track in the country.

Couple that with the rich history that includes champion horses like Seabiscuit, John Henry and Affirmed and personalities such as Pincay, Shoemaker and Eddie Arcaro, and Santa Anita ranks first in Southern California racing lore.

On a big race day, i.e. Big 'Cap Day or Santa Anita Derby Day, this is the place to be, and thanks to a recent resurgence in popularity, this truly is the Great Race Place again.

Del Mar -- Ever since that July afternoon in 1937 when about 15,000 turned out for the track's opening and Bing Crosby welcomed the first fan through the gate, this seaside oval has never had problems drawing patrons. Open the gates, and they will come.

Yes, New York has Saratoga Race Course, but we have Del Mar, and I wouldn't trade the place where the turf meets the surf for a thousand big apples. There is not a bigger party atmosphere this side of New Orleans' Mardi Gras than Del Mar on opening day.

Track president Joe Harper says Del Mar will host a Breeders' Cup by 2010 or 2011, and although it will be a wild scene, I hope I'm there to witness it.

Fairplex Park -- It may not include the top jockeys for the most part, but there is nothing minor league about Pomona Fair racing. Not when you consider that Fairplex Park's average daily attendance and handle are annually among the nation's best.

There is just something about plunking down a couple of dollars and rooting for your horse one minute and then walking around the Fairgrounds at night and plunking down a few more bucks for that extra double-duty floor cleaner that you never use.

It's the uniqueness, the sights and sounds that you hear only at the Fair that make Fairplex Park an annual treat. Even if I've been cleaned out by those evil Del Mar mutuel clerks only days earlier, I always find time to make it out to Fairplex at least once or twice a meeting.

Hollywood Park -- It's a sad fact, but the track that was once so full of life and excitement now resembles a ghost town more often than not on race days.

The track that first brought us the pick six June 24, 1983, is now the same place that struggles to draw 10,000 fans on the day of its signature race, the $750,000 Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup. Still, the booming voice of late track announcer Harry Henson still echoes throughout this venue.

If you haven't been out to Hollypark, you might want to schedule a trip this fall. There's no telling how much longer it's going to be around.

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- Art Wilson