The non-profit Arcadia Indians youth football and cheer organization is seeking sponsors to help support the non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to provide sportsmanship and leadership skills.

Officially called Arcadia Junior All American Football Association, Inc., the league made of more than 200 participating boys and girls age 6-14 who live in Monrovia, Arcadia or Sierra Madre was without a board of directors or funds last year and was close to being forced to merge with a Temple City league.

The few remaining backers are seeking businesses to be sponsors for as low as $100 or donate items to be sold at the Indians Pep Rally, such as hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas, water bottles, chips, etc.  (See form below.)
The group that has been around since 1969 will also be having a State Line turnaround trip in July, for which donated goods are needed to be raffled off on the bus to State Line, such as gift certificates and sports memorabilia. See also the Indians’ Facebook page.

The success of the organization has been credited to the volunteers who provide a healthy learning environment, where they learn hands on skills not just in football and in cheer, but in working together, showing good leadership skills, and through academic achievement. Academic achievement is emphasized — all participants must maintain a 2.0 GPA.

Registration fees are set low enough to just cover minimum costs, with corporate and individual sponsorships necessary to make up for additional overhead costs. Donations to the 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation are tax-deductible.

– By Scott Hettrick

Santa Anita Park ended its 2012 winter/spring season April 22 with more than 580,000 admissions.
It was one of a clean sweep of category gains for the 75th season, along with on-track attendance, handle and overall pari-mutuel handle.

Closing day party in the paddock.

Santa Anita’s out-of-state business was robust, propelling The Great Race Place to finish up with a 7% increase in total pari-mutuel handle. On-track handle and attendance were up 1% over 2011.
“This is our first winter/spring meet under the direction of the Stronach Group,” said Santa Anita C.E.O. Mark Verge. “Our Chairman, Frank Stronach has laid the groundwork for an exciting, vibrant future and we will continue to demonstrate that.
“We promoted very aggressively at this meet and it paid off. Our initial goal was to showcase our five big days and make them bigger, and we did that.
“We had 44,579 here on opening day (Dec. 26) which was a 10% increase over the previous year and it was the first time we’ve had more than 40,000 people out for opening day since 1999.
“Sunshine Millions Day (Jan. 28) was also big for us. We had an on-track crowd of 30,514, which far outdid what any other track in the country did on that day.
“Strub Stakes Day (Feb. 4) was a home run as well,” continued Verge. “Our all-sources handle was $15 million, which was three percent increase over last year. The Santa Anita Handicap Day (March 3) on-track crowd was up 10 percent over last year.
“Santa Anita Derby Day (April 7) was outstanding and people were impressed with the energy and the excitement we had throughout the track. The Derby itself was an incredible race and we want to congratulate (owner) Paul Reddam, (trainer) Doug O’Neill and their entire team on the job they did with the winner I’ll Have Another. This is what people expect when they come to Santa Anita–great racing, great customer service and a feeling that we’ve got something very special going on here.
“We got very aggressive with our Late Pick Four guarantee of $750,000 on Derby Day and the result was a total pool of $992,000, which was the biggest Pick Four pool of the meet and our overall handle of $17.8 million was very strong as well.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert breezed to his record 10th Santa Anita training title, winning 46 races, seven more than runner up John Sadler. Baffert was also the leading stakes-winning trainer, winning eight, three more than Sadler and Ron Ellis.
Hronis Racing LLC led all owners by races won, with 10 victories.
“We’d like to congratulate our leading owners, trainers and jockeys and thank them for their commitment during this meet,” said Verge. “We’d also like to sincerely thank our fans for all of their support and commitment. They are the reason we are in business and our customers will continue to be our top priority.”

Santa Anita will host the Breeders’ Cup event Nov. 2-3.

“We look forward to our Autumn Meet and to hosting the Breeders’ Cup for the sixth time in November,” Verge said. “It’ll be an honor to showcase this magnificent facility and to put on another world-class show on NBC.”

About 400 lawn bowlers from all over the world are expected to attend the Southwest Division Open tournament beginning at 9 a.m. daily from April 28 – May 3 at the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club on the east side of the County’s Arcadia Park, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave.

Gourmet food trucks will be on hand in the parking to serve bowlers and observers at nearby picnic tables during lunch time 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

• Saturday, April 28: Komodo, Flying Pig, Rounds Burger Truck
• Sunday, April 29: Slamminsliders, No Tomatoes, Rounds Burger Truck
• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, April 30, May 1, May 2: Slamminsliders

Some of the top men and women bowlers in the country will be competing in this prestigious tournament at the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club, which is celebrating 75 years in Arcadia this year.

The Santa Anita Club is considered to have some of the premier greens in the country. As one of only two clubs in the country with four greens, it is a popular site for tournaments. Another unique feature of the Santa Anita lawn bowling are lights on two of the greens, allowing bowling in the evening. Beginning in May, Santa Anita will have social bowling on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well Saturday morning.

Lawn bowling is a low-impact, low-cost sport with no age or skill requirement. The American Heart Association has recommended lawn bowling as a positive aid to maintaining a healthy heart.

Learn more at Santa Anita Lawn Bowling’s Facebook page or send schedule a free lesson on the first and third Saturday mornings.by sending an e-mail to lawnbowling4U@yahoo.com.

– By Scott Hettrick

Santa Anita’s 18th annual Derby Day 5K Walk and Run attracted a record 5,683 participants Saturday morning, April 7, 2012.

And later in the day, during the 75th running of the Santa Anita Derby that drew a crowd of 33,646 and a national TV audience on NBC, Santa Anita Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith later won his 5,000th race in the Potrero Grande Stakes, only the 25th jockey in racing history to do so.

The 46-year-old, most famous for steering Zenyatta to stunning come-from-behind victories, 17 consecutive wins, the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, and the Horse of the Year honors in 2010, also won the 2005 Kentucky Derby, the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the 2011 Sprint at Churchill Downs this past November. He shares the all-time record of 15 lifetime Breeders’ Cup wins with retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey.

As for the morning 5K, “This is the best turnout we’ve ever had for this event and we had people of all ages—from 3 and 4-year-old kids, to people in their seventies,” said Santa Anita Vice President of Sales and Marketing Chris Quinn. “Everybody had a great time and we’re looking to have a great race-day as well.” (See video highlights produced by Santa Anita below…)

The Santa Anita Derby Day 5K benefits several charities and worth causes, including Pasadena-based AbilityFirst, the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), the Arcadia High School Athletic Boosters Club, the Arcadia Historical Museum and Arcadia Explorer Scouts.
Participants arrived early and competition got underway at 8 a.m. over a course that took runners and walkers to the world-renowned Los Angels County Arboretum and afforded all a glimpse of the Santa Anita stable area. Participants finished up their five kilometer trek with a quarter mile tour of Santa Anita’s inner training track.

– By Scott Hettrick

One year into his job as president and CEO of the racing and gaming division of The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Park, former Breeders’ Cup president Greg Avioli has resigned, effective April 1.

Mark Verge

Mark Verge, 44, a Los Angeles entrepreneur and horse owner, has been appointed to fulfill some of the duties that were handled by Avioli, according to The Daily Racing Form. He will oversee all operations of Santa Anita Park as the new CEO of the track, a position that had been vacant in the past year or two.

Avioli’s resignation came on the same day last Wednesday, March 14, that HBO canceled the TV series being shot at Santa Anita, “Luck.” Verge officially took over on Saturday, though he was quoted in media releases last week about the demise of “Luck.”
It was believed that Avioli was hired to have an even stronger link to Breeders’ Cup, which Santa Anita won for the 2012 running this Nov. 2-3.

“It was a pleasure working with Frank Stronach, and the entire Stronach Group team over the past year to reorganize this impressive group of racing and gaming properties,” Avioli said in a statement. “With the transition to the new ownership structure now complete and each of the business units fully licensed and operational, I just felt it was the right time to move on to new business ventures outside the company.”
Avioli was previously with Breeders’ Cup for five years.

“Greg has been a valuable part of our team during this transitional period. We very much appreciate his contributions to The Stronach Group and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” said Frank Stronach, chairman of The Stronach Group.

Avioli “led the efforts to transition MID’s racing and gaming assets, including Xpressbet, HRTV, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino, and the Maryland Jockey Club, to The Stronach Group, a privately-held company.”

Verge is the owner of more than a dozen businesses in the Los Angeles area and is the author of a marital advice book called “Access to the Boy’s Club.” He told The Racing Form that Stronach made him a sweet offer with much control and an equity in the company as part of his hiring. He called the racetrack “his passion” and said that he would look to “shake things up” at the Stronach Group’s properties.
“If we can’t beat baseball and bowling, I’ll give up,” Verge said.

The Stronach Group was formed last July following a bankruptcy by the Stronach company that previously owned Santa Anita, Magna Entertainment. Those assets were transferred to the shareholders of publicly traded company MI Developments.  The racing and gambling properties of MI Developments, which had posted hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, were then transferred to Stronach in exchange for Stronach giving up control of MI Developments.

– By Scott Hettrick