Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
211
Polo, Anyone?
Way back in 1930 c owboy humorist Will Rogers got a hankerin ' to play some
polo, so he cleared the field in front of his Pacific Palisades home for a friendly
match with his ponies and c elebrity pals. Shor tly after, he star ted his famed
Will Rogers P olo Club,
and of the 25 polo or ganizations that exist ed at the
time, his polo field is the only one that remains. Matches are still held on week-
ends from mid-April thr ough early Oc tober, and the buc olic setting of wide
green fields, whitewashed fences, and majestic oaks is ideal f or a leisurely pic-
nic lunch and a bit of r espite from the city. The polo field is located at 501 Will
Rogers State Park Rd. in Pacific Palisades, off West Sunset Boulevard. For more
information, call the club at
&
310/573-5000
or log on to its website at www.
willrogerspolo.org (there's a great feature on “How to Watch a Polo Game”).
FOOTBALL
Los Angeles suffers fr om an absence of major-league football, but it gets
by just fine with two popular college teams and an Ar ena League team. The college sea-
son r uns S eptember thr ough N ovember; if y ou're inter ested in checking out a game,
contact
UCLA B ruins F ootball
(
&
310/825-2101;
www .uclabruins.com) or
USC
Trojan Football
(
&
213/740-2311;
www.usctrojans.com). Described as “fun, fast, and
furious,” Arena League football tends to be action-packed and ex citing, and it sure costs
a lot less than its NFL counterpar t. The local team is the
L.A. A vengers
(
&
888/
AVENGER
[888/283-6437]; www .laavengers.com); games used to r un A pril thr ough
July and were played Downtown at the STAPLES Center (see “B asketball,” above), but
were suspended in 2009. The future is uncertain for 2010.
HORSE RACING
One of the most beautiful tracks in the countr y,
Santa Anita Race-
track,
285 W. Huntington Dr., Arcadia (
&
626/574-7223;
www.santaanita.com), offers
racing from late December through late April (a separate racing event called the Oak Tree
Meeting runs early Oct through early Nov). Set against the majestic San Gabriel Moun-
tains, the track was featur ed in the M arx Brothers' film
A Day at the R aces
and in the
1954 version of
A Star Is Born.
On weekdays during the season, the public is invited to
watch morning wor kouts from 5 to 9:30am at Clockers ' Corner. Admission is fr ee; be
sure to call or check the website for exact post times.
Tip:
The infield is ideal for picnics,
as w ell as getting an up-close look at the horses and jockeys in action—it ev
7
en has a
children's playground.
Located just down the road from LAX, the scenic
Hollywood Park Racetrack,
1050
S. P rairie Ave., in I nglewood (
&
310/419-1500;
www.hollywoodpark.com), with its
lakes and flo wers, features thoroughbred racing fr om mid-April to July, as w ell as fr om
mid-November thr ough mid-D ecember. O pened in 1938, it had shar eholders that
included mo vie mogul H arry Warner, Walt D isney, and B ing C rosby. Well-placed
monitors project views of the backstretch as well as stop-action replays of photo finishes.
Races are usually held Thursday through Monday. Post times are 1pm in summer (7pm
on Fri) and 12:30pm on w eekends and holidays. General admission is $7; admission to
the clubhouse is $10.
