Spectators on opening day of Santa Anita's fourth horse racing season. On this day, over 50,000 spectators wagered a total of $789,159 on the eight races held, toppling the previous records of 40,000 people and $599,009 wagered. Big winners of the day were horse He Did, who won the feature race by more than a length and Bing Crosby's horse High Strike, who won his sixth straight race.
Crowds at the Santa Anita racetrack. Photograph captures people in the grandstand, and on ground level. At foreground, lines of people can be viewed waiting to place wagers at the cashier’s booth. A portion of the track and surrounding areas can be viewed in the background.
A cropped version of this image appears in the photo spread titled, "Smart Set of Southland Turns Out for Opening Day of Races at Santa Anita," Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 1935: A13