Santa Anita holding cancer fund-raiser

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita and the City of Hope Cancer Center in nearby Duarte, Calif., are hosting a unique fund-raiser after the final race on Sunday, allowing fans to walk down the stretch of the racetrack to benefit cancer research.

In the event, titled “On Track to Beat Cancer,” a $10 donation allows race fans the experience to walk the final furlong of the racetrack and to have photos taken in the starting gate, which will be positioned at the eighth pole.

A $20 online prepaid ticket includes the walk donation, a T-shirt, as well as general admission to the track, a $5 value. Further information is available at santaanita.com.

Registration to participate in the racetrack walk is also available on Sunday. Jockey Chantal Sutherland, California Horse Racing Board commissioner Bo Derek, and Jill Baffert, the wife of trainer Bob Baffert, have lent support to the event and are scheduled to participate in the walk.

The walk will be held after the 10th and final race on Sunday, the final day of the meeting.

Participants will gather in the garden walking ring after the last race, proceed through the infield tunnel onto the racetrack, and walk on the outside part of the track to the eighth pole before turning to walk down the stretch.

Track officials said the event has already raised $60,000 through donations, which will support bCity of Hope’s program called Women’s Cancers, Women’s Cures.