A Santa Anita tour docent shows visitors the park’s horse receiving barn in this photo from 2004. This year’s Santa Anita tour will be held on Oct. 15.

The Japanese American Korean War Veterans will have their “Day at the Races” at the Santa Anita Track in Arcadia on Sunday, Oct. 15. An infield area has been reserved for a full day of racing.

Santa Anita was used as an assembly center for Japanese Americans from March 27-Oct. 27, 1942. More than 19,000 Japanese Americans from Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Clara counties lived at Santa Anita prior to being sent to internment camps outside of the West Coast region.

A free tour of the stables prior to the racing is also planned where Japanese Americans during World War II were detained. This tour will begin at 9:45 a.m. and 60 seats have been reserved on two trams. The trams are not allowed to stop in the stables area, but at the end of the stables, probably a group photo can be taken, as was done in 2004 when the group was joined by hall of fame jockey Chris McCarron.

The tour will continue to the horse receiving barn, a circular barn which was partitioned and served as the center’s shower room during the war. Then to the jockeys’ quarters and finally a group photo will be taken at the monument for the wartime detention center.

If the Seabisquit statue area is free of live horses at the time, then those claiming to have been housed in his stable can take photos there.

For the free stables tour beginning 9:45 a.m., enter gate 8 on Baldwin, free parking, and look for trams on the west (left) side of stadium.

For the racing portion where an infield area has been reserved, gates open at 10:30 a.m., enter on Colorado Blvd., and races begin at 12:30 p.m. The adult price of $26 will include parking, entry, program and buffet lunch; $20 for teens 13 to 18; $12 for kids 4 to 12 and kids under 4 are free. Tickets for the racing must be purchased prior to the event from JAKWV.

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