Santa Anita All 'Palm Trees and Mountains'
Like the picture of Dorian Gray, opening day at Santa Anita never grows old.
“It’s unbelievable,” said trainer Eddie Truman as he absorbed the perennial beauty of The Great Race Place on a brisk, sun-filled morning with the 78th season only hours away.
“Palms trees and mountains: what else do you want? To get up every morning and see that—wow! Palm trees and mountains with snow on the mountains. Give me a break. Nowhere in the world can you see this.”
Santa Anita honors two of its most treasured personages this weekend with the running of the Robert J. Frankel Stakes and the Eddie Logan Stakes on Saturday. Truman, who turns 68 on Jan. 23, has fond memories of both.
“I worked for Bobby for two years back in 1972,” Truman said. “He was walking horses when I was riding horses at Tropical Park in Florida. I came out here with the intention of working for the best, so I went to Bobby and he gave me a job that day.
“I forgot everything I knew when I worked for him, but I didn’t learn enough. He taught me so many things just by using his system. I didn’t have the natural instincts that he had; he was the best.
“Eddie Logan, he was at his post outside the Racing Office every day since the track opened in 1934 until before he died (on Jan. 31, 2009). What a guy. Every day he had something to say to you, he’d speak to everybody and he showed up every day. He never missed. He was a tough guy.”
Source: Ed Golden, Santa Anita Stables Notes