ARCADIA — Santa Anita Park, a sister horse race track of TCK Ohi Racetrack in Japan, will host the 19th annual Tokyo City Cup on Saturday, March 29.
This $100,000 Grade III race brings together some of the top thoroughbreds in the nation. Along with this race, Japan Family Day, an annual spring event, will be held on the site. It celebrates a long partnership between two of the premier tracks in the world with a wide variety of Japanese cultural exhibitions, food booths and travel information on Japan.
The Tokyo City Cup, won last year by Sky Kingdom, is the sole graded stakes race named for a major city outside of the United States.
Free Tokyo City Cup bags for the first 2,000 patrons and more gifts for fans who complete a survey at the drawing tables are available. The Tokyo City Cup Game will be held and the newest iPad will be given to winner. The website provides more information about the specific event schedule. Gates open at Santa Anita at 10:30 a.m., with first post at 12:30 p.m.
Japan Family Day features Japanese cultural exhibitions booths such as sado (tea ceremony), kado (flower arranging), shodo (calligraphy), kendo (Japanese swordsmanship), origami (paper folding), anime, and stage shows like shishimai (Japanese lion dance), minyo (Japanese folk song), sumo (Japanese-style wrestling), Ryukyu buyo (Okinawa traditional dance), Tsugaru shamisen (three-stringed Japanese guitar), and taiko (a special Japanese drum performance).
You can’t miss the amazing “Ramen Yokocho.” Famous ramen shops from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Japan will be serving their delicious noodles. This is their first appearance at Japan Family Day.
You can take photos with beautiful kimono-clad girls. And if you want to know more about Japan, Visit Japan provides tourism information about attractive travel destinations for your next vacation. Also, at the park, there will be lots of entertainment such as games, pony rides and face painting for children as well, so your kids will never get bored.
If you are hungry, various Japanese food booths will serve sushi, curry, okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pizza), Japanese tea, Japanese barbecue, onigiri (rice balls) and Japanese baked goods. At the beer garden, Japanese beer will be served.
Another special exhibition will be coming. Hiroshi Kawai, a famous horse racing photographer in Japan, will hold a photo exhibit in the U.S. for the first time. His talents are utilized not only on the race track, but in nature. His amazing photos of horses on farms in every season will move many people. Don’t forget to check it out.
For more information, visit www.tokyocitycup.com.