Santa Anita Park is the oldest operating racetrack in California, opening on Christmas Day 1934. It was founded by Dr. Charles H. Strub and associates and designed in Art Deco style by architect Gordon B. Kaufmann. It introduced the Santa Anita Handicap in 1935, the oldest continually run U.S. race worth $100,000 or more. It inaugurated the use of photo finish cameras in 1934 and electrical timing of races with times posted for public viewing in 1935. In 1950, it established the George Woolf Memorial jockey award to honor riders whose careers and character reflect credit on the sport. On March 3, 1985, it set a record on-track attendance of 85,527.
