60 YEARS OF RACING AT LOS ALAMITOS

COURTESY OF LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE

IRST LOS AL RACES HELD 60 YEARS AGO


Friday, August 3 marked the 60-year anniversary of Frank Vessels Sr. hosting the first public races on a half-mile-oval training track on his ranch near the small town of Los Alamitos. The training track would grow beyond anyone's expectations and become the center of American Quarter Horse Racing on the Pacific Coast.



In 1951, Vessels' racetrack hosted its first pari-mutuel season, a successful 11-day meet for American Quarter Horses that drew some of the finest sprinters in the nation and set the tone for the future. There's an American Quarter Horse Foundation Historical Marker at the front entrance of the track, honoring Los Alamitos and the August 3, 1947 date. The AQHF Historical Marker was dedicated in 1995.



On Friday, August 3, 2007, Los Alamitos held a 10-race card, which could be seen worldwide through TVG and to about 200 simulcast locations in the United States. The Orange County oval is also the only racetrack of any breed in the United States, which annually plays host to four races with purses of $1 million or more. Los Alamitos will host the Bank Of America Racing Challenge on Saturday, November 3. In December, Los Alamitos will play host to the $2,000,000 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and the first ever $1 million Champion of Champions.