Clocker’s Corner

I happened to see Clocker’s Corner on an old episode of Huell Howser. What a cool experience. I would say read this review and learn about a few things.
We parked at Gate 8. Parking is free early in the AM. We got there about 8am. We weren’t entirely sure where to go but several people helped guide us to the right location. We walked up and a host sat us at a table higher up with no shade. It was already quite toasty warm. So sunscreen and a hat are a good thing. We looked at the menu and I was surprised by two things, one — there was no French toast… of course my son really wanted it and two — how expensive the prices were.
Because the menu prices were high, we opted for the buffet and I wish we hadn’t. OK people you aren’t going for the food. But I at least want my money’s worth. There was bacon, sausage, donuts, mini croissants, scrambled eggs and some fruit. It was still $ 11/​adult and $ 7/​kids. Well my youngest certainly didn’t eat much of anything.
My recommendation would be to eat at the express counter which was far more reasonable. I’m not sure if you can sit at the tables, but you can sit anywhere in the stands. And I do mean anywhere. After eating we sat for an hour in the stands to get out of the sun.
I had called earlier in the week to book the Seabiscuit Tour. Cynthia on the phone literally gave me the run around. I was so confused talking to her and I had to clarify everything. I wanted the 8:30am tour, she said they didn’t have one. Um… it’s online. Well we were the only ones asking for it. Alright… book us for the 9:45am tour. She said we needed to be at the tram by 9:30am. Well at 8:10am, the announcer is calling for people to prepare for the 8:30am tram tour. Ok, so you DO have that time slot.
We got on the tram and no one asked for our names. Some people walked up at 9:35am and the tram was full. They were told they couldn’t join. They said they made reservations and the person working there starting lecturing them about how they were late! Well I’m sure some of the people sitting on the tram never even had reservations. I would have been upset.
Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Paige. She was well spoken and very detailed. The information online is not what we saw. I’m not sure why and that was disappointing. We got our hand stamped so we could stay at the races for the rest of the day for free if we wanted. Our adventure at Santa Anita made for a fun and unique experience.

Looking for a unique Sunday morning? Enjoy a simple breakfast while watching the trainers warm up before the big race! Everyone was very welcoming and the setting is beautiful. Highly recommended!

Average food. Good service though.

I’ve had this place bookmarked and finally went this morning. Food was good, free coffee for everyone-​sign says free coffee for everyone during training hours, food was very inexpensive, and of course the BEST part-​the GORGEOUS backdrop. Horses, jockeys, trainers, all so much fun to see but the setting is California at it’s finest. Perfect weather and a breathtaking view. Very enjoyable experience. We also took the complimentary Seabiscuit tram tour which was pretty cool. We left this place feeling relaxed and will definitely be coming back with others.

Best place for breakfast in the 626. It’s not about the food– you can get a bagel any old place. It’s about the history, culture and awesomeness of racing. Always a great experience… even better when you can combine it with the stable tour. Highly recommend it!

Food was pretty good. We tried the omelets with toast and hash browns. Great flavor. And the coffee was hot and delicious! But the best part was the view! It was a gorgeous clear day, with a great view of the ponies during work outs. Definitely a great experience! And will definitely be back!

Fun place to eat breakfast and watch beautiful race horses warm up. Breakfast is adequate and reasonably priced, served on paper plates. There’s a buffet option. When I went, it was a busy day and things were pretty chaotic. Did not know if we were supposed to seat ourselves or go up to take-​out counter and order. We were told to sit and wait for waiter, but nobody seemed to be attending to us till we flagged a waiter down. Next time, I will probably try to order directly from take-​out counter. Place closes at 10am (or at least breakfast is done at 10am).

We went here with relatives from out of town. To be honest I was disappointed with the food. Either I ordered the wrong thing or my memories of this place was wrong.
The french toast with ham was okay. The ham was like not flavored at all no salty taste of ham.
The make your own omelet was average.
The eggs bacon was overdone.
The bacon bagel sandwich was below average to me. The bagel was smaller than goldstein and it had broken pieces of bacon. Very little cream cheese.
I am not sure if I would go back here for breakfast.

Clockers has good food and it is a BEAUTIFUL venue! Great place to take out of town guests! We drive 20 minutes to get there but totally worth it. Go early in the morning to get the best viewing of the horses completing their morning exercise.

I’m always tempted to order Wheaties at Clocker’s Corner so I can enjoy the «Sport of Kings» while eating the «Breakfast of Champions.»
In case this is the first review you’ve chosen to read, Clocker’s Corner is a small breakfast spot in the southwest corner of the world famous Santa Anita racetrack. Food is served from an order window, and enjoyed by patrons on an outdoor patio adjacent to the horse track. This prime location gives visitors a unique opportunity to start their morning with a solid breakfast while watching jockeys and their horses getting some exercise.
Good selections range from breakfast burritos to omelets, egg and short-​order style meals, and muffins, breads, etc. Hot fresh coffee is always a good choice on cold winter mornings. Prices are reasonable, akin to fast food or take out places.
I’ve only visited on weekdays, but the place is always pretty lively. Clocker’s Corner combines the trifecta of (1) hard to find, (2) guard shack access, (3) tough parking most days, no access near big race weekends to be a cool out of the way spot. The horse race reference with memorable alliteration, the incredible view of the San Gabriel’s, and the decent chance that you’ll see someone famous in the world of horse racing just add to the awesome factor.
Definitely a one-​of-​a-​kind place.

Good breakfast! Service was very good. It was an incredibly cold morning, but the coffee, tea and hot cocoa were hot, and the cups were kept filled. Breakfast buffet is very basic (scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, muffins). Our group of six decided to order off of the menu. The food may have been on plastic plates with plastic silverware, but the food was hot, yummy and filling. The one bad thing… people are allowed to smoke and the table next to us was chain smoking the entire time we were there. It was busy, so there wasn’t any place for us to move to.

Really should have discovered this place 2 years ago!
It’s an amazing experience.

Recently visited Clocker’s Corner with my family for someone’s birthday. They LOVE horses so it was a great way to enjoy brunch while watching all the horses work out.
We were especially lucky to visit on a day with perfect weather. The mountains, blue skies, and palm trees were especially picturesque.
The service really put this place over the top. Every worker was friendly, personable, and just excited we were there. Our waiter, Roy, cracked jokes and gave us his full opinion on the horses when we asked him. The maitre d’, Walter, was also excellent. He chatted with us for a while and gave us a history about the track, as well as just talking to us about random life stuff.
We chose the sit down waiter service over the café window and did not order the buffet. The food was okay, nothing special or fancy but just simple, good food. I ordered the buttermilk pancakes and they were fine. Nothing to write home about but still good. A few people in our group ordered omelets. I think this is where Clocker’s Corner would really shine. They had a couple and one create your own omelet, which my uncle ordered. He said he was pleasantly surprised with the amount of avocado, mushrooms, and sausage in his omelet.
The window seemed to offer much of the same food and especially simple fare like bagels and coffee. There were definitely some people sitting at the tables on the edge of the race track, listing to radios and trying to figure out who to bet on for the day. This window would be ideal for them.
Most people were like us with families and kids and chose the waiter service. You could still sit at the table and have some people order from the menu and others order the buffet. When we went to look at it, the buffet seemed to have lost of fruit, bacon/​sausage, delicious looking potatoes, eggs, pastries and things along on those lines.
The only thing I didn’t care for about this place was the lack of ADA accommodations. My grandpa cannot walk for extended periods so we brought him a wheelchair and my uncle is recovering from surgery so he sometimes uses a walker. Where you have to park is a walk, nothing terribly far but depending on certain issues it could be a strain. Even the handicap parking is farther because horse owners and trainers get the prime parking. On the way out someone else pulled the car around so they only had to walk 50 feet. There were some tables on a lower level closer to the track, but we sat up a little higher so that meant stairs. All the workers were friendly about the wheelchair and carried it up/​down the stairs for us. Not even sure if there is anything they could do about it and it didn’t ruin the day by any means, it’s just good awareness depending on the needs of your group.

I love to start my day here before betting on the horses. You get to the horses working out and you frequently see trainers such as Bob Baffert and Barry Abrahms. The best deal is the buffet, but it’s only available on the weekends. The service is best when you ask for Roy. He always has a story to share.

Have lived in the area for nearly 10 years and never knew you could watch morning workouts while enjoying some breakfast. We went early on a Saturday morning (around 8ish). It can be difficult to get to. You enter through gate 8. It’s off Baldwin. Once you enter you park straight ahead and walk through the gate that’s left of the stands. They have several breakfast offerings here from donuts and bagels to heartier fare like french toast and eggs with all the fixings.
The food was just ok for us. I ordered the sourdough french toast, only to be told they don’t have any sourdough bread, just white. Hub had the eggs/​bacon/​toast plate. Cooked well but nothing mindblowing.
My son did enjoy watching the horses as he ate his breakfast. Other reviews talked about the horse smell, but we didn’t really notice it at all.

My family and I came here last week during spring break and we had a wonderful experience all around. Parking was free, there are no admission fees and the walk-​up order window was easy to locate and the menu was simple breakfast fare. We ordered bacon breakfast burritos and hot chocolate and we got our food in about 10 minutes. You can sit wherever you’d like and there is ample table seating under patio umbrellas or in suite style box seating. The weather was perfect and watching the horses train while enjoying breakfast was so enjoyable and relaxing. When we were finished eating, we walked the park area, sat in the stands and simply just observed the beautiful horses and the scenery.
Fabulous experience and definitely a do-​over!

Fantastic! My sister and I came early this morning around 7am and had coffee and and breakfast burrito. Our burritos we’re sausage, egg, cheese topped off with a tomato and red pepper sauce and a side of hash browns. It was really good. The views and the sunrise was unbeatable. It’s only open from 5am-​10am and you have to enter from Gate 8 off Baldwin. Parking is free and if you come on the weekend you can take the Seabiscuit tram tour which is also free and a great experience.

This is a hidden gem. Food is nothing extraordinary. I was very happy with my bagel with bacon, cream cheese and jalapenos. The cool factor is the mountain view backdrop of the racetrack on an early crisp morning (730am) while watching the horses get some exercise before their day officially begins. I heard it’s beautiful to see the sunrise. Next time, I’ll do that. Please don’t be turned off by the horse smell. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it and be able to enjoy the scenery. If you’re lucky enough to befriend a horse owner like we were, they might take you on a private tour of the stables.

Whoa nelly! Great breakfast place to watch the morning workouts. Eats are good, almost too nice to have it served on plastic plates. You sit in the stands with others, just like you. You’ll also see posh owners, some gamblers, real interesting crowd. It’s all reminiscent in a bygone era when sea biscuit was king.
Suggestions: It’s super hard to get to, especially if you’ve never been. Enter from the mall side, the west end… Baldwin and gate 8. When you park, all I can say is the restaurant is on the west side of the tracks, ask for directions as you navigate through the maze… you’ll be walking a while.
Went on a Sunday. Go before 9 a.m., it gets crowded and super sunny. Choose the table service, unless you plan to eat on the run. One other thing, I hear taking pictures of the horses is frowned upon without the owner’s consent… but I did it anyways… opps.
FYI: Clocker: A person who times workouts and races.
As always, let me know what you think.

Clocker’s Corner is a breakfast-​only concession area located at Santa Anita park in the west end of the grandstands. Super place to watch the horses doing their morning workouts (parking is free before gates open) and definitely worth checking out for a breakfast experience that’s a little different. Both outdoor table service section and an express window are available. Breakfast food choices solidly prepared but basic (good, but nothing really fancy or unique here), prices are fair, but service is very slow… our beverages ran dry and it took a long time to get a waiter to refill.
The park offers a free tour focusing on Seabiscuit that even people that aren’t into horse racing will find interesting, informative, and enjoyable. Check the park’s schedule and make a morning of breakfast and the tour.