MAK Grills People’s Choice (PC) Challenge
$3,000 Prize Pool Saturday
Enter either contest (or both) and PC both days!
Limited entrants!
Welcome to the contest!
The (TWO) Santa Anita Winners’ Circle BBQ Championships are held at the Santa Anita Park horse race track.
These contests span both the INFIELD and the Colorado Parking Lot on the North side of the facility.
If you are planning to cook the contest from the Colorado (parking) Lot – Either Zone 2 & Zone 3 the below information regarding vehicle entry and exit does NOT apply to you.
For those teams planning on cooking the contests on the INFIELD (Zone 1), as a contestant, you have a unique vantage point as the horses’ race and practice on the surrounding track throughout the day (and early mornings!). Needless to say, this creates special challenges, which we wish to spell out as clearly as possible from the onset. As such, we greatly appreciate your understanding of this seemingly complex load in/out structure. The following provides the necessary information for your team to access the infield contest area. To avoid any confusion, please check the times, both here and in emails, as the event date nears, they *may* get adjusted as the event nears. These load in/out procedures are not negotiable. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Please read the pertinent section(s) below based on the equipment your team will be bringing to the event. While the information presented below IS subject to change, this has been the standard for 6 of the 7 past year’s events. Also please bear in mind that this is all weather dependent, in the case of wet weather this is all subject to change. If you have any questions or concerns on this please do not hesitate to contact us, the earlier the better.
Zone 1 – Vehicles Over 11′ Tall
Zone 1 teams with vehicles >11′ tall will ONLY be allowed to enter the infield on Thursday 3/28/19 at approximately 5:00 pm for load in, and Sunday at approximately 7:00 pm for load out. The “bridge crossing” time is NOT flexible, you MUST be onsite by 4:30 pm Thursday 3/28/19. If for any reason you are not able to make this load in time, you will be directed to park your vehicle in the Colorado lot just outside of the track. As well, the departure time is also not flexible, this is set at the time the awards are over on Sunday, plus approximately 90 minutes.
We will do our very best to accommodate all teams in the Colorado lot with all of the amenities available to those on the infield (sans the view and grass!). Teams cannot serve food to the public if parked in the Colorado lot. Therefore, if you were entered in the MAK Grills People’s Choice Challenge you are automatically disqualified from this element of the competition (you are still entered in the KCBS State Championships) if you are relocated to the Colorado lot. No refunds will be given, and we are not responsible for any losses or damages stemming from vehicles missing the very specific time for the bridge crossing.
Zone 1 – Vehicles over 7.5′ but under 11′ tall
Zone 1 teams with vehicles under 11′ tall will be able to enter the infield at approximately 10:30 am Friday 3/29/19. Teams with vehicles <11’ that want to load in on Thursday (3/28/19) may do so from 6-9 pm. Please also be advised that teams with vehicles over 7.5′ but under 11′ tall that want to arrive or depart on Friday or Saturday can only do so from 6-9 pm. Entry to the infield for these vehicles is through a (dirt surface) tunnel, and all vehicles/teams using this tunnel must be escorted by an OFFICIAL Santa Anita Park staff.
Zone 1 – Vehicles up to 7.5′ tall
Zone 1 teams with more “normal” sized vehicles (<7.5’) will have nearly 24 hour facility/infield access, outside with exception to 7 am – 7 pm on turn in days Saturday 3/30/19 & Sunday 3/31/19. Zone 1 teams will be allowed to park normal sized vehicles (<7.5’) vehicles in the infield, at their camps, overnight (Thursday and/or Friday and/or Saturday nights) but will need to move them to a designated parking area by 7 am on turn in days Saturday 3/30/19 and Sunday 3/31/19. Exception: If your vehicle fits in your designated area and does not block the public view of your site (parked on side or in the back) then it may remain. However, this is subject to review and approval by SAWC staff. All vehicles parked in/on the infield must display an approved access pass at all times.
If you wish to keep an (additional) over sized vehicle nearby (~500’ from the nearest edge of the infield), we can accommodate that as well, please notify us.
We will do our best to accommodate team space requests (i.e. I’d like to be near ABC team).