HBO‘s Sunday night sneak preview of its highly-touted new series “Luck” offered a sumptuous visual depiction of Santa Anita Park.
by Scott Hettrick
The one-hour pilot directed by Michael Mann also offered glimpses of many people and places familiar to Arcadians, including a scene in Rod’s Grill on Huntington Drive and speaking roles for popular local jockeys Gary Stevens and Chantal Sutherland.
The jockeys are just two stars amidst a stellar line-up that includes Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Kevin Dunn, and many others.
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Invitation to the Set
The pilot begins with Hoffman being released from prison and heading to a suite in the Beverly Hilton Hotel where he tries to regain control of his crime world with assistant Farina.
Meanwhile, the gritty, always-on-the-edge of financial disaster lifestyle of a group of gamblers at the track plays out in a way that allows viewers to get an inside view of the life of jockeys, trainers, agents, track officials, and others in track offices, the stables, the paddock area, and even at the morning Clockers’ Corner hangout.
Along the way we get some amazing shots of horses running at Santa Anita against the gorgeous backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains.
As is the case with many series created and written by David Milch, such as HBO’s “Deadwood,” it may take a few episodes to fully learn and embrace the personalities of the numerous characters and multiple story-lines, but the caliber of the cast and the quality of the production will not make it difficult to hang in there for a few weeks.
The series makes its official premiere on January 29 and will run weekly for nine episodes. HBO is already looking at scripts for a potential second season of the series.
Meanwhile, watch this web site for information about tickets to the glitzy Hollywood premiere of the show in January, and further events in Arcadia connected with “Luck.”
— By Scott Hettrick