Track Hosts Holiday Party : No Races, No Bets but 10,000 Little Winners

It is a tradition in Mexico to honor the biblical three kings each Jan. 6 by holding a Christmas party at which traditional foods are exchanged and yuletide gifts are given to children.

This year’s “Day of the Kings” was held on a mammoth scale in Tijuana, where 10,000 children were invited to the Caliente race track to receive free toys and food. The giant party was held a day late because of Monday greyhound racing.

Joachin Patron, an assistant track director, said the event was sponsored by the track to show that it is part of the community.

“We want to show that we not only cater to the adult population, but are a family entertainment place,” Patron said. “But mainly we want to give the kids of Tijuana a day of enjoyment. We plan on doing this every year and making it bigger and bigger.”

Patron said that more than 10,000 lunch bags, each including a small toy, had been prepared for the children. On a stage set up in the racing infield, clowns, magicians and traditional folk dancing groups entertained children, parents and teachers. Miss Baja California of 1985, Carla de Hoyos, was on hand to draw names of the lucky winners of 10 bicycles and 10 tricycles.

Patron said that Tijuana city officials had provided extra police to control the traffic around the race track and to accommodate dozens of buses taking children to the event. Patron said he did not expect any problems in managing the thousands of children.

“We expect them to be well-behaved,” Patron said. “Anyway we are used to handling big crowds. I think that handling the kids will be a lot easier than handling mad gamblers.”

For Enrique Camino, 8, of Tijuana, the party was a welcome relief from schoolwork.

“Everybody is having a good time,” Enrique said. “We are going to sing and dance and get toys and especially food. We ought to have a party every day.”