I was yesterday years old when I learned that chariot racing was an actual thing in Los Angeles—and I don’t mean while filming “Ben Hur.” From what I can gather chariot racing was part of the annual Rose Parade festivities in the early 1900s. They took place at Tournament Park in Pasadena and gauging from his photo, thousands of people turned out for it.

In case you think this photo has been faked (to be honest, those mountains in the background do look like a painted backdrop), here is a close up of the two teams:

Scott says: “The story on this I remember: Chariots were the initial attraction at Tournament of Roses… then they replaced them w/ football in 1902, but 1st game was so lopsided (Michigan beat Stanford 49-0), they canceled football & brought back chariots. Football didn’t return ’til 1916.”

Tournament Park is still in Pasadena. Here is a satellite photo taken in 2021: