Is it just that we’re getting moto-happy, or are more and more cool motorcycle shows popping up in Los Angeles? Perhaps both.

On Sunday, we hopped on a BMW R nineT and rode over to the first and — hopefully, optimistically — the annual “Californian,” a two-wheeled motorcycle concours held on the infield of Santa Anita horse-racing track. While this inaugural running of the show was not exactly packed, it was a show with a lot of promise. (We were there for the first “The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering” in Carmel and that one had an awful lot of elbow room, too.)

Why do we think this one will succeed? First: location. Concours are supposed to be places where ladies can wear huge, floppy sun hats and elegant sundresses. There are always a lot of those in abundance at Santa Anita. Second: The day of the show was the same day as the Preakness Stakes, which was shown on screens all around Santa Anita, in between the track’s own races. So there was a lot of action all around the motorcycle show. Sometimes those daylong concours can wear on you or — more specifically — on the significant other you talked into attending. Third: gambling and alcohol! You can enjoy both at Santa Anita. And fourth: the motorcycles themselves. There were about 30 or 40 spread out on the infield lawn, representing an eclectic mix of old and new. Bikes ranged from an authentic Indian hillclimber that was about 90 years old to a new Jay LaRossa custom that was only a few weeks out of the shop. In between were plenty of the Honda CB remakes the youth are into now, as well as a smattering of custom Harleys and other cool one-offs.

“It’s pretty cool,” said organizer Brady Nelson, whom we’d met a month or two ago at a track day event he organized at Willow Springs racetrack. “The Santa Anita management really liked it, too. So we’re looking forward to next year.”

So are we.