Page 50 - New Mexico Fall 2020

RECAP
Sunland Park ended its 2019-20 Thoroughbred season on March 15, about five weeks earlier than scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty-one race dates were lost. The early ending forced Sunland Park to cancel its March 22 all-Thoroughbred program, which would have included the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby. The track gener- ally draws its largest crowds on Sunland Derby Day.
Francisco Arrieta was Sunland Park’s leading Thoroughbred jockey with 43 wins from 169 mounts, 14 more than runners-up Ry Eikleberry and Luis Contreras, who each rode the winners of 29 races. Arrieta was also Sunland’s leading Thoroughbred jockey in mount earnings at $772,799.
Justin Evans topped all Sunland Park Thoroughbred trainers with 32 wins from 124 starters, 11 more than runner-up Dick Cappelucci, who sent out the winners of 21
races from 107 starters. Evans also led all Thoroughbred trainers in starter earnings at $571,628.
Tom and Sandy McKenna’s Judge
Lanier Racing was Sunland Park’s leading Thoroughbred owner with 24 wins from 143 starters, 17 more than runners-up J. Kirk and Judy Robison, who won seven races from 24 starters. Judge Lanier Racing also led all Thoroughbred trainers in purse earn- ings at $406,840.
On the Quarter Horse side, Alan Hernandez and Raul Herrera led all jockeys with 12 wins. Hernandez accomplished the feat from 63 mounts, while Herrera rode
88 mounts. Mauro Salcedo led all Quarter Horse riders in mount earnings at $329,883.
Wes Giles was Sunland Park’s top Quarter Horse trainer with 11 wins from 57 starters, four more than Ramon Mendoza, who won seven races from
33 starters. Giles also was track’s leading
Quarter Horse trainer in starter earnings at $402,673.
Sunland Park’s leading Quarter Horse own- ers, the partnership of John Lee, Wanda Lee, Ruben Mares, and Kathy Mares, and Diamond Racing Stables, each won four races. The part- nership of Sergio Holguin, Cliften Nielsen, and Felix Rodriguez led all Quarter Horse owners in starter earnings at $174,160.
While Sunland Park was forced to
cancel its signature Thoroughbred race, the Sunland Derby, the track did run its signature Quarter Horse race, the 440-yard, $350,000 Championship at Sunland Park (G1), on December 29. Valiant Tiberias, a 3-year-old Valiant Hero gelding owned by Holguin, Nielsen, and Rodriguez, won the quarter-mile race and earned the $157,000 winner’s share of the purse. James Flores rode Valiant Tiberias for trainer Wes Giles.
Sunland Park’s 2020-21 season is scheduled to begin in December.
by Michael Cusortelli • photos by Coady Photography
ZIA PARK MEET TO OPEN OCTOBER 5
Zia Park Racetrack will open its 2020 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse race meet on Monday, Oct. 5.
Located in Hobbs, New Mexico, Zia Park was originally scheduled to start a 54-day season on Sept. 21. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the track to alter its 2020 dates.
”Unfortunately, our gaming and hotel opera- tions remain closed, and guests will not be able
to attend the races at this time due to the state’s COVID-19 restrictions,” Zia Park management said in a Facebook post.
According to a memo sent on Sept. 1 by New Mexico Horsemen’s Association executive director Richard Erhard, Zia Park will conduct live racing three days a week for a total of 36 race dates through Dec. 23. The track’s stable area will open for stall and barn setup on Sept.
10. Horses will be permitted on the grounds starting Sept. 14.
If racetrack casinos are permitted to open by Nov. 1, Zia Park will race four days per week from that point through the remainder of the meet. The NMHA memo also states that the track will run nine races per day, or 10 races per day “If it is in the best interest of Zia Park and the New Mexico Horsemen’s Association.”
SUNLAND PARK 2019-20 MEET RECAP
48 New Mexico Horse Breeder