Page 78 - NMHBA Summer 2017

already left Ruidoso after the weekend, this move makes sense to us.”
The commission approved the cut in dates by a 4-1 vote, with Ms. McCull- och casting the lone “no” vote.
• The commission approved the jockey and exercise rider insurance policy for SunRay Park. “Our premium dropped by 10 percent, and we’re hoping for another good year,” said SunRay director of racing Lonnie Barber.
“We’ve done a lot of work on our racetrack to prepare for the opening of our meet,” he added. “We added about
1,500 tons of sand and about 1,000 tons of bark, and we plan to add some gypsum to it. As of yesterday (April 12), we had 21 horses on the grounds, but we had enough stall application to fill up our barns when the meet starts. A lot of horses will be showing up in the next week.”
• Sunland Park director of racing Dustin Dix reported that handle on Sunland Derby Day, March 26, reached $3.2 million.
“We were hoping for $4 million, but we were very pleased,” he added. “After what happened last year and being that
we were forced to cancel it last year, it was good to have it back this year. We added a Pick-4 wager and rolling double wagers, and we increased the amount of time between races to accommodate the large crowd.
“To hear Sunland Park mentioned in a national spotlight is good for New Mexico racing,” Mr. Dix said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of every Sunland Derby since the race’s inception, and to see how much it’s grown in stature is very gratifying. We hope to grow it even more.”
Report from May 2017 NM Racing Commission Meeting
The New Mexico Racing Commission held its monthly meeting at its headquar- ters at SunRay Park Racetrack and Casino on Thursday, May 11.
New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Associa- tion executive director Anna Fay Davis gave the commission the final race-a-day report for the 72-day Sunland Park meet, which ran December 16-April 18. During the Sunland meet, the track carded 309 New Mexico-bred races, 242 for Thoroughbreds and 67 for Quarter Horses. By comparison, Sunland Park carded 269 state-bred races -- 209 for Thoroughbreds and 60 for Quarter Horses, during its 2015-16 meet, which was shortened to 61 days.
An average of 4.29 New Mexico-bred races per day have were run during the 2016-17 Sunland Park meet, a decrease of 2.7 percent from the 4.41 state-bred races per day during the track’s 2015-16 season.
Also, during the Sunland Park season, a total of 450 New Mexico-breds competed in open overnight races, of which 120 (27 per- cent) finished first, second, or third. Of this total, 91 were Thoroughbreds and 29 were Quarter Horses. Bonuses totaling $88,625.90 were paid to the owners of these horses.
Ms. Davis added that, during the Sun- land meet the track carded 270 New Mexi- co-bred overnight races.
“There were 2,595 New Mexico-breds that were scheduled to participate in these races,” she reported. “This is an average of 9.61 New Mexico-breds per race.”
Ms. Davis also gave the commission the race-a-day report for the first eight days
of the 36-day SunRay Park meet, which opened April 21. During this period, the track carded 18 New Mexico-bred races, 10 for Thoroughbreds and eight for Quarter Horses. By comparison, SunRay Park carded 15 state-bred races -- five
for Thoroughbreds and 10 for Quarter Horses -- during the first eight days of its 2016 season.
An average of 2.25 New Mexico-
bred have been run during the first eight days of the 2017 SunRay Park meet, an increase of 19.7 percent over the 1.88 state-bred races per day during the track’s 2016 season.
Ms. Davis added that, during the first eight days of the SunRay meet, the track carded 13 New Mexico-bred overnight races.
“There were 109 New Mexico-breds
that were scheduled to participate in these races,” she said. “This is an average of 8.38 New Mexico-breds per race. We are working with the director of racing (Lonnie Barber) to get the average up to three before the meet is over.”
• New Mexico Horsemen’s Association
(www.newmexicohorsemen.com) executive director Pat Bingham thanked Lonnie Barber for hosting the NMHA’s awards banquet at SunRay Park. The banquet honored the New Mexico award winners from the 2015 and ’16 seasons.
Mr. Bingham also told the commis- sion that the University of New Mexico is conducting an economic impact study for the state’s racing industry, and that the NMHA is distributing a quarterly newsletter to its membership.
Mr. Bingham added that the NMHA supports the concept of mixed meets at New Mexico tracks and the 60/40 (per- cent) splits between Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse races.
• Commission executive director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo said that he attended
the opening-day program at SunRay Park, which was held April 21. The commission’s safety walk-through at Ruidoso Downs, which he attended, was held on May 8. On May 1, Mr. Trejo conducted some interviews for the open position of commission investigator.
Also, the commission’s equine dis- ease protocols were changed, effective May 11. A health certificate for horses traveling intra-state must have been issued within the last 30 days. All health certificates must be issued at the point of origin for the horse; in the event
of an outbreak, the 72 hours will be required for health certificates.
• New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association president Ralph Vincent and American Quarter Horse Association chief racing officer Janet Van Bebber both expressed concern to the commission regarding the plans of two
76 New Mexico Horse Breeder