Page 22 - New Mexico Horse Breeder, Fall

Issues affecting New Mexico’s racing industry were discussed at Ruidoso Downs on July 28, 2018.
by Michael Cusortelli
The New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association held its annual “Town Hall” meeting at the Ruidoso Horse Sale Pavilion in Ruidoso Downs on July 28.
Several issues were discussed, but the two main items on the agenda were the license for a sixth racino in New Mexico, and the future of advanced deposit wagering (ADW) and legal sports wagering in the state. The meeting was moderated by NMHBA president Ralph W. Vincent of Albuquerque.
Regarding the planned sixth racino, several groups have applied for a license to operate a racino in the state.
“Most of the attendees who talked about this topic were of three camps,” Mr. Vincent said. “One of the camps was, ‘Why do we even need a sixth track?’ Another was, ‘A sixth track would be great because it would mean more racing opportunities for us,’ and the third camp was ‘I’m not sure if I even care one way or another.’
“What we tried to stress is that we, the association, are not the deciding factor in whether or not we’ll have a sixth racetrack in the state; we’re just a very tiny part of the eventual decision,” he added. “We just want to gather as much information on the subject as we can.”
Mr. Vincent said that the NMHBA has sent communications to all sixth license applicants, expressing what the association would like to see in a sixth racetrack.
“And they include more than just things that affect us directly, such as a commitment to run at least 10 races a day, or a signed commitment for a minimum number of New Mexico-bred races per day” he explained. “They include things like backside living accommodations and promotions to help develop a fan base specifically for racing.
“Some of our members have asked why we even need a sixth track when we already have enough trouble filling races at our existing tracks,” Mr. Vincent said. “One of the things we talked about was the
possibility of having separate meets for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. Then the question was brought up of whether or not we have enough Thoroughbreds here for a straight Thoroughbred meet, but there are people who think that there are horsemen who would ship in from out of state if we did have one.”
On the subject of sports wagering, this topic became relevant on May 14, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal
law that banned commercial sports betting in most states. That decision has already resulted in profound changes to the nation’s relationship with sports betting, as many states have already drafted legislation to legalize it in their jurisdictions.
“We basically let our members know that this is coming to New Mexico, and that there are groups working on this and that it’s going to come from before the legislature (during the 2019 session, which starts on Jan. 15),” Mr. Vincent said. “We’re going to need help from our members to keep this industry in the forefront of any decisions that are made.
“We discussed the $500-million annual economic impact our industry has on our state,
and this will be the focus of our involvement with the ADW and sports betting,” he added. “I’m not sure we’re crazy about having more gambling in our state, but if we’re going to have it then we think the racing business should get a boost from it.”
Mr. Vincent said that Ruidoso Downs Racetrack has hired a lobbyist to draft a bill to legalize
sports betting, and he added that there is a group consisting of representatives of track management, horsemen, and breeders that meets once a month to move the sports betting/ADW issue forward.
In addition, Ruidoso Downs president
and general manager Jeff True put together a Legislators’ Day at the Races at his track and it was well attended, according to Mr. Vincent.
“The fact that so many of our legislators come from rural areas makes it so much easier for our
elected officials to appreciate how important the agricultural sector of our economy -- in our case, specifically the horse industry -- is to New Mexico,” Mr. Vincent said. “We don’t have to try to explain to a legislator from an urban area what a horse even is. A large number of legislators are familiar with our business, and it makes our job a lot easier.”
A off-agenda topic that was discussed is the number of New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses being produced every year. At
the peak in 2007, a total of 1,788 racehorses were registered with the NMHBA, 944 Thoroughbreds and 844 Quarter Horses. That number had dropped 45 percent to 990 (470 Thoroughbreds and 520 Quarter Horses) by 2016.
“Last year we saw a slight increase in registrations over 2016, so I think that the drops are starting to level off,” Mr. Vincent said. “We had a very successful New Mexico-bred sale in August, and I think that might encourage our members to breed more mares and we might see our numbers continue to increase.
“We place some topics of discussion on the agenda, mainly as a starting point for discussion, but what we really want to hear is our members’ concerns. In the past our annual meetings
have been just sessions for people to complain about what frustrates them about our industry. Now we’re able to talk about how to move the association and industry forward and not just complain about things.”