Page 87 - New Mexico Horse Breeder, Fall

MEETING TIME
“We’ve been getting a lot of positive feed- back on this,” he added. “Mike is super excited about being there, and he says his family alone will fill half of the grandstand. I don’t doubt it.”
• The commission approved Sunland
Park’s request for 2018-19 race dates. The track will conduct a 75-day season from December 28-May 5.
• The commission approved Albuquerque Downs’ request for 2019 race dates. The
track will conduct a 56-day season, from June 28-September 22, with an additional day on October 26 to accommodate the AQHA’s Bank of America Challenge Championships, which will be run at the track for the first time next year.
• The commission approved Zia Park’s request for 2019 race dates. The track will conduct a 52-day meet from September 21-December 18. The commission also approved Zia Park’s
condition book covering the first 12 days of its 2018 meet, which opens September 22. “Ahead of this year’s meet, we will be open-
ing the barn area on September 3, and the track will open (for training) on September 6,” said Zia Park manager of racing operations and rac- ing secretary Matt Crawford.
• The commission approved SunRay Park’s request for 2019 race dates. The track will conduct a 17-day season from May 3-June 2.
RepoRt fRom July 2018 New mexico RaciNg commissioN meetiNg
The New Mexico Racing Commission held its monthly meeting in the board room at the commission offices in Albuquerque on Thursday, July 19.
New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association president Ralph Vincent introduced Mary Barber as the association’s new executive director. Ms. Barber had served as the NMHBA registrar since 1993. She is the wife of New Mexico-based trainer Mike Barber and the daughter-in-law of SunRay Park director of racing Lonnie Barber.
Also, the commissioners were given the race-a-day report for the first seven days of the Albuquerque Downs’ meet, which opened June 29. During the first seven days of the meet, the track carded 23 New Mexico-bred races, 19 for Thoroughbreds and four for Quarter Horses. By comparison, 24 state-bred races were contested during the first six days of Albuquerque Downs’ 2017 season, 16 for Thoroughbreds and eight for Quarter Horses.
An average of 3.29 New Mexico-bred races per day were run during the first seven days of the 2018 Albuquerque meet, a decrease of 18 percent from the 4 state-bred races per day run during the first six days of the track’s 2017 meet.
Also, during the first 31 days of the Ruidoso Downs meet, which opened May 25, a total of 238 New Mexico-breds competed in open races, of which 88 (59 Thoroughbreds and 29 Quarter Horses) finished first, second or third. Bonuses totaling $38,463.44 were paid to the owners of these horses.
During the first 22 days of the Albuquerque Downs meet, a total of 246 New Mexico-
breds competed in open races, of which 68 (18 Thoroughbreds and 50 Quarter Horses) finished first, second, or third. Bonuses totaling $52,857.80 were paid to the owners of these horses.
Mr. Vincent also commented on the fact that the average number of New Mexico- bred races per day was down at SunRay Park, Ruidoso Downs, and Albuquerque Downs.
“I don’t know why the numbers are down,” Mr. Vincent said. “I think we need to meet with all the tracks to find out why, and whether or not there is something we or they can do about it.
“The number of New Mexico-bred foals had dropped, but it looks like now it has stabilized,” he added. “We’re hopeful it will move up from here, both with Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.”
Mr. Vincent also reported that the owners of 90 broodmares paid the $500 fee to take the mare out of state and return it to foal.
“It’s been a successful program,” he said. “As people in other states learn about this program, we think it will grow.”
During his presentation to the NMRC, Jockeys’ Guild (www.jockeysguild.com) regional manager John Beech reported on opening weekend at Albuquerque Downs.
“It was great to see the place completely packed, just like racetracks used to be,” he said. Mr. Beech added that he received no com- plaints from the riders at Albuquerque Downs. He
also thanked Ruidoso Downs management for its “Mike Smith Triple Crown Celebration Day,” which was held at the track on Sunday, July 8. All proceeds from the sale of posters were donated to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys’ Fund.
During his presentation to the commission, New Mexico Horsemen’s Association (www. newmexicohorsemen.com) executive director Pat Bingham introduced the organization’s new president, Jay Rader. He also thanked outgoing president Larry Strain for his service.
Mr. Bingham also complimented Albuquerque Downs, which ran 19 races, 10 during the afternoon and nine during the eve- ning, on July 18. The unusually large number of races were due to the track being forced to cancel its 10-race program on Saturday, July 14, due to weather conditions.
He also expressed concerns about SunRay Park’s 17-day schedule for 2019. This year, the track conducted a 33-day meet.
“We would request the (commission) to take another look at the impact this would have on the state’s agriculture and breeding economies, as well as the economic impact it would have on the Farmington area,” Mr. Bingham said.
Commission executive director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo reported that he recently attended a meeting where he learned about sports wager- ing and how it works.
“We looked at the different models that were proposed if we decide to move forward with leg- islation in January,” he added. “My feeling is that if we don’t join them, then we’ll be against them”
Also At the meeting:
• NMRC vice chair Gayla McCulloch of Farmington reported that commission’s medication/rules committee passed five rules that will go to a rules hearing in October. There will also be a rules hearing in August, and the committee will meet again in September.
• The commission approved Juan Estrada, an agent with the Arizona Dept. of Racing, to serve as an agent for futurity and derby trials at Ruidoso Downs.
• The commission approved Michael Harbour to serve as a member of its race review committee, which reviews race appeals and sends recommendations to the commission.
• The commission approved the appointment of special agents to work at Ruidoso Downs for the All American trials in August.
“We tried to focus on agents based in the southwest who were familiar with Quarter Horse racing, as opposed to agents from the east coast, for example, who might not be as familiar with it,” said Mr. Trejo.
• The commission approved Ruidoso Downs’ 2019 nominations blanks. Jeff True, the track’s president and general manager,
said that they submitted some forms that changed some terms regarding credit card payments, payments of trial purses, and moving horses out of the finals due to posi- tive tests, and he was informed that there were some inconsistencies in the forms. Mr. True promised to fix the inconsistencies.
• The commission approved Sunland Park’s 2018-19 stall applications.
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