Page 53 - May 2018 Speedhorse

The new receiving barn at Ruidoso Downs is located on the barn-area side of the infield tunnel. Horses will arrive at the receiving barn about 45 minutes before each race and will be observed by a racing official as part of the increased security measures and the new owners’ emphasis on racing integrity at the New Mexico track.
PADDOCK PREVIEW
Race fans will have the opportunity to view the horses being saddled from a new fan-friendly area by the paddock.
“We’ve redone the paddock – both the paddock stalls and what will now be a public viewing area,” True said. “In the past, there’s been quite a limitation on who could go to the paddock. We’ve now put fencing in around that paddock area so the public is invited to go under the tunnel to look at the horses in the paddock. We’ve separated the public area from the licensed area.”
In the interest of horse safety, the saddling stalls have been redone, too.
“We think the new renovated paddock area will be a focal point,” True said. “With the new paddock stalls, there’s a new safety feature. It’s safer now than it was in the past. Those old stalls have been a little bit beaten up plus the elevation between the ground and the tops of those stalls had decreased because as they added material in there over the years, they hadn’t taken any out. We renovated all of that. I’m really pleased with how that project is coming along.”
The paddock isn’t the only place that’s getting a facelift. The Billy the Kid Casino is being freshened up, too.
“In the casino, we’ve done some interior decor changes trying to reduce some of the older, wild west-looking decoration,” True explained. “The entryway has been opened up, and I think it looks a lot better. But more importantly, we’re putting 100 new machines into the casino. There hasn’t been a serious renovation of slot machines on that floor
for about seven years. The casino has been underperforming partly because there has been no new equipment put in there. We’re putting a lot of money on the casino floor because that’s a main revenue driver for this facility – for the purses and the operation of this facility.”
Casino players will also see an upgraded rewards program that True describes as, “much enhanced over where it was in the past.”
WAGERING ON RACING
Horse players will also see improvements aimed at enhancing their experience at the track. In addition to the aforementioned account wagering and wireless tablet wagering, handicappers will be able to play for an added- money trifecta pool on Saturday’s fifth race throughout the season.
“Every Saturday, the fifth race will have a $1,000-added trifecta pool,” True said. “Some of the complaints of players from across the country over the last several years has been that takeouts are too high. Our pools are
such that reducing the takeout doesn’t really have a big impact. Most of our folks are not that price sensitive. What we’ve done – rather than reduce the takeout – we’re going to add money to the pool. This is not a guaranteed pool, but an added-money pool. It’s almost the same effect as reducing the takeout,
but it’s more visible to non-price sensitive players. By adding $1,000, it will increase the trifecta payoff by 20-30 percent. We think that the added money will increase that pool size because it will add people who will be shooting for that added-money payoff.”
A new simulcast area will offer handicappers a place to watch and wager on races from other tracks, too.
“At the end of the building, we’re adding 16 new televisions, new tables, new fans, and we’re sprucing up that area to give simulcast fans who come here during live racing another place to go and another place to enjoy racing from around the country in addition to Ruidoso’s own live racing,” True said.
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Ty Wyant, Ruidoso Downs