Page 39 - New Mexico Horse Breeders 2019 Stallion Register

it would create between each breed’s meets. This is still concerning to me, but it might be feasible with a sixth racetrack.
Personally, I would love to see Sunland Park run an all-Thoroughbred meet, Ruidoso Downs an all-Quarter Horse meet, SunRay Park run one mixed meet, and Albuquerque, Zia Park, and the new track all run two split meets. A sixth track certainly appears to be coming, so hopefully we can make it beneficial to our industry. It certainly would enhance the possibility of split meets.
New Mexico Horse Breeder:
What is it that you like most about the horse racing industry? What changes, if any, would you like to see made?
Tom Pierce:
Our industry is a fascinating and exciting one. That said, there are many challenges facing anyone attempting to make a career of it. Most important- ly, the people thinking about involving themselves in this venture must truly love horses, as there
will be many disappointing and frustrating days.
New Mexico Horse Breeder:
What changes, if any, would you like to see made to the New Mexico breeding program?
Tom Pierce:
I believe our breeding program is probably ideal for our state. Like any ongoing program, it needs to be tweaked from time to time, but I am a firm be- liever that, at this time, opening our borders would only benefit a small percentage of our breeders.
New Mexico Horse Breeder:
We race both Quarter Horses and Thorough- breds here in New Mexico. Do you have a prefer- ence for one breed over another, and if so, why?
Tom Pierce:
I’ve always been devoted to the Thorough- bred. I really like the Quarter Horse as a breed, but I often disagree with the American Quarter Horse Association and the liberal breeding rules they maintain.
New Mexico Horse Breeder:
Tom Pierce:
I’m fairly optimistic. For a state that has only about 2 million people and is always ranked in the bottom three or four states in per-capita income, I think we’re doing quite well. We definitely have our problems, but we do have an outstanding breeders’ program, a mild climate suitable for year-round racing, and five racing facilities -- perhaps soon to
be six -- with year-round casinos and si- mulcasting to help subsidize our purses and breeding programs.
That said, there are many areas that need improvement. We need to get more young people involved in our industry. The Downs at Albuquerque instituting night racing has attracted a lot of new fans. We need to promote our breeding program and get more people interested in buying a New Mexico-bred.
Our Ruidoso sale was way up this year, and hopefully that’s the start of a new trend. And, we need to continue to work on our im- age, clean up our bad test problem and show
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Stakes winner and New Track Record setter Urlacher, was homebred by Pierce who was named after Brian Urlacher, a New Mexico native and all-pro linebacker for the Chicago Bears.
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WINTER 2018 37