Page 73 - New Mexico Horse Breeders 2019 Stallion Register

On-track handle improved 4-percent to $10.2-million and the total, out-of-state handle on racing at Ruidoso Downs as $12.3-million for a 23.6-percent increase.
main building. A few folks said they kind of missed the soft plop-plop of rain falling through the roof ’s leaks and into the buckets waiting below! There was improved security and sheer, solid determination on the part of management to run a clean meet. Even dope-sniffing dogs were brought in to help the program.
There was a definite air of “What’s next?” at Ruidoso. Everyone felt something that said it was not business as usual at the venerable track. The facility’s President and General Manager, Jeff True, provided substance for the feeling when he discussed Ruidoso’s new All American Oaks venue, with the first running scheduled for 2020. The 440-yard
race is restricted to three-year-old fillies that were originally nominated to the All American Derby. According to True, the response from nominators and breeders has been overwhelmingly positive, with most of it coming during the Labor Day weekend.
And, now, for just a touch of Johnny Carson.....How positive was it?
Positive enough to prompt True to announce on Sept. 18 that the Rainbow Oaks, also restricted to three-year-old fillies, will be added to the 2020 schedule. The first new race is a spinoff of the All American Derby and the second is part-and-parcel of the Rainbow Derby.
Creation of the two races constitutes a forward-thinking moment for True and other track officials. “Few three-year-old fillies can compete successfully with males at a quarter- mile during the late summer,” he observed. “That’s the reason for adding the two races. Plus, it’s an important part of a broader picture that’s being put into place specifically to energize the incentives for Quarter Horse fillies with a high quality, national stakes schedule from California to New Mexico.” The intrinsic
objective is to assist owners and breeders. It’s a piece of creative thinking that should benefit Quarter Horse racing as a whole; the type thinking the industry has needed desperately for a very long time.
True’s observations about the lack of three- year-old filly success are accurate. The All American Derby has been run 44-times, with fillies winning only 11 of those competitions. The last filly victory was 1994.
Heartswideopen won the Rainbow Derby in 2008, making her the only one to win it in recent years. The hard-knocking filly also won the Ruidoso Derby the same year. There was
a spectacular celebration in 1988 when Dash For Speed, a filly owned by Tom Bradbury and Bobby Blakeman, won all three derbies. No other filly has conquered the grueling triple competitions, before or since.
Here’s the thing about these two new races. They’re not just two new races. Yes, they serve Ruidoso in that they allow the track to offer
a more impressive program than ever before, but they also illustrate the track’s innovative efforts to create added value for broad groups of owners. The choices and options are widened and deepened.
By executing this bold move, Ruidoso
has also provided an excellent pathway for increasing the value of the fillies walking into the arenas at yearling sales. People should be willing to pay more if they have the realistic possibility to earn more. This is one of those rare win/win situations that benefits everyone.
Hopefully, other racetracks will make similar contributions, which is what True and the Ruidoso owners are anticipating since this would initiate improvements in the entire industry.
Albuquerque Downs busted out
of the meet’s starting gate firing on all pistons. Management decided it was time for change and the willingness to face up to a few risks paid off handsomely.
The track changed its wagering format, effective July 20, by adding a Pick-4 wager and two Pick-3 wagers to its live racing. The Pick-4 wagers on the final four races on the program stayed in place, and all Pick-4 and Pick-3 wagers were formatted for 50-cent bets.
The traditional win, place, show, exacta
and trifecta wagers remained undisturbed on
all Albuquerque Downs live racing. The same was true for the conventional daily double on the track’s first two races. Superfecta wagering, available on all races except the first, goes at a 10-cent minimum.
The Albuquerque patrons looked at the changes and declared they were good, showing their approval through increases in on- and off- track handle. We’re not talking about a barely noticeable drip in the bucket but, rather, an 8-percent increase during the meet’s first 16-days.
On-track handle for Albuquerque’s live races climbed to $1,050,044, making the $973,779 over the first 16-days in 2015 pale by comparison. During those same lucrative 16-days, patrons shoved $2,705,014 across the table in off-track wagers for live races coming from Albuquerque, up four-percent from the $2,608,776 bet off-track during the same time period in 2015.
Actually, Albuquerque officials knew at the end of opening day that their decisions were grounded in gold. By the end of the third day, or the first weekend, even the most strident nay-sayers were quiet when they saw a 37-percent increase in handle over the opening three days in 2017.
The Downs at Albuquerque changed its wagering format by adding a Pick-4 wager and two Pick-3 wagers to its live racing.