Page 77 - New Mexico Horse Breeders 2019 Stallion Register

Each member of the team intends to make the entire racing program in NM the best.
Break the rules and all is not well. There will be repercussions. They will not be pleasant.
There is not one part of that message that
is vague or difficult to understand. Everything was in place and implementation began. Positive things began happening and word flashed throughout the industry.
The air seemed electrified.
New Mexico’s handle had been flat for several years. Something needed to jar it loose. The only problem was, any change was likely to be downward. One of the main reasons for the stagnation rested with the New Mexico bettors who, plainly speaking, didn’t trust or respect racing in their state.
Then, something happened.
As word about the positive changes began spreading, the handle at almost every track began breaking loose. Momentum gathered until the major improvements described earlier began popping into life. New Mexico racing was undergoing a huge metamorphosis.
Working Together
None of the about-face transformations in New Mexico would have happened without the strong, unified cooperation and shared teamwork of all involved parties. Everyone agreed that Ruidoso had seen the last of any game-playing.
The new owners of Ruidoso Downs (spokesman Stan Sigman, Johnny Trotter, John Andreini, who recently passed away suddenly due to a brain aneurism, and Narciso “Chicho” Flores) had stated their focus was to create a racing and sales environment that would provide fairness, stability, and integrity for all who race, buy and sell at the iconic track. The new owners made it crystal clear that the opportunity to race on “the mountain” was a privilege granted by the tracks owners and not a right. In order to exercise that privilege, rules must be followed.
Each of the new owners was an extremely successful businessman with deep pockets. Each was also a veteran horseman. Each was well- equipped but, at the same time, none of the five had the intense, first-hand knowledge and
experience of the day-to-day complexities of running a racetrack.
Enter Jeff True, a 30-year racing veteran with a background crammed full of vital know-how. His expertise was gleaned from management positions with AmTote, United Totalizator, Los Alamitos Race Course, Santa Anita, Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association and the Texas QH Association.
True had no past involvement with New Mexico racing. That was fine because Sigman
and the entire ownership team wanted someone deeply dedicated to the overall sport of racing and its betterment. True was the perfect choice. He proved the wisdom of the hiring decision more than once during 2018, such as the valuable and innovative addition of the All American Oaks and the Rainbow Oaks to the Ruidoso racing program. The far-reaching hope is that all tracks in other states will follow True and Ruidoso’s lead for similar program enhancements.
True, for the most part, speaks in understatements. He doesn’t blow a very loud personal trumpet. As such, he attributes all the 2018 success to “everyone’s dedicated hard work. We had excellent feedback and some outstanding simulcast partners.
“We have a significantly better handle and I attribute that to a better product. We recognize the stars of that product are the horses. We’re offering more competitive, as well as safer, racing. I also want operational excellence. The public responds positively to all of that and it shows in the handle.
“We’re aware that Ruidoso is the most iconic track in the state and certainly one of the most iconic in the entire industry. We want to protect its history and its legacy, while also improving its future.
“Everyone feels good about what we’ve accomplished but we also know the reality. There’s no Nirvana in this business. We’ll never reach perfection but we’ll always be trying.”
Trejo agrees. He knows there will never be
a final battle because that’s just not the way it is
in this game. Something is always happening. Something must always be fixed and something else should have been prevented before it ever happened and then it wouldn’t have needed fixing.
Racing has an economic foundation. We talk about handle and we talk about purses.... constantly. We’re talking about lots of money.... big money. And money, by its very nature, breeds problems. People want money. It’s greed for some. Some are willing to be dishonest to get it....to cheat. Others simply want a better material life and they need money to get there. Money, very frequently, is capable of causing high-injury train wrecks.
People such as True, Trejo, Neumayer, Sigman, Trotter and Flores are keenly aware
of the problems but they’re also just as keenly aware of the outstanding progress they’ve made and, for True and Trejo, it’s a way for each man to express his gratitude to the industry that’s been good to them for so many years.
Each member of the team intends to make the entire racing program in New Mexico the best, the most lucrative and the most honest they can possibly create. That’s why True will continue producing new races and the owners will continue approving them. That’s why Neumayer will continue innovations in his sales. That’s why Trejo will continue to squeeze out cheaters.
All of that is why handles will continue to escalate, why purses will continue to increase,
why more out-of-state mares will pay the $500 registration fee for the opportunity to breed to a New Mexico stallions, why the state will receive more awards, why the voice of New Mexico racing will become more and more respected and why the state’s guidance will be sought by other racing jurisdictions.
Walter Matthau died as a grouchy old man, but New Mexico will no longer be stereotyped as the Redheaded Stepchild. That’s over. Done. Finished. Left in the dust.
So, ladies, unwrap your finest jewelry, polish it and get it ready to wear.
Guys, pull out your fanciest pair of boots and put a spit-shine on them.
There’s a red carpet waiting to take you to the biggest, most colorful, most exciting fiesta in the history of New Mexico. It’s very, very close and you darned well deserve it.
Enjoy!
There’s a red carpet waiting to take you to the biggest, most colorful, most exciting fiesta in the history of New Mexico.
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