Page 61 - NMHBA Spring 2021

MEETING TIME
Jeff True, president and general manager of Ruidoso Downs Racetrack, told the commission that he is optimistic the track will open its 50-date meet as scheduled on May 21.
they would be distributed according to past track handle figures.
Mr. Bregman asked Mr. Erhard about litigation the NMHA has against the com- mission and asked if the NMHA tried to have discussions with the commission before filing the suit. Mr. Erhard said that the commission “was not responsive to the horsemen” and that there was no choice but to file the suit.
NMRC executive director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo told the commission that, because there are only four commissioners -- Mr. Bregman, John Buffington, David “Hossie” Sanchez, and Billy G. Smith -- there will not be any Rules and Medication meetings for the time being.
During the meeting, the commission approved the cancellation of the 2020-21 Sunland Park meet, which was scheduled to open December 26 and run for 42 dates through March 20. The commission also
approved SunRay Park’s request to delay the submission of the track’s 2021 condition book, stakes schedule, and purse schedule.
In approving the request, the commissioners stressed that SunRay Park “needs to be getting ready” as the track is next in line to run a race meet. SunRay Park is scheduled to conduct a 17-date season from April 23-May 24.
Jeff True, president and general manager of Ruidoso Downs Racetrack, told the commis- sion that he is optimistic the track will open its 50-date meet as scheduled on May 21.
“I’ve heard that there will be another health department order soon, and we might be allowed to reopen (our casino),” Mr. True said. “It will depend on COVID-19 numbers. We need to open at a minimum of 50-percent capacity to start accruing purse money.”
Several public comments were made, all of which expressed concern over the lack of live racing
in New Mexico since December 23. Candy Ezzell, a racehorse owner who also represents District 58 in the New Mexico House of Representatives, said that the industry needs to work to reopen track casinos and that racetracks have worked to follow all recommended safety protocols.
“Other states have shown that racing can be conducted safely (during the COVID-19 pandemic),” she added.
Horse owner Susan Vescovo told the com- mission in an e-mail that, with Sunland Park allowed to cancel its 2020-21 meet, horsemen have been forced to move to other states to race.
“The horsemen would rather run for smaller purses than allow racing to die in New Mexico,” she said.
The next NMRC monthly meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 18. Future commission meetings are scheduled for April 22, May 20, and June 17.
JOCKEY ENRIQUE GOMEZ NOTCHES 1,000TH THOROUGHBRED WIN
Jockey Enrique Portillo Gomez, a mainstay on the New Mexico circuit for the past 11 years, on February 23 scored his 1,000th Thoroughbred win.
South Fresno, a 4-year-old gelded son of Cyclotron trained by Dan Morgan for owner Harris Farms, gave Gomez his 1,000th win when he won the fifth race at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona. Since Gomez started
his career in North America in 2010, he has finished in the top 100 riders by wins in four seasons and by earnings once.
Through February 23, Gomez’s mounts have earned $19,273,197 from 6,993 starts. At Zia Park in Hobbs, New Mexico last fall, he finished sixth in the track’s Thoroughbred jockey standings with 10 wins from 116 mounts. He also finished in the top 10 at Albuquerque Downs and Sunland Park.
Gomez is perhaps best known as the regular rider for J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Isn’t He Clever, a Kentucky-bred Smarty Jones gelding who earned $940,995 from 33 starts in seven states, including New Mexico. Isn’t He Clever won nine stakes, including the 2014 Zia Park Distance Championship Handicap, and Gomez rode the gelding in six of those stakes wins.
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