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MEETING TIME
run a 46-day season from May 22-September 4. The New Mexico State Fair meet at The Downs at Albuquerque will run 17 days from
September 1-24 and will be followed by a 19-day meet for The Downs at Albuquerque from September 25-October 29. New
Mexico’s racing calendar will conclude with a Zia Park’s 30-day meet from October 30-December 20.
increased from $65,000 to $100,000.
• Zia Park general manager Bill Belcher
reported that the track spent $250,000 for improvements to the track’s barn area.
• Sunland Park director of racing operations Dustin Dix asked for and received approval for the track’s 2022-23 stall application, purse schedule, stakes schedule, and post-time and wagering format. Mr. Dix also introduced via Zoom Mark Hettinger, the track’s new general manager, and he added that Mr. Hettinger would be attending the next commission meeting in person.
• Max Moreland was introduced as the
new general manager at SunRay Park in Farmington. Track representative Kenny Kendrick said that outgoing general manager Brad Boehm would remain with the track as
a consultant for a few months. Mr. Moreland told the commission that he was born and raised in Snyder, Texas, and that he and his wife have been married for 47 years and have three children and five grandchildren. He listed his hobbies as fishing, golfing, hunting, and attending the horse races. Upon his retirement from the U.S. Postal Service after 27 years, Mr. Moreland went into the oil and gas industry as a consultant, and he owns a car wash. He was the property manager for SunRay Park before he accepted the position as general manager.
• The commission denied a motion
from Tucumcari-based Coronado Partners
to establish a process to evaluate a racetrack application. The commission will go over the application from Coronado Partners at the next meeting in October. Representing Coronado Partners, Warren Frost asked Mr. Bregman if Coronado Partners would need to make a new presentation, and Mr. Bregman responded that a new presentation would not be necessary and that the commission would be going by the presentation the group made originally.
REPORT FROM SEPTEMBER 2022
The New Mexico Racing Commission held its monthly meeting in the board room at the commission offices in Albuquerque on Thursday, September 22.
New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association executive director Mary Barber gave the commission the NMHBA’s race-a-day
report for the 47-day Ruidoso Downs meet, which ended September 5. During the Ruidoso meet, the track carded 144 New Mexico-bred races, 41 for Thoroughbreds and 103 for Quarter Horses. By comparison, 159 state-bred races were contested during the track’s 2021 season, which ran 46 days. Of those 159 state-bred races, 73 were
for Thoroughbreds and 86 were for Quarter Horses.
An average of 3.07 New Mexico-bred races per day were run during the 2022 Ruidoso Downs meet, a decrease of 11 percent from the 3.46 state-bred races per day run during the track’s ’21 season.
Ms. Barber also gave the commission
the race-a-day report for the first 26 days
of The Downs at Albuquerque meet, which opened July 30. During this period, the track carded 102 New Mexico-bred races, 48 for Thoroughbreds and 54 for Quarter Horses.
By comparison, 101 state-bred races were contested during the first 26 days of the track’s 2021 season. Of those 101 state-bred races,
57 were for Thoroughbreds and 44 were for Quarter Horses.
An average of 3.93 New Mexico-bred races were run during the first 26 days of The Downs at Albuquerque’s 2022 meet, a slight increase over the 3.89 state-bred races per day run during the first 26 days of the track’s 2021 season.
NMRC executive director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo reported that he attended the pre-meet inspection at Zia Park in Hobbs, which opens its 48-day season on October 4.
“Compared to last year’s pre-meet inspection, everything was in much better shape,” Mr. Trejo said. “There was one issue that was taken care of that same day. There are a couple of cosmetic issues that will be taken care of soon.”
NMRC chairman Sam Bregman of Albuquerque reminded everyone that The Downs at Albuquerque would be paying a track-record $2.2 million in purses on Sunday, September 25, and he urged everyone to attend.
“The handle has been really good at Albuquerque, and Ruidoso Downs handled $3 million on Labor Day,” said Mr. Trejo. “There is an interest in our product, and wagering handle is up at a lot of tracks across the country.”
NMHBA president Tom Goncharoff reported to the commission and to the legislative committee he appeared before in Hobbs that prices for racehorses were strong at this year’s sale.
There was more discussion about The Downs at Albuquerque and how the track could pay out so much in purses for just one day.
“It really helped when we opened our new casino outside the grandstand; our handle increased and our casino revenues increased,” Downs president of racing Don Cook said. “We now have night racing, and we’re attracting a younger crowd.”
ALSO AT THE MEETING:
• The commission approved The Downs at Albuquerque’s request to add a stakes race, the Champagne Lane Stakes (R) for New Mexico-bred filly and mare Quarter Horses, for October 1. The Downs, MJ Farms, and the NMHBA all contributed to the purse of the Champagne Lane Stakes, which was $54,500. Also, Mr. Cook reported that the purse of the New Mexico State Fair Juvenile Stakes (R)
for state-bred 2-year-old Quarter Horses was
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