Page 71 - Winter 2020

New Mexico has outstanding racing and breeding programs but the pandemic, with all its restrictions, is definitely creating serious problems. A lot of people may be facing some very difficult decisions. I know I can’t afford to continue racing in New Mexico if we don’t get the casinos to reopen.
- Kirk Robison
account for a huge portion of annual revenue for breeders and other consignors. Canceling them just isn’t an option but, thankfully, moving them to Oklahoma was. So, instead of the trailers lining up for Ruidoso, they set their satellite guidance sys- tems for the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
The Select, the star on the sale menu, has been in Ruidoso since 1962. How would it fare in Okla- homa? For most people, the answer to that ques- tion was surprising. It fared quite well, thank you!
The Select Sale sold 315 head this year compared to 343 in 2019. The total revenue this year was
$14,418,900, compared to $17,044,200 in 2019. The average was $45,774 this year and $49,692 last year. It was down but a long way from catastrophe.
The New Mexico-Bred didn’t measure up quite as nicely. There were 104 sold this year and 151 in 2019. The average this year was $14,346, while last year was $19,226.
“The first problem was holding the sale on a Thursday,” said Mooring. “That just doesn’t work. The second problem was taking New Mexico-breds to Oklahoma. That doesn’t work, just like a Thursday sale doesn’t work.
“The crowd for the Select yearlings was tremendous. There were faces I’d never seen in my life, including new Hispanic buyers. I knew it would be a good sale after I watched the first 40 or 50 horses go through. The New Mexico- breds were a disaster but I want to be clear that I’m not blaming the people who put on the sale. They worked hard and did a terrific job.”
KIRK AND JUDY ROBISON
The Robisons are definitely high-profile names in Thoroughbred racing. Kirk is an astute businessman. You can hear it in his voice when he discusses racing in a COVID world.
“It’s obvious to anyone that our purses are no more than a fraction of what they were before COVID. New Mexico has outstanding racing and breeding programs but the pandemic, with all its restrictions, is definitely creating serious problems. I ran for a $7,700 purse last week. That just won’t work and I’m afraid we’ll have no racing at all if this continues. Sunland has been closed since March, which is creating serious problems for all of us.
“A lot of people may be facing some very difficult decisions. I know I can’t afford to continue racing in New Mexico if we don’t get the casinos to reopen. That’s the only way to make our purses healthy again. I think we also need to remember that, even when the casinos are open for business, people may not rush in as soon as the doors are unlocked.
It may take a while for them to reach their comfort zone, which means we won’t have an overnight recovery.”
MIKE AND YEALONDA LOGAN
The Logans personify many of the character- istics considered as constants in the minds and hearts of horsemen.
“Most of us will stay hooked,” said Mike, “simply because it’s not in our nature to quit. At the same time, I do worry some about
what the future may hold. I know there are some mares pulled out of our state-bred pro- gram, which is a shame. I also feel sure we’ll lose a few of our older industry members. That’s really a shame because I don’t think we’ll get them back.
“To a certain extent, it matters where you are in the business when you assess how much you’ve suffered. I think racing was hit much, much harder than breeding.
“We’re in the middle of a tough situation but, at the same time, new stallions are coming into the state along with new people and better quality mares. Those are all positive signs that tell me we’re going to make it.
“You hear a lot of talk about how long it’ll take for the tracks to recover. In my opinion, the recovery will be quick if our casinos and on- track wagering reopen in the next five months. Longer than five months means the recovery will be a lot more drawn out.
“Those who weren’t affected financially were very lucky but I think all of us were af- fected mentally.”
TOM AND SANDRA MCKENNA
Tom and Sandra claimed their first horse at Retama Park in 2003. They were already highly successful business people and it didn’t take long for them to decide the horses would be handled the same way as any other busi- ness. Making that decision was one of the best things they ever did.
“Most of us will stay hooked, simply because it’s not in our nature to quit. At the same time, I do worry some about what the future may hold. ...it matters where you are in the business when you assess how much you’ve suffered. I think racing was hit much, much harder than breeding.
- Mike Logan
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