Page 91 - Speedhorse June 2020

Ruidoso Downs
OPENS AMID CORONA VIRUS
by Tracy Gantz
A successful opening weekend for any racetrack requires advance planning and plenty of hard work during the best of times. Ruidoso Downs faced a daunting task in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered thousands of businesses across the country.
Management immediately leapt into action. Led by Jeff True, Ruidoso’s president and general manager, the Ruidoso team created strict health protocols that protected racing’s participants and track employees and ensured that the track could open Memorial Day weekend as originally scheduled.
As a result, while the track was closed to spectators and horse owners, racing went off without a hitch.
“We had 51 races over the four-day period,” said True. “The 2 year olds on Friday and Saturday behaved like older horses. We ran almost 500 head of horses, and it just went remarkably well.”
Like the few racetracks around the country allowed to open during the pandemic, Ruidoso had virtually no on-track handle. But off-track handle soared, and television broadcast many of Ruidoso’s races nationwide.
“We did anywhere from 70 to 200% better off track than we have done in the past,” said True. “The ADW numbers outside of New
Mexico have been good. We can see that the TV helped us.”
Ruidoso handled $1.1 million on Memorial Day, May 25, a figure Ruidoso hadn’t seen on a Memorial Day for decades, True said.
To give local fans a betting option, Ruidoso established a couple of drive-through betting windows at the sales facility. Using actual tellers rather than a self-serve machine, people can drive up and wager as long as
they are wearing masks and don’t leave their cars. Tellers wear masks and gloves, and transactions are cash only.
“The teller was sitting behind a terminal and also sitting behind Plexiglass,” said True. “It was just cash and sell bets. People couldn’t sit around and watch the races they were betting on. It was more popular than I expected it to be. It paid for itself.”
Ruidoso got luckier than tracks with winter schedules, in that its late May opening occurred more than two months after the pandemic
first hit the U.S. True and his team had some advance notice, but the severity of the pandemic meant that they needed every bit of that time.
“We worked pretty hard to make sure that the government knew that we could open safely and operate safely,” True said. “We created a plan early on.”
Ruidoso had virtually no on-track handle. But off-track
handle soared, and television broadcast many of Ruidoso’s races nationwide.
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