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FROM THE PRESIDENT
We’ve been busy!
After the pandemic caused a hiatus, we had our first in-person board meeting at the Ruidoso sales pavilion.
Following our meeting, we had our annual town hall meeting. We had a
nice crowd and enjoyed a free-wheeling discussion with the audience about issues facing the industry. We’re grateful to those who took the trouble to attend, and we hope you found it worthwhile.
Thanks to Lowell Neumayer, Walt Wiggins, and Dianne Reed from the sale company for allowing us to use their venue and for their assistance with logistics.
Later that night, we had our awards dinner in the Turf Club at Ruidoso Downs. It was wonderful to be able to hold the event and see everyone after last year’s cancellation. There were over two hundred folks in attendance to help us honor the 2020 New Mexico Bred Champions.
It was a fun evening; the food was great, and the hard-working wait staff did a really good job. It’s worth mentioning that the staff took care of our guests after a long day
working during the races. Well done and thank you!
Thanks to Darrel Winter for leading
the group in prayer. Darrel’s work at Ruidoso in his capacity as racetrack chaplain is commendable. And a special thanks
to Ruidoso GM Ethan Linder, and his executive assistant Crystal Sifuentes. Thank you both for helping us put on a successful event. Our NMHBA staff, Mary Barber, Alicia Davenport, and Paulette Taylor, did
a wonderful job ensuring the event went off without a hitch. Well done, ladies.
Our awards committee of one, Annette McCloy, deserves a ton of credit as well for putting on a really fantastic event.
Ethan Linder made a special announcement during the party of yet another purse increase. This is the fourth increase during the meet, bringing overnight purses to a remarkable and historic 200K plus per day. Such wonderful news indeed.
Congratulations to the connections of all of the winners!
The NMHBA also hosted a Legislative Day at the Races at Ruidoso. The goal was to “tell our story” to those who have an essential role in legislation affecting all of us. Norman Allen, Joe Dee Brooks, and Scott Bryant generously allowed us to use their private suite at the track for the event. We gave a presentation about the history of racing in New Mexico, what the NMHBA is all about, and, more importantly, our industry’s economic impact on the state.
We showed our commercial running on the Cowboy Channel, along with the clip the Cowboy Channel produced highlighting Norma and Dosi Alvarez’s story.
The legislators visited the winner’s circle for the race named for them and were presented a blanket and win pictures.
B A Champion, owned by Annette and Mark McCloy, happened to win the race, which made it even more special. Our guests really seemed to enjoy themselves and were busy hitting the betting machines. I think they may have even cashed a few tickets!
Annette McCloy and Norma Alvarez did a great job organizing the event, and we very much appreciate Crystal Sifuentes’ efforts in assisting us with what turned out to be a fun and productive day.
Finally, we’ve mentioned before the new million-dollar New Mexico bred Quarter Horse Futurity, which will
take place in 2023 at The Downs at Albuquerque, and we’ve been hinting that we’ve been working on something big for the New Mexico Bred Thoroughbreds.
We’re happy to announce that the purses for the 2021 New Mexico Oaks and Derby have been increased to $250,000.00 each. The previous purses for these races were $120,000.00 each. These races will run on Sunland’s big Sunland Derby weekend. Both are pending Commission approval which should sail through. Thanks to Mike Logan, Mary Barber, and Dustin Dix for getting this done – this is obviously a big deal.
Thanks to all of you for hanging in there during the pandemic. It hasn’t been easy, but we made it through it and the future looks bright, especially with the increase in purses that we’re enjoying.
On behalf of the NMHBA trustees and staff, it is our honor to represent you.
Sincerely,
Tom Goncharoff
Remember, you can start the NMHBA registration process the day your foal is born! You DO NOT need to wait until you receive the QH or TB certificates. But remember the horse is not an official New Mexico Bred until the certificates have been finalized.
6 New Mexico Horse Breeder