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Patrons going to the Turf Club had to pass through a single point of entry with an infrared camera that took their temperatures passively.
board, liquor control board, health department, fire department, water department, food and safety, OSHA and so on. We’re a highly regulated business. But we did our best to keep the business together, and candidly, I’m happy it’s September and we’re past it. It’s been difficult financially, operationally and emotionally. It’s going to take us years to dig out of this hole we created. We don’t regret that we did it because we carried the business, but it’s been costly.”
Wagering & Purse Cuts
Although off-track wagering saw an increase due to the number of other tracks that were closed, Jeff says that on-track wagering was down 64%. “The total for 2020 was $3.9 million versus $10.95 million in 2019,” he says.
“Off track, out-of-state live handle — that’s people outside New Mexico betting on our live signal — was $25.9 million versus $13.2 million last year. That’s up 83%. So, the total handle on and off track of $29.8 versus $25.13 million year over year, up 18.5%, is an accomplishment.
“When the big tracks — Del Mar, Saratoga, Belmont and others — started opening, we shifted our strategy to digital. Marketing dollars were cut way back but the money we did spend was for digital support: ADW (advanced deposit wagering) such as TVG and Xpressbet where you go online, open an account, and wager on live racing.
“We also instituted curbside wagering here at the racetrack, which did $430,000 over the course of the meet, and that’s counting the on-track handle.
“We put money into promotions with Horse Racing Radio Network, with Xpressbet, TVG and Twin Spires. We put our full PP (Past Performance) program online for free, streamed our live races free on our website so it was not hard to get to our product — even though according to our on-site laws, in New Mexico account holders can’t wager on New Mexico horse racing — and the out-of-state ADWs did fairly well. There were not a lot of people at facilities so most of the handle had to be online.
“If you look at our OTB handle year over year, it was not very good because there was nobody at the racetracks watching simulcasts along with other live racing; they were all sitting at home. But with those numbers, we still took a fairly significant financial hit because on-track handle is more than double the revenue that off-track is.”
Overall, Jeff says, Ruidoso paid out $12.7 million in purses including the Triple Crown nomination money, and about $4.6 million in overnight races including added money to stakes.
In addition to daily monitoring by emergency medical technicians, owners were barred from the backside and gatherings of more than five people were banned. Only individuals who were licensed by the New Mexico Racing Commission could gain entry.
“That was successful,” Stan adds, “and we opened up to the Ruidoso Futurity trials May 22 without spectators in the stands. That was quite an experience for us. I mean, when you’re used to those big trial days and race days and weekends, seeing thousands of people down there in the stands and then you don’t see them — it’s a huge financial burden.”
The Promise of Reopening
Back in March, when the owners and Jeff thought the track would open by June 1 and the casino by the Fourth of July, they invested in the protective protocols that the governor approved.
“On the front side, patrons and fans going to the Turf Club had to pass through a single point of entry with an infrared camera that took their temperatures passively, and anyone that read over 99.1 degrees was pulled off for secondary screening,” Jeff says. “For mutuel lines, we installed plexiglass between the tellers and patrons. In our food service area, we put up plexiglass and closed our buffet line, and we eliminated standing and sitting bar service.”
They also continued to pay racetrack and casino staff in hopes that they’d come back upon reopening. “Ruidoso is a small community and it can be hard to find workers,” Chicho says.
Racing started May 22 without spectators,
and on June 19, open-air dining in the third-floor Jockey Club and Turf Club opened at 50% capacity with everyone masked unless seated at their table.
“Patrons had to have a reservation,” Jeff says. “We’d open reservations each week on Monday to horse owners and season ticket holders and then on Wednesday, whatever inventory was left for that weekend of racing, we opened up to the public. So, we had generally 400–500 people on Saturdays in the Turf Club, and maybe 300–400 on Fridays and Sundays.
“Fifty percent in the Turf Club translates to about 10% occupancy facility-wide,” Jeff says. “Normally July weekends are when we ‘make hay.’ We have to live 12 months on what we get done in essentially five weeks. So not having it has been tough.”
“The trial days, of course, were highly sought after and it was wall to wall then, with the protocols put into place: We had all the extra cleaning cycles, the additional cleaning products, and the PPE [personal protective equipment].”
But while grocery stores and Walmart directly across the street were allowed to remain open with thousands of people a day shopping — some wearing masks and some not and nobody being temperature checked — and while the tribal casinos continued to operate even when the entire reservation was shut down twice for COVID positives, the governor kept Ruidoso’s grandstand and casino shut down.
“That’s been the challenge for us,” Jeff says. “We’re governed by multiple agencies, state and federal: racing commissioners, the gaming control
“There were horses bought as yearlings and put into training for thousands of dollars towards the Triple Crown, and we knew that if we didn’t hold those races, there would be thousands of owners and breeders and horsemen that would be impacted.”
48 SPEEDHORSE October 2020