Downs at Albuquerque begins meet with stable purses

The Downs at Albuquerque opens Saturday, and while there will be changes to the meet because of the coronavirus pandemic, the purse structure remains the same and the New Mexico track will host the American Quarter Horse Association’s annual Challenge Championships.

Albuquerque is running the 27 dates for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses it was allotted, racing through the Oct. 24 date of the Challenge Championships. But the state fair portion of the meet, which comprised 17 dates, will not be run this year as it’s among the state events New Mexico has canceled due to the pandemic, according to officials.

The loss of those dates has enabled average daily purses to hold at $205,000 per program, despite the fact that Albuquerque has not been able to offer simulcasting or gaming since March. In addition, the stakes program will remain intact, with $2.7 million in offerings, including the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 19.

“We didn’t cut any stakes races,” said Don Cook, president of racing for Albuquerque. “The reduction in days helped us maintain our purse structure, because we haven’t had any simulcast revenue or gaming.”

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Albuquerque will open without fans ontrack, as part of state restrictions due to the pandemic. Owners will be able to watch their horses run from a designated area. Cook is hoping that restrictions might in time be lifted, and he is particularly eager for that to happen before the Sept. 20 card of stakes featuring the Grade 1, $300,000 Downs at Albuquerque Fall Quarter Horse Championship and the Challenge Championships, which last year drew an ontrack crowd of nearly 10,000.

“Hopefully, we’ll get this state fired up as soon as possible,” Cook said.

Albuquerque is racing Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Sept. 20. The final day of the meet will be Oct. 24. First post is 1:30 p.m. Mountain in a pandemic-caused departure from night racing.

Albuquerque has seen strong entries for its first three cards, drawing 320 horses for 30 races. The surge is due, in part, to the cancellation of the meet at SunRay Park and the early closure of Sunland Park.

“I think we’ve got 12 12-horse fields already,” Cook said. “The races are filling unbelievable. Some folks, especially in the northern half of the state, haven’t been able to run since March.”

In the Friday feature, Tappin Fora Dance moves back into the straight 3-year-old ranks for the $50,000 Duke City at six furlongs. He exits a fourth-place finish in the Ruidoso Sprint, a race in which he dueled through a half-mile in 44 seconds in his first out since March. His chief rivals include turnback prospect Competitive Idea.