New track cards $2.5M in stakes

Zia Park, a new racetrack in southeastern New Mexico, has scheduled 36 stakes - 19 for Thoroughbreds, 14 for Quarter Horses, and three open to both - for a mixed meeting that begins Sept. 23.

On Nov. 6, the track will stage New Mexico Cup Day, running 11 stakes for statebreds with an estimated combined value of $1 million. In all, the Zia Downs stakes purses will total approximately $2.5 million.

Zia Downs - owned by a partnership including R.D. Hubbard, the majority owner of Ruidoso Downs, and Ed Allred, owner of Los Alamitos - is an adjunct of the Black Gold Casino in Hobbs, N.M., which opened in November.

The 44-day schedule will run Friday through Monday until Dec. 4, plus Thanksgiving Day.