Revamped infield ready for all-Quarter Horse meet
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For the most part, racing life at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico has returned to normal in advance of Friday’s opening day, a change from the natural disasters last June and July that led to the cancellation of the final six weeks of the meeting.
Two major wildfires in the mountains near the southern New Mexico track forced the evacuation of the town of Ruidoso and the track’s barn area last June. The effects of those fires, which consumed more than 25,000 acres, led to massive runoffs of mud, ash, and debris that flooded the track on several occasions after significant rainstorms in late June and July. The most devastating flood, on July 20, led to the relocation of the meeting to the Downs at Albuquerque.
In advance of Friday’s opening of the 46-day season, Ruidoso’s infield has undergone a massive renovation designed to improve drainage and water flow from the normally tranquil Rui Ruidoso, which runs through the track’s infield. The river, which runs under two bridges that traverse the turns of the oval track, was too small to handle the debris flow last year. In the renovation project, the river has been widened and dredged.
This year’s season, which runs through Sept. 1, will not include Thoroughbreds, a major change after decades of mixed racing for Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. All races this year will be on the Quarter Horse track, which allows for distances up to 550 yards. The Thoroughbred track will be used for an occasional 870-yard race.
Horses began training at Ruidoso Downs in late April.
The first three days of the meeting consist entirely of time trials for the Ruidoso Futurity at 350 yards on Friday and Saturday, and the Ruidoso Derby at 400 yards on Sunday. The finals of those races will be run on June 7-8.
There are 15-race programs on Friday and Saturday. The runners with the five fastest times each day advance to the Ruidoso Futurity.
The most accomplished starter in the Ruidoso Futurity trials is Political Twist, who won the West Texas Futurity at Sunland Park on April 8. Political Twist runs in Friday’s eighth race.
Of the 289 horses entered on Friday and Saturday, 144 are first-time starters. On Sunday, the runners with the 10 fastest times will advance to the Ruidoso Derby.
Prominent runners include Kj Bad Moon Rising, winner of the $1.2 million New Mexico State Fair Futurity at Albuquerque last October; Lethal Cowboy 123, winner of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in California in December; and Brown Coffeee, winner of the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in February.
The most notable absentee is Hezgothelook Z, who won the $3 million All American Futurity by a neck over Kj Bad Moon Rising in Albuquerque last September. Hezgothelook Z later tested positive for the banned medication carmoterol, one of 12 postives for that medication on the same program at Albuquerque.
Hezgothelook Z’s trainer, Toby Keeton, was summarily suspended. The gelding has not raced or had a workout since the All American Futurity.
The Ruidoso Futurity and Derby are the first of three major stakes couplings at the meeting. The Rainbow Derby and Futurity will be held on July 12 and 13, while the All American Derby and $3 million All American Futurity will occur on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, respectively.
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