Ruidoso Downs forced to cancel races again after river bank bursts

Ruidoso Downs canceled the final five races on Saturday’s program, including the $792,229 Rainbow Derby for Quarter Horses, after a severe flood caused widespread damage to the track and infield, the fourth such incident in the last month.

Saturday’s flood was by far the most severe of the recent incidents. Previous floods affected the first turn and part of the backstretch. On Saturday, floodwaters extended through much of the infield, including the paddock and winner’s circle, as well as causing extensive flooding on the backstretch and first turn.

The track has been vulnerable to flooding since a massive wildfire struck the mountains near the track on June 15, leading to the cancellation of racing on June 21-23.

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Racing was canceled on June 29 and 30 because of floods. Another flood struck the track on July 9, a day without racing. The track was able to resume racing as scheduled on July 12.

On Saturday, Ruidoso Downs ran the first seven races of its 12-race program, including stakes for Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred New Mexico-breds, before the river burst its banks.

Some areas north and west of the track, including hillsides burned in the fires, sustained anywhere from a third of an inch to 1.8 inches of rain in the last 24 hours, according to the United States Geological Survey website.

Track maintenance crew were seen on the Ruidoso Downs simulcast feed working to contain the damage. The track has suffered repeated flooding because of runoff of mud, water and debris from the areas affected by the mid-June fires.

On Saturday, the National Weather Service called a flash flood emergency and urged residents of the Village of Ruidoso to be prepared to evacuate.

The severity of Saturday’s flood is likely to lead to the cancellation of Sunday’s 12-race program, which included two major stakes for Quarter Horses – the $483,384 Rainbow Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, and the $368,451 Zia Futurity for statebreds.

The Rainbow Derby and Rainbow Oaks were postponed from July 13-14 because of the late June floods that forced the postponement of time trials for those races to early July.

There is a possibility the Rainbow Derby and Rainbow Oaks could be canceled and prize money divided equally among the qualifiers.

A majority of the runners in those races are expected to run in the next races in the summer-long series, time trials for the All American Derby and All American Oaks on Aug. 11. Finals for those races are scheduled for Sept. 1, a day before the track closes its beleaguered season.

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