Sunland opens with pick six format change

The Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Park Derby is still the main event during the Sunland Park meet, which opens Friday, but notable highlights this season include the return of a traditional pick six, a new hotel on the grounds, and potential appearances by Jessies First Down, reigning world champion Quarter Horse, and Conquest Mo Money, a hometown hero who last ran in the Preakness.

Sunland, which conducts a mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, will race 72 dates through April 17.

The Sunland Derby, which will reward its winner with 50 eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby when the 1 1/8-mile race is renewed March 25, anchors a $3.8 million stakes schedule. The Sunland Derby will be part of a $1.5 million card of seven stakes that also includes the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks, which is a points race for the Kentucky Oaks. The local preps for the Sunland Derby are the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby on Jan. 28 and the $100,000 Mine That Bird Derby on Feb. 25. Another major race at the meet is the $150,000 Sunland Park Handicap on April 15.

Jessies First Down is a candidate for the meet’s richest Quarter Horse race, the Grade 1, $350,000 Championship on Dec. 31. Conquest Mo Money, who was second in the 2016 Sunland Derby, recently resumed light training, according to his connections, and could see action later in the meet at Sunland.

The biggest change to the wagering format for the new season is that the pick six will be old school, rather than jackpot style. It will have a $1 minimum bet.

“There will be a mandatory payout the last Tuesday of every month starting in January,” said Dustin Dix, director of racing operations for Sunland.

Sunland will race Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, with a daily post of 12:30 p.m. Mountain. Friday’s cards will be all Quarter Horse races, while the other days will be all Thoroughbreds. The lone exception will be Saturday or Sunday stakes for Quarter Horses. They will be placed as the last races on the Thoroughbred programs and will not be tied into any multi-race wagers, said Dix.

“This is the same format we started in January last meet,” Dix said. “It was successful last season, so we’re doing it again and starting it right from the beginning. We wanted the consistency for players.”

The new hotel is a 78-room facility that opened earlier this year.

“It opened right after the meet,” Dix said. “It’s by our Quarter Horse chute, adjacent to our Signature Showroom. I’ve been in some of the suites and they have beautiful views of the track.”

On the track, purses – which are fueled in part by a 725-machine slots casino – are projected to average about $228,000 per program, according to Dix. The title winners from the Zia Park meet that closed Tuesday are all expected for Sunland: owners J. Kirk and Judy Robison, trainer Justin Evans, and jockey Roimes Chirinos.

Horses that make it into the finales of Sunland’s six stakes that run trials will undergo hair testing. Of the races, five are for Quarter Horses and one, the Copper Top Futurity, is for Thoroughbreds. The New Mexico Racing Commission approved a plan in which owners pay a fee for the hair testing, said Dix.

“The owners have been very positive about this,” said Dix.

Sunland also will have additional cameras monitoring its receiving barn.