Ruidoso Downs has canceled racing from Friday through Sunday this weekend because of massive forest fires near the southern New Mexico facility, track owner Johnny Trotter said on Wednesday morning.

Trotter said there are hopes that racing can resume at Ruidoso Downs on the weekend of June 28-30, with time trials scheduled on those days for three major Quarter Horse stakes – the Rainbow Futurity, Rainbow Oaks, and Rainbow Derby. The finals of these races are slated to be run on the weekend of July 13-14.

With a wildfire that began Monday burning in the area of Ruidoso, N.M., a mandatory evacuation directive has been issued for horses stabled at Ruidoso Downs, the state’s racing commission was informed Tuesday morning.

The commission was made aware of the directive by one of its veterinarians and several horse owners. The track is located in the Village of Ruidoso, which is under a mandatory evacuation notice, according to an NBC News report. The outlet reported that a fire at a nearby Indian reservation had impacted 13,921 acres as of Tuesday morning.

Apprentice jockey Ruany Orantes plans to resume riding for the first time since September in the near future in Southern California, according to his new agent Sue McBrayer.

Orantes has been working as an exercise rider for trainers such as Ron Ellis and Leonard Powell in recent weeks, McBrayer said.

Orantes has won four races from 89 mounts in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State since his career began in the summer of 2022.

The highly regarded filly Nooni ran to expectations with an undemanding victory by 9 1/2 lengths in a maiden race at five furlongs at Santa Anita on Thursday.

The easy victory leaves Nooni on schedule for expected starts in stakes at Del Mar later this summer.

Kazushi Kimura, who finished in a tie for eighth in the jockey standings at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting earlier this year, will ride at Del Mar for the first time later this summer.

In a phone interview on Friday, Kimura said he plans to leave his current base at Woodbine, near Toronto, in the days before Del Mar begins its summer meeting on July 20.

“I want the new experience for my racing career,” he said. “Now is the time to do it.

“Always going to a new place, it will be tough for business. I’ve got the opportunities to ride.”

Gulfstream Park has canceled Saturday’s racing program “out of an abundance of caution” following several days of heavy rain that flooded the local community, including areas of the racetrack property and a portion of the barn area.

Both the $95,000 Powder Break Stakes and $75,000 Wildcat Red overnight handicap will be brought back next weekend. The mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6, which was planned for Saturday, will be rescheduled to a later date.

Training will resume Saturday morning on both the main and Tapeta tracks.