New Mexico Regulator Officially Cancels Sunland Meet
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Photo: Coady Photography
Racing at Sunland Park
The 2020-2021 Sunland Park race meet officially was canceled Feb. 18 when the New Mexico Racing Commission passed a motion to call off the meet that had previously been delayed.
The El Paso Times and other media outlets have reported the cancellation.
In December the meet was postponed 30 days during a special meeting of the NMRC. The casino at the track has been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The track's Thoroughbred meet had been scheduled to race 42 days from Dec. 26-March 30.
In not conducting the meet, the track's signature race—the Sunland Derby (G3)—will not be contested for a second straight year. The race, which is a qualifying event on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, also was canceled last year because of the pandemic. This year's Sunland Derby had been scheduled for March 30 and would have offered the top four finishers qualifying points of 50-20-10-5 toward a spot in the starting gate for the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) .