Sunland Park Adds Days and Extends Meet
Description:
During a special meeting in Albuquerque this week, the New Mexico Racing Commission voted to add one race per day to Sunland Park's racing schedule, starting with the track's April 5 program, and extend the meet to May 3.
The commission also approved a retroactive purse payment at the end of the meet, which will now conclude on May 3.
Sunland Park lost 19 race days due to an equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) outbreak, which forced the New Mexico Livestock Board to quarantine the track's stable area and three nearby training centers beginning Jan. 21. Live racing at Sunland Park resumed Feb. 26.
The track's general manager Rick Baugh and director of racing Dustin Dix had requested to increase purses for overnight races by 15%, effective from March 29 through May 3. They also sought to retroactively pay purses by 15% from the start of the meet on Dec. 18 and through March 27.
Sunland Park's 2015-16 meet was originally scheduled to end on April 19, but the NMRC recently approved the track's request to add eight days to its schedule.
The extension of the Sunland meet means that there will be a two-week overlap between the end of its season and the first two weeks of the SunRay Park meet, which opens April 22 in Farmington.
NMHA representatives, including executive director Pat Bingham and president Larry Strain, and management from both tracks agreed to do what they could to alleviate any issues related to the overlap.
This month, the commission also approved Ruidoso Downs Racetrack's request to cut its overnight purses by 5% for its 60-day meet, which runs May 27-Sept. 5.
Ruidoso Downs management had requested to cut purses by 10%, citing a 30% drop in simulcast handle and a 25% decrease in revenue from the slot machines that Zia Park in Hobbs leases from the track.