Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is a
racino
A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette.
In 2003, Joe Bob Briggs described the econo ...
located in
Sunland Park, New Mexico, a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
in
Southern New Mexico.
Opened in 1959 as a
Thoroughbred racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...
track, Sunland Park was the only legalized gambling venue in the region for many years. In 1999, at a time when horse racing was experiencing a decline as
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s and
lotteries
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
became commonplace, New Mexico legislators allowed
slot machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s at the track. Now with over 700 machines in play, racing at Sunland has benefited greatly, with purses increasing from a $35,000 daily average in the early 1990s to nearly a quarter million per day today.
[Sunland-Park.com: Racing history](_blank)
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Sunland Park was the track where jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
s Jerry Bailey
Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is an Thoroughbred Racing on NBC, NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst and a retired American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame jockey.
Early years
Bailey was born ...
, Pat Valenzuela
Patrick Angel Valenzuela (born October 17, 1962, in Montrose, Colorado) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles, including Ismael Valenzuela, were jockeys. He rode his first ...
, and Cash Asmussen
Cash Asmussen (born March 15, 1962 in Agar, South Dakota) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born Brian Keith Asmussen, in 1977 he legally changed his name to "Cash".
From a Texas horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn ...
got their starts. Bill Shoemaker
William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories.
Early life
Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sh ...
, who hails from the area, also rode at Sunland.
Racing
The 2021-22 racing season, which features both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...
s, runs from December 31 through April 3. Live racing is traditionally offered four days each week on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Year-round Simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
wagering is also available on racetracks across the country.
Thoroughbreds
The live racing season is highlighted by the Sunland Derby, run at 1⅛ miles for three-year-olds on March 27, 2022. The race was granted a Grade 3 status for the 2010 running and now is an important preparatory race for the Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
. The race is now included in th
Road to the Kentucky Derby
awarding 50 points to the winner, 20 to second, 10 to third, and 5 to forth. The 50 points awarded the winner effectively guarantees entrance into the Kentucky Derby.
Other notable races include the $300,000 Sunland Park Oaks
The Sunland Park Oaks (formerly the WinStar Oaks) is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and mares willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. The Oaks, an ungraded stakes event, is held in March at S ...
, 1-1/16 miles Kentucky Oaks prep for fillies; the $100,000 Harry W. Henson Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile; the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby, 6½ furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...
s for three-year-olds; the $100,000 Mine That Bird Derby, 1 1/16-mile prep for the Sunland Derby; and the $100,000 Sunland Park Handicap for three-year-olds and up at 1⅛ miles.
Graded events
The following Graded events were held at Sunland Park in 2019.
Grade III
* Sunland Derby
Quarterhorses
Sunlands top quarter horse race is the $350,000 Grade 1 Championship at Sunland Park, run January 2, 2022. The $175,000 added New Mexican Spring Futurity at 300 yards is run April 3, 2022..
Gallery
Image:SP Racetrack.jpg
Image:SP Racetrack 1.jpg
Image:SP Racetrack 2.jpg
References
External links
Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino
Horse racing venues in New Mexico
Casinos in New Mexico
Buildings and structures in Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Tourist attractions in Doña Ana County, New Mexico
1959 establishments in New Mexico
Sports venues completed in 1959