Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is a

racino A racino is a combined horse racing track, or other live parimutuel betting facility, and casino. In some cases, the permitted form of casino gambling is limited to slot machines or video lottery terminals, but many locations also offer table ...

located in

Sunland Park, New Mexico Sunland Park is a city in southeastern Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, on the borders of Texas and the Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, with Ciudad Juárez adjoining it on the south and El Paso, Texas, on the ea ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in southern

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. 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 in ...

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 gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

s and

lotteries A lottery (or lotto) 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 som ...

became commonplace, New Mexico legislators allowed

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

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
/ref> Sunland Park was the track where

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

Jerry Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957) is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey and current NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest jockeys of all time. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas, Texas bu ...

, Pat Valenzuela, and

Cash Asmussen Cash Asmussen (born March 15, 1962, in Agar, South Dakota, 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 paren ...

got their starts.

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," ...

, who hails from the area, also rode at Sunland. The casino, open 112 hours a week, also offers many electronic table games including roulette, blackjack and Texas Hold 'Em.

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 or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to . ...

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 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, simultaneously) ...

wagering is also available on racetracks across the country.

Thoroughbreds

The live racing season is highlighted by the Sunland Park Derby, run at miles for three-year-olds on February 18, 2024. The purse is currently $400,000. The race, which was granted grade 3 status in 2010, is included in the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

, awarding 20 points to the winner, 10 to second, 6 to third, 4 to fourth, and 2 to fifth. Prior to 2024, the Sunland Park Derby awarded 50–20–15–10–5 points to the 1st thru 5th place finishers respectively, therefore the winner was essentially guaranteed a spot in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. Also prior to 2024, the race was run about a month later. Other notable races include the $250,000

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 racing one mile (formerly one and one sixteenth miles) on the dirt. The Oaks, an ungraded stakes event, is curren ...

, a -mile Kentucky Oaks prep for fillies; the $200,000 Sunland Park Handicap for three-year-olds and up at miles, the $100,000 Harry W. Henson Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile; the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby,

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 any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s for three-year-olds, and the $125,000 Mine That Bird Derby, run at miles.

Graded events

The following Graded events were held at Sunland Park in 2025. Listed * Sunland Park Derby Ungraded Park *

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