Purses for the upcoming race meet at Zia Park will be the richest in the track's 24 years, with overnight purses expected to average $360,000 per day for the 30-day mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meet.
“With the realignment of the 2023 New Mexico racing calendar, this is a tremendous opportunity to showcase New Mexico horse racing,” said Christopher McErlean, Vice President of Racing for PENN Entertainment, parent company of Zia Park. “There will be racing opportunities for all categories–New Mexico-breds and open horses, wide ranges of allowance classes and plenty of spots for different claiming levels–and the purses will be unlike anything seen in this region of the country. If horsemen don't have Zia Park on their radar yet, they should take notice and make plans to participate.”
Maiden special weight races at the meet will have a $45,000 base purse, with New Mexico-bred exclusive races offering a $55,000 purse. Open allowance categories will range from $52,500 up to $65,000, while New Mexico-bred allowance races will get an added $12,000 per race. Claiming race purses will range from $24,000 to $46,500 (plus $7,000 to $8,000 added for New Mexico-bred races), with claiming categories from $7,500 to $25,000.
The 2023 Zia Park stakes schedule will be highlighted by back-to-back-to-back million-dollar stakes days. Seven New Mexico-bred stake races totaling over $1.2 million in purses will be in the spotlight Nov. 26. The day is headed by the $350,000 (est.) New Mexico Classic Cup Futurity and the $225,000 (est.) New Mexico Classic Cup Derby.
On Nov. 27, New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds will face off in eight New Mexico Classic Cup championship races worth over $1.2 million, including the $200,000 Peppers Pride S. for older fillies and mares going one mile and the $200,000 Rocky Gulch S. for older male horses going one mile and seventy yards.
The trifecta of million-dollar stakes days concludes Nov. 28 with the Land of Enchantment Stakes Day featuring seven stakes worth over $1.1 million, including the $300,000 Zia Park Derby and the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks, both at one mile and one sixteenth.
The Zia Park meet begins Nov. 3, with Quarter Horse racing every Saturday and Sunday (plus Nov. 3) and Thoroughbred racing every Monday and Tuesday (plus Dec. 20).
Stall applications for the 2023 Zia Park race meet are due Aug. 15 and can be found at https://www.ziaparkcasino.com/racing. The stable area is expected to open the week of Sept. 25.
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