Sunland Park

The New Mexico Horsemen's Association (NMHA) has filed an ethics complaint against the New Mexico Racing Commission (NMRC) and the New Mexico Gaming Control Board, the latest salvo from horsemen in their fight against regulators over how purse money is to be distributed. The complaint was filed with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission last Thursday. The dispute goes back to at least December 2020, when the NMHA filed suit in the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County to stop what it alleges was a longstanding practice by the...

Edited Press Release The New Mexico Horsemen's Association has taken additional legal action against the New Mexico Racing Commission after the regulatory body ordered the defunding of the organization that represents about 4,000 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse owners and trainers in the state. On May 20, the racing commission ordered tracks to withhold the 1% of purse money that goes to the horsemen's association for administrative costs, about $400,000 a year. Additionally, the commission ordered a halt to the $5 per-starter fee NMHA member owners pay toward medical expenses for...

With the Feb. 25 announcement that restrictions regarding gaming in the state of New Mexico would be loosened, the New Mexico Racing Commission announced Monday that its season is slated to start Apr. 23 at SunRay Park in Farmington, NM. "We are very excited to get live horse racing going again in the state of New Mexico," said newly-named Chairman of the New Mexico Racing Commission, Sam Bregman. "We look forward to getting the industry back on track." The New Mexico Racing Commission intends to make decisions regarding the SunRay...

There hasn't been any racing in New Mexico since Dec. 23, but trainer Lynette Baldwin stayed behind, setting up shop at a training center and waiting for good news. For the longest time, there has been none. "I kept hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel," Baldwin said. "That's all we asked. Just give us a chance." On Thursday, Baldwin's situation went from bad to worse. She turned down stalls at Turf Paradise hoping that Sunland Park would eventually open. Instead, a ruling issued by the New...

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino announced Tuesday that the Stanley E. Fulton Family Foundation is making a commitment of $2,000,000 to assist New Mexicans. The Stanley E. Fulton Family Foundation was endowed by the long-time owner of Sunland Park, the late Stanley E. Fulton. The gift will go to the All Together NM Fund, which will oversee the distribution of the gift to local charities and food banks in the areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. "I am immensely grateful every single...

Sunland Park in New Mexico has become the latest racetrack to shutter indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic--the GIII Sunland Derby, which offered qualifying points for the GI Kentucky Derby and was scheduled for next Sunday, will not be run. The announcement came within minutes of the release of an overnight for the would-be Sunland Derby card. "Yesterday afternoon we received a call at about 12:30 from [Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham]'s office," Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino GM Rick Baugh said in a video posted on twitter Sunday by Felix...