Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino
Encyclopedia
| Horse Race Track | |
|---|---|
| Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino | |
| Location | Sunland Park, New Mexico Sunland Park, New Mexico Sunland Park is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 14,106 at the 2010 census. Though it lies directly across from El Paso, Texas, being in Doña Ana County makes it instead a part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area, some 30 miles to the north.The... |
| Owned by | Stanley E. Fulton |
| Race type | Thoroughbred, quarter horse |
| Principal Races | |
| WinStar Derby WinStar Derby The Sunland Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Inaugurated in 2003, the race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt and is sponsored by WinStar Farm of Versailles, Kentucky... |
|
| Borderland Derby Borderland Derby The Borderland Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually early in the year at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico. The final local prep for April's WinStar Derby, and an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby, the Borderland Derby is open to three-year-olds... |
|
Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is a racino
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....
located in Sunland Park, New Mexico
Sunland Park, New Mexico
Sunland Park is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 14,106 at the 2010 census. Though it lies directly across from El Paso, Texas, being in Doña Ana County makes it instead a part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area, some 30 miles to the north.The...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
.
Opened in 1959 as a thoroughbred racing 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
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s and lotteries
New Mexico Lottery
The New Mexico Lottery is run by the government of New Mexico. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . Its games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Pick3, and Roadrunner Cash. ....
became commonplace, New Mexico legislators allowed slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s at the track. Now with 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 was the track where jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
s Jerry Bailey
Jerry Bailey
Jerry D. Bailey is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey. He began his racing career in November 1974. His first mount was on a horse named Pegged Rate, who ran off the board. He notched his first career win the next day on his second career mount, Fetch, at New Mexico's Sunland Park, and has...
, Pat Valenzuela
Pat Valenzuela
Patrick Angel Valenzuela 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 career winner on November 10, 1978, at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico...
, and Cash Asmussen
Cash Asmussen
Cash Asmussen 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 "Sis" Asmussen, operate a ranch in Laredo, Texas...
got their start. Bill Shoemaker, who hails from the area, also rode at Sunland.
The casino does not offer table games and, unlike most stand-alone casinos, is not open 24 hours a day by state regulation.
The racing meet, which features both thorughbreds and quarter horses, runs from December through late April. Live racing is traditionally offered four days each week on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, though the track occasionally races on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays. Simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
wagering is offered on tracks across the country daily.
The meet is highlighted by the Sunland Derby, run at 1⅛ miles for three-year-olds in late March of each year. The race was granted a Grade 3 status for the 2010 running and now is an important prep race for the Kentucky Derby--annually run on the First Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Graded ranking is important because the Kentucky Derby uses Graded stakes earnings to determine which horse(s) will be permitted to enter if its limit of 20 entries is exceeded.
Other notable races include the $200,000 WinStar Sunland Park Oaks
Winstar Oaks
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...
1-1/16 miles for fillies; the $150,000 Harry W. Henson Breeders' Cup Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile; the $150,000 Riley Allison Futurity, 6½ furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
s for 2-year-olds; the $100,000 Borderland Derby
Borderland Derby
The Borderland Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually early in the year at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico. The final local prep for April's WinStar Derby, and an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby, the Borderland Derby is open to three-year-olds...
, a 1 1/16-mile prep for the WinStar; and the $100,000 Sunland Park Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at 1⅛ miles.
For quarter horses, Sunland's top race is the $400,000 Grade 1 Championship, run late each December at 440 yards. The $300,000 Grade New Mexican Spring Futurity at 300 yards is run in April.