The New Mexico Racing Commission held its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Albuquerque on Thursday, July 21.

New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association executive director Anna Fay Davis gave the commission her race-a-day reports for SunRay Park in Farmington, which ended its 48-day meet on July 12. During the SunRay meet, the track ran 189 New Mexico-bred races – 129 for Thoroughbreds and 60 for Quarter Horses. By comparison, SunRay Park carded 210 state-bred races during its 45-day meet in 2010, 146 for Thoroughbreds and 64 for Quarter Horses.

Also during the SunRay Park meet, a total of 669 New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses ran in open overnight races, of which 206 (31 percent) finished first, second, or third. Of this total, 123 were Thoroughbreds and 83 were Quarter Horses. Bonuses totaling $124,404.40 were paid to the owners of these horses.

By comparison, a total of 460 state-breds competed in open races during the 2010 SunRay meet, of which 132 (29 percent) ran first, second, or third. Of this total, 52 were Thoroughbreds and 80 were Quarter Horses, and bonuses totaling $81,316.80 were paid to the owners of these horses.

During the first 32 days of the Ruidoso Downs meet, which began May 28, the track ran 130 New Mexico-bred races, 83 for Thoroughbreds and 47 for Quarter Horses. By comparison, Ruidoso Downs carded 131 state-bred races during the first 32 days of its 2010 season, 77 for Thoroughbreds and 54 for Quarter Horses.

Also, a total of 181 New Mexico-breds competed in open overnight races during the first 20 days of the Ruidoso meet, of which 55 (31 percent) finished first, second, or third. Of this total 29 were Thoroughbreds and 26 were Quarter Horses. Bonuses totaling $25,151.60 were paid to the owners of these horses.

By comparison, 219 state-breds competed in open races during the first 24 days of last year's Ruidoso Downs meet, of which 79 finished first, second, or third. Bonuses totaling $33,786.60 were paid to the owners of these horses.

Ruidoso Downs' 60-day meet runs through Labor Day, September 5.

Davis also told the commission that the NMHBA's 2010 Youth Day at the Races was featured in the July 2011 issue of the American Quarter Horse Racing Journal. She added that the association was looking at holding another such day at The Downs at Albuquerque in September.

Also at the meeting, New Mexico Horsemen's Association executive director Jack McGrail expressed his organization's concerns about the unusually high number of on-track breakdowns that occurred during the last few weeks of the SunRay Park meet. He added that he would like to schedule a track safety meeting with SunRay officials before the next commission meeting on August 25.

“I hope to have some specific numbers for you regarding the breakdowns at the next commission meeting,” McGrail said. “We have to do what we can to prevent breakdowns, not only during races but also during morning workouts. Those are the ones that often don't get reported.”

McGrail also told the commission that he met with Ruidoso Downs management regarding a race that was canceled on June 25. The race, the $19,100 Zenyatta Stakes, was a 5 1/2-furlong overnight stakes for fillies and mares.

“We had cordial discussions with track management regarding this cancellation, but there wasn't a resolution,” McGrail said. “I understand that the commission is conducting an investigation, and I hope this matter can be resolved quickly and we can move on, but I don't think we can just set this aside. An investigation needs to be held. We consider race cancellations to be serious issues.”

During his monthly presentation to the commission, Jockeys' Guild regional manager John Beech said that his membership was pleased with the improvements made by SunRay Park management to the jockeys' room and kitchen. Beech also commended Ruidoso Downs management for its support of the Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award, which will be presented at the track on All American Derby Day, September 4.

Co-sponsored by the Guild and Speedhorse Magazine, the Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award honors the memory of the late jockey, who died from injuries he sustained after his mount broke down past the wire at Los Alamitos Racecourse in December 2008. The award is similar to the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, which has been awarded at Santa Anita Park since 1950 and has honored Thoroughbred riders.

Criteria of the Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award focuses on the personal characteristics of the nominees both on and off the track. The 2011 nominees are Roy Brooks, G.R. Carter Jr., Alfonso Lujan, Freddie Martinez, and Gilbert Ortiz.

The commission also approved the appointment of Bobby Allison, Linda Salinas, and Ruben Rivera as the stewards at The Downs at Albuquerque, which opens its 50-day meet (including the 17-day New Mexico State Fair meet) on Saturday, August 13. Also, the commission approved the appointment of Dr. Steve England as the commission veterinarian during the meet.

Also at the meeting, Ruidoso Downs management officials Jean Stoddard and Shawn Hubbard reported that wagering handle on the track's live races was up 7 percent over the same period last year. Out-of-state wagering on Ruidoso's live racing has increased 11 percent, a lot of which is from the track's Monday races, which are telecast live on the TVG Network.

“We've had a good meet so far,” Hubbard told the commission. “Horsemen have participated by entering their horses, and we've had large fields. That's helped our handle.”

SunRay Park director of racing Lonnie Barber said that off-track handle on his track's live races increased 12 percent, though on-track handle was down 6 percent.

“I attribute that to the state of the economy in our area,” said Barber of the on-track handle decline. “Our off-track handle increase was due to the fact that we were able to send our races to a lot of new sites. More sites were willing to take our races when we moved our Thursday and Friday races to Monday and Tuesday.”

Wayne Conwell, director of racing at The Downs at Albuquerque, told the commission that his track received 3,000 stall applications, the largest number since 2007.

“We added about 2,000 tons of sand and organic materials to our track, and we had about an inch of rain fall on the track on Wednesday (July 20), and that helped the track a lot” he added. “We expect our track surface to be the best in the state.”

The next commission meeting will be held at the commission's headquarters in Albuquerque on Thursday, August 25. The executive session will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by a public session at 10:30. For more information, contact the commission at (505) 222-0700, or visit the commission's website at www.nmrc.state.nm.us.