The New Mexico Racing Commission held its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Albuquerque on Thursday, during which it approved a 289-date racing calendar for 2011.

New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association executive director Anna Fay Davis gave the commission her race-a-day reports for The Downs at Albuquerque and Zia Park. During the first 44 days of its meet, which began on August 14, The Downs at Albuquerque has run 182 New Mexico-bred races – 106 for Thoroughbreds and 76 for Quarter Horses. By comparison, the track carded 208 state-bred races during the first 54 days of its 2009 meet, 107 for Thoroughbreds and 101 for Quarter Horses.

This year, Albuquerque has run an average of 4.14 New Mexico-bred races per day, a 7-percent increase over the same period last year.

Through the first 24 days of its meet, which opened on September 11, Zia Park in Hobbs has run 120 New Mexico-bred races – 78 for Thoroughbreds and 42 for Quarter Horses – compared to 137 during the first 28 days of its ’09 season. The track has run an average of 5 state-bred races a day this year, an increase of 2 percent over the 4.90 average of last season.

Also at The Downs at Albuquerque, a total of 378 New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses have run in open overnight races, of which 102 (27 percent) finished first, second, or third. Of this total, 70 were Quarter Horses and 32 were Thoroughbreds. Bonuses totaling $42,553.60 were paid to the owners of these horses.

By comparison, bonuses totaling $33,163.20 were paid to the owners of New Mexico-breds racing in open overnight races during the first 49 days of last year’s Albuquerque meet.

A total of 102 New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses have run in open races during the first 20 days of the Zia Park meet, of which 31 (31 percent) finished first, second, or third. Of this total, 26 were Quarter Horses and five were Thoroughbreds. Bonuses totaling $36,851.20 were paid to the owners of these horses.

By comparison, bonuses totaling $30,682.80 were paid to the owners of state-breds racing in open overnight races during the first 24 days of the 2009 Zia Park meet.

Davis also reported on Zia Park’s second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 30, the day before the New Mexico Cup Day races. The program starts at 11:30 a.m., and pink caps will be given to the first 500 fans, courtesy of the NMHBA and New Mexico Horsemen’s Association.

Also, the commission set New Mexico’s 2011 racing calendar. Following Sunland Park’s 77-day meet, which runs from mid-December to mid-April. SunRay Park in Farmington will conduct a 48-day meet with 10 races per day from April 23-July 12, Ruidoso Downs will hold a 60-day season from May 27-September 5, The Downs at Albuquerque will race 54 days from August 13-November 13, and Zia Park will conduct a 50-day season with 11-12 races per day from September 10-December 4.

The Albuquerque meet includes a 17-day New Mexico State Fair season from September 2-25.

Commission vice chairman Thomas “Eddie” Fowler reported on Wednesday’s commission medication subcommittee meeting. He said that the Racing Commissioners International’s recommendation to lower bute levels in horses on race day was among the issues discussed.

“I put it on the agenda because I wanted to hear what our veterinarians and trainers had to say about it, and a majority of the vets were against lowering the bute levels,” Fowler said. “They felt that, when we lowered the banamine levels, that took care of a lot of the problems we had.

“This commission currently is not considering doing anything to change the bute levels in our state,” he added. “There needs to be more study done.”

Also, New Mexico Horsemen’s Association executive director Pat Bingham introduced new NMHA board member Rodney Richards to the commission. Bingham also reported that the NMHA brought in Dr. Mick Peterson, the executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, to look at the track surface at Zia Park.

Peterson is a professor at the College of Engineering at the University of Maine. His research links traditional understanding of engineering mechanics and materials to the biomechanics of animals, and during the past several years, Dr. Peterson has developed a passion for understanding racing surfaces. He has developed test protocols that have been used at more than 30 racetracks.

The Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory is a non-profit organization supported by the horse racing industry. It provides research, testing, and materials characterization services for the industry.

Bingham said that the compaction of the Zia Park surface has been an issue all season. Commission chairwoman Marty Cope asked Richards, a trainer whose stable is currently based at Zia, his opinion of the surface.

“The track has improved some (since the beginning of the meet), but there are still some inconsistencies,” Richards said. “We still have some compaction problems.”

Bingham and Zia Park general manager Rick Baugh assured the commission that they would continue to work on the track’s racing surface issues.

In other news, Jockeys’ Guild southwest region manager John Beech told the commission that the Guild and NMHA were unable to reach an agreement on losing jockey mount fees after months of negotiations. The commission will make a decision on this issue at its November meeting.

Also, the commission approved several rule changes. For more information, visit the commission’s website at http://nmrc.state.nm.us/index.html.

Sunland Park general manager Harold Payne announced that his track will introduce two new bets to its 2010-11 wagering menu, a Grand Slam wager and a Place Pick-5. Popular at the New York Racing Association’s three tracks, the Grand Slam requires handicappers to correctly select the official first, second, or third place finisher in each of the first three races in the Grand Slam series, followed by the selection of the official winner in the fourth and final race.

The Place Pick-5 requires bettors to select the first or second-place finishers in five consecutive races.

Payne said that the Grand Slam wager will be offered starting on opening day of the Sunland Park meet, while the Place Pick-5 will be offered as soon as United Tote – the track’s official tote provider – has developed the appropriate software to handle the bet.

The next monthly commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 18, at the commission headquarters at 4900 Alameda NE in Albuquerque. The executive session will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by a public session starting at 10:30 a.m.

For more information on commission meetings, including approved minutes and updated agendas, visit the commission’s website at http://nmrc.state.nm.us/index.html.