Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Zia Park opens its 53-day meet with an 11-race program on Saturday. Post time for the first race is 12:15 p.m. (MDT).
Saturday’s program consists of six Quarter Horse and five Thoroughbred races. Five of the 11 races are restricted to New Mexico-breds and offer purses totaling $145,000. All told, $251,300 will be up for grab on the opening-day card.
Located in Hobbs, New Mexico, Zia Park opened its barn area on August 25. The track has been open for training since August 30.
Zia Park’s extensive stakes schedule includes several key races, starting with the 6-furlong, $100,000 Premier Cup Handicap on Sunday, which drew 11 nominations. Entries for Sunday’s program will be drawn on Thursday.
Other key Thoroughbred stakes include the 1 1/16-mile, $150,000 Zia Park Derby on December 4 and the 1 1/8-mile, $200,000 Zia Park Championship on December 5. These races, along with the Premier Cup, traditionally draw contestants from throughout the Midwest and Southwest regions, as well as California.
Zia Park’s Quarter Horse schedule kicks off with the sixth running of the Grade 2, $55,000 James Isaac Hobbs Stakes on September 18. Past winners of this 350-yard race include Desirio, Planet Holland, and Little Bit Of Ah Ha.
The track’s Quarter Horse stakes include the 400-yard, $300,000 Hobbs America Futurity (G2) and 440-yard, $200,000 Hobbs America Derby (G3), both of which will be run on October 10.
The focal point of Zia Park’s stakes schedule is the $2-million New Mexico Cup program on October 31. Last year’s New Mexico Cup program was the richest state-bred day of racing in the U.S.
The New Mexico Cup consists of stakes for both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses and includes the 400-yard, $350,000-est. New Mexico Cup Futurity (RG1) and 440-yard, $200,000-est. New Mexico Cup Derby (G1) for Quarter Horses, and the one-mile, $180,000 Rocky Gulch New Mexico Cup Stakes (R) for 3-year-olds and older and one-mile, $170,000 Peppers Pride New Mexico Cup Distaff Stakes (R) for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and older.
The feature race on Saturday is a 6-furlong, $39,200 optional claiming allowance sprint for state-breds, many of whom are being pointed to the New Mexico Cup races.
For more information on Zia Park’s meet, which ends on December 7, visit the track’s website at www.blackgoldcasino.net, and click on the “Racing” link on the top of the home page.