Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is a racino located in Sunland Park, New Mexico, a suburb of El Paso, Texas.

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 casinos and lotteries became commonplace, New Mexico legislators allowed slot machines 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. [http://www.sunland-park.com/racing.htm Sunland-Park.com: Racing history] ]

Sunland Park was the track where jockeys Jerry Bailey, Pat Valenzuela, and Cash Asmussen 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. [ [http://www.sunland-park.com/about.htm Sunland-Park.com: About Sunland Park] ]

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 wagering is offered on tracks across the country daily.

The meet is highlighted by the WinStar Derby, run at 1⅛ miles for three-year-olds in mid-April of each year, sponsored by WinStar Farm. The race is not a graded stakes race, which prevents it from being a prep for the Kentucky Derby run two weeks later; the Kentucky Derby uses graded stakes earnings in determining which horse will be entered when its limit of 20 entries is exceeded.

Other notable races include the $200,000 WinStar Sunland Park Oaks 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 furlongs for 2-year-olds; the $100,000 Borderland Derby, 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. [cite news|url=http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=26656|title=WinStar Derby once again meet highlight|publisher=NTRA.com/"Daily Racing Form"|first=Mary|last=Rampellini|date=July 19, 2007] The $300,000 Grade New Mexican Spring Futurity at 300 yards is run in April. [cite news|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_6490957|publisher="El Paso Times"|date=July 29, 2007|title=Sunland Park meet starts Dec. 12]

References

External links

* [http://www.sunland-park.com Official web site]