Today featured partly cloudy skies, just a moderate wind, and plenty of stakes action. The eighth race kicked off three stakes in a row beginning with the Rita Danley Distaff Stakes for New Mexico-bred QH fillies and mares three years old and up.
Read MoreSunday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs Race Track included three premier races with Jess Cuz Pyc Can taking home the $89,176 Ruidoso Maiden Stakes, Close to Crazy winning the $40,000 Rita Danley Distaff and American Dubai finishing strong in the $25,000 Ruidoso Sprint Handicap.
Read MoreThe first of two stakes races today came with the Mountain Top QH Juvenile Stakes for two-year-olds who did not qualify for the Futurity Finals as race eight. Of the ten entrants in this event, the one to run fastest in the trials was Vine Master, trained by J.J. Gonzales and ridden by Sergio Becerra, Jr.
Read MoreLeading Cartel took home the $359,069 Grade II Mountain Top Futurity for 2-year-old New Mexico-bred Quarter Horses on Saturday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs. Leading Cartel, a gelding by Big Daddy Cartel out of Leading Diva by Special Leader, is owned by Reliance Ranches, LLC (Micah Mckinney et al) and is trained by Mike Robbins.
Read MoreRuidoso Downs Race Track will open the Turf Club and Jockey Club to horse owners, members, and season ticket holders at 50% occupancy beginning on Friday, June 19th. Race track management was notified by Governor Lujan Grisham’s office late Wednesday afternoon that the Turf Club and the Ruidoso Jockey Club would be allowed to operate as restaurants using COVID-Safe Practices (CSPs).
Read MoreThis weekend features an array of stakes action, with the Mountain Top New Mexico Bred Quarter Horse Futurity FInals and Mountain Top QH Juvenile Stakes on Saturday, and the Ruidoso Maiden Stakes, Rita Danley Distaff, and Ruidoso Sprint Handicap to be run on Sunday.
Read MoreTim Keithley talks with trainers for The Inside Track about Saturday’s $359,069 Mountain Top Quarter Horse Futurity.
Read MoreTrainer Sergio Ibarra and jockey Sergio Bercerra, Jr. combined to sweep the $1 Million Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity and the $100,000 Ruidoso Quarter Horse Juvenile today at Ruidoso Downs Race Track. Cyber Monday, a stand-out in the trials broke clean and powered to the wire to win by half a length, covering the 350 yards in:17.618.
Read MoreThe $100,000 Ruidoso Quarter Horse Juvenile and $1,000,000 Ruidoso Quarter Horse Futurity (Grade 1) were the highlight of the weekend and of Sunday's card. Trainer Sergio Ibarra followed up a big win on Saturday in the Ruidoso Quarter Horse Derby by sending out the winners of both of Sunday's stakes races.
Read MoreClear but warm skies with the wind picking up gradually over the day greeted us for the first major stakes race of the meet as well as an interesting undercard. To start were four thoroughbred races, trials for the Mountain Top NM Bred Thoroughbred Futurity.
Read MoreBill Leach, a lifelong horseman who was one of the very few trainers to win the leading trainer award for both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds at Ruidoso Downs, passed away this past Thursday night at his home in Brady, Texas.
Read MoreAfter leading the field in the time trials for the Ruidoso Derby, the filly Hotsempting proved once again that she has what it takes to run with the boys in an impressive win in the $900,000 Ruidoso Derby. Running into a stiff headwind, Hotsempting broke clean and never faltered over the 400 yards on her way to her first Grade 1 stakes win with a time of:20.00.
Read MoreAfter four trial heats for the Mountain Top Thoroughbred Futurity, a 5-furlong race for 2-year-old New Mexico-bred horses, trainer Todd Fincher was the man of the hour when five of the eight qualifying spots today were filled by horses from his barn. The final two positions will be filled in a Sunday morning draw by the third-place finishers in the four heats. Two horses from the Fincher barn will be vying for those spots as well.
Read MoreDuring a rainy afternoon that saw a brief weather delay, trainer Casey Lambert pulled off four wins Friday to take the early lead in the Thoroughbred standings at Ruidoso Downs Race Track.
Read MoreLISTEN NOW President and General Manager, Jeff True, speaks with Tim Keithley and Racetrack Sammy at KBUY-KWES Radio about the prospect of fans in the stands later this summer under COVID-Safe protocols and mass gathering restrictions.
Read MoreMike Ahrens outlines jockey placements for the big race weekend of June 5-7, 2020, featuring the Ruidoso Derby and Futurity on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to the Ruidoso Invitational Stakes, Ruidoso Juvenile Stakes, and the Mountain Top NM Bred Thoroughbred Futurity Trials.
Read MoreLive racing continues at Ruidoso Downs this weekend with the running of the first leg of the Quarter Horse Triple Crown, the $1 Million Ruidoso Futurity, on Sunday, June 7.
Read MoreTim Keithley talks with trainers for The Inside Track about the 2020 Ruidoso Futurity qualifiers racing on Sunday, June 7.
Read MoreTim Keithley talks with trainers about the 2020 Ruidoso Derby qualifiers racing on Saturday, June 6.
Read MoreIn the previous Stable Notes I discussed some of the qualifiers for the finals from Friday's Mountain Top NM Bred QH Futurity trials. One trainer's name surprisingly absent from that list was Wesley Giles who encountered a bit of bad luck throughout the day, notably with horses previously profiled as horses to watch.
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