Improve your odds, and get an insider’s view about upcoming races this weekend at Ruidoso Downs Race Track. We will share expert tips and analysis along with live racing previews.
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Ruidoso Downs Race Track
The big one is here, as this weekend provides plenty of action with 32 trials for the All American Futurity on Friday and Saturday along with four trials for the All American Oaks and nine for the All American Derby on Sunday.
Saturday features the Ruidoso Downs Distaff Challenge, John Deer Ruidoso Downs Challenge, and Adequan Ruidoso Downs Derby Challenge, all for quarter horses, while Sunday's attention is on New Mexico-bred thoroughbreds with the Rio Grande Senorita and Rio Grande Senor Thoroughbred Futurities.
Zia Festival weekend begins Friday with trials for the Rio Grande Señorita and Rio Grande Señor, for two-year-old New Mexico-bred thoroughbreds going five and one-half furlongs, the former restricted to fillies and latter to colts and geldings. There are horses who ran in the Mountain Top trials, some who ran in maiden races, and others making their debuts.
Saturday kicks off stakes action with the Rainbow Invitational Stakes, the inaugural Rainbow Oaks, and the Rainbow Derby in races six, eight and ten, respectively. The Rainbow Invitational is for three-year-olds who competed in the Rainbow Derby trials and did not qualify for the finals.
This weekend is forecast to be warm and loaded with regional horse racing as Friday we have 11 trials for the Zia Quarter Horse Futurity for New Mexico breds, Saturday has five trials for the Zia Quarter Horse Derby as well as the Regional Juvenile Challenge Stakes with preference given to finalists of the Rillito Park Regional Challenge Juvenile after their meet was canceled due to Covid-19, and Sunday features the division of that latter Regional Challenge Stakes for older horses. In addition, there are several thoroughbred maidens for New Mexico bred two-year-olds.
The Rainbow Futurity, Rainbow Derby, and newly-created Rainbow Oaks trials are upon us, and there's no shortage of good horses lining up this weekend to contest 30 total trials for the Futurity on Friday and Saturday, as well as 8 Derby trials and 4 Oaks trials on Sunday.
This weekend's racing is highlighted by the Higheasterjet Handicap (G2), a $40,000 stakes for Quarter Horses three year olds and upwards going 350 yards to be run Saturday as the 10th race, as well as the First Lady Handicap, $50,000 guaranteed, for fillies and mares year olds and upward going six furlongs as Sunday's 10th race. Sunday's card consists of just Quarter Horse races and eight Thoroughbred races.
This 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.
Mike 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.
The second weekend of live racing kicks off with The Mountain Top New Mexico Bred Futurity Trials on Friday, May 29th. On Saturday, The Ruidoso Maiden Stakes races are followed by the first two-year-old thoroughbred race of the meet. Sunday’s action includes a mixed maiden race, several good allowance events, and the second running of the Dash for Speed Stakes for fillies and mares.