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Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino
Racino in Sunland Park, New Mexico, US
Racino in Sunland Park, New Mexico, US
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino |
| website | http://www.sunland-park.com |
| location | Sunland Park, New Mexico |
| owner | Strategic Gaming Management |
| Gaming and Leisure Properties | |
| opened | |
| racetype | Thoroughbred and quarter horse |
Gaming and Leisure Properties Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino (SPR&C) is a racino located in Sunland Park, New Mexico, a suburb in southern New Mexico. The casino, open 112 hours a week, also offers many electronic table games including roulette, blackjack and Texas Hold 'Em.
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 over 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.
Sunland Park was the track where jockeys Jerry Bailey, Pat Valenzuela, and Cash Asmussen got their starts. Bill Shoemaker, who hails from the area, also rode at Sunland.
On October 15, 2025, Strategic Gaming Management announced that it had completed the purchase of SPR&C for $301 million. Shortly thereafter, the firm sold the real property to the real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties in a sale-leaseback transaction.
Racing
The 2021–22 racing season, which features both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, runs from December 31 through April 3. Live racing is traditionally offered four days each week on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Year-round Simulcast wagering is also available on racetracks across the country.
Thoroughbreds
The live racing season is highlighted by the Sunland Park Derby, run at miles for three-year-olds on February 18, 2024. The purse is currently $400,000. The race, which was granted grade 3 status in 2010, is included in the Road to the Kentucky Derby, awarding 20 points to the winner, 10 to second, 6 to third, 4 to fourth, and 2 to fifth. Prior to 2024, the Sunland Park Derby awarded 50–20–15–10–5 points to the 1st thru 5th place finishers respectively, therefore the winner was essentially guaranteed a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Also prior to 2024, the race was run about a month later.
Other notable races include the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks, a -mile Kentucky Oaks prep for fillies; the $200,000 Sunland Park Handicap for three-year-olds and up at miles, the $100,000 Harry W. Henson Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile; the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby, furlongs for three-year-olds, and the $125,000 Mine That Bird Derby, run at miles.
Graded events
The following Graded events were held at Sunland Park in 2025.
Listed
- Sunland Park Derby
Ungraded Park
- Sunland Park Oaks
Quarterhorses
Sunlands top quarter horse race is the $350,000 Grade 1 Championship at Sunland Park, run January 2, 2022. The $175,000 added New Mexican Spring Futurity at 300 yards is run April 3, 2022.
Gallery
Image:SP Racetrack.jpg Image:SP Racetrack 1.jpg Image:SP Racetrack 2.jpg
References
References
- [http://sunland-park.com/about/ Sunland-Park.com: About Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino]
- [http://www.sunland-park.com/racing.htm Sunland-Park.com: Racing history]
- "Strategic Gaming Management announces completion of acquisition of Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino por $ 301 million". PR Newswire.
- Rampellini, Mary. (July 19, 2007). "WinStar Derby once again meet highlight". NTRA.com/[[Daily Racing Form]].
- (July 29, 2007). "Sunland Park meet starts Dec. 12". [[El Paso Times]].
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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