Story by
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Key races moving to Texas 'disappointing' but understandable for Ruidoso
- Story byAlbuquerque Journal, N.M.
- Key races moving to Texas 'disappointing' but understandable for Ruidoso
Lynn Crawford apologized and silenced another call.
The Ruidoso mayor's phones — both his work and personal cells — hadn't stopped ringing since Thursday's announcement that the owners of Ruidoso Downs Race Track reached an agreement to move some of New Mexico's most prominent horse races to Texas next year.
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The latest person to reach out? A reporter from England.
"That's how big this story is," said Crawford, who planned on getting back to the Englishman after he finished his current interview.
And if the news doesn't involve some of the state's biggest races, it certainly involves its richest.
The Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown Series — $1 million Ruidoso Futurity, the $1 million Rainbow Futurity and the $3 million All-American Futurity, known as the richest quarter horse race in the world — is slated to run at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 2027.
All three have historically run at Ruidoso Downs. All three were moved to the Downs at Albuquerque this year with the track in Ruidoso still inoperable from damage sustained during the South Fork and Salt fires in 2024 and the ensuing flash floods both that same year and in 2025.
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The first two legs of the Triple Crown took place in June and July, respectively. The All-American is scheduled for Monday.
The All-American Super Select Sale and the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame will also be part of the move in a deal between owners Johnny and Jana Trotter, and Global Game Solutions, an investment company run by the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma that focuses on the gaming, racing and entertainment industries.
"Following the fires and floods of recent years, we have taken a hard look at what comes next and evaluated every realistic path forward," Ruidoso Downs general manager Rick Baugh said in a statement Thursday. "Our responsibility has always been to protect not just a place but a legacy."
It is unknown if the move to the track less than 13 miles east of Dallas is temporary — either for just next year or the foreseeable future — or will become permanent. The deal for 2027 has yet to be finalized, but is expected to be in the coming weeks.
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The Trotters, Crawford said, have been approached about selling Ruidoso Downs but so far have declined. The track remains without a reopen date.
Baugh did not respond to the Journal's request for comment.
"It's a business and businesses have to go on and move forward," Crawford said. "So, I understand the decision. It's just very disappointing because that track's been there pretty close to 80 years."
Certainly economically. Ruidoso Downs, Crawford said, brings in around $180 million annually to the region.
But much of that disappointment and frustration, the mayor added, stems from a lack of action and coordination from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
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Ruidoso, Crawford said, has $100 million worth of projects that have been obligated for environmental cleanup, infrastructure repairs, housing rebuilds. But the village must also match 25% of that budget. A difficult ask for a population of a little more than 7,500, the mayor said.
No money means no projects. And no projects, Crawford added, means "too many variables" for the Ruidoso Downs owners to commit to staying. In 2026. In 2027. And maybe beyond that.
"Hopefully, this will motivate our DHSEM and our FEMA people to try to move a little quicker on some of these issues so we can get these things done," Crawford said.
"... It shouldn't be this hard, but maybe it is by design so you leave and you just finally quit asking for money and projects. I don't know."
David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X @DavidGlovach.
