Downs places a bet on night racing, renovations
In 1938, on what was then the far eastern edge of Albuquerque, some folks threw up a small grandstand, flattened out a stretch of good dirt and raced their horses.
Wagering on horses was not legal in those days; however, it’s safe to suggest a few dollars may have changed hands during the course of the meet.
The races were exhibitions, part of the fare of the New Mexico State Fair, alongside the clowns, the jugglers and Capt. Louis Roth and his “fighting tigers.”
A week and a night from now, on that same parcel of land, horse racing in Albuquerque embarks on a new gamble.
A few minutes past 6 p.m. on June 25, the starting gate will spring open, the horses will be off and running and night racing
will make its Albuquerque debut.
Track owner Paul Blanchard is betting you will like it.
“It’s beautiful at night here in the summer and through September,” Blanchard said. “We’ll have live music. It will be a fun deal. Everybody loves horses. They just need a place to go and have fun.”
Blanchard is doing more than putting up lights and promoting racing.
He’s dispersed major dollars to renovate the grandstand, from the paddock area to the jockey club and everywhere in between. Actually renovate is a weak description. This is a complete makeover. He declines to say how much it cost him, but if you check the place out, it is easy to guess it is well into the seven figures and then some. General manager Don Cook reports not a penny of state money was used.
There is a 48-foot Jumbotron in the infield and flat-screen TVs everywhere. There’s a patio bar, rebuilt concession stands, an outdoor teller station and amphitheater-style seating in front of the paddock. The large sections of glass that used to cover the stands? Completely gone.
Clearly Blanchard’s casino business is good and he is confident enough to use some of that cash to modernize what had been a dreadful eyesore.
“I’m very confident in horse racing,” Blanchard said. “Horse racing is like what the old Elks’ Club used to be. When we were growing up, the Elks’ Clubs were big deals, right?
“But if you don’t bring in young, new blood, then things disappear. You’ve got to generate excitement about this sport with younger people. You’ve got to bring young people in and educate them about horse racing. Let them experience it. I think horse racing has a future. I really do. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be doing this.”
Generally, the night races will be Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 6:05 and ending around 10 p.m. Sunday racing will start at 1:30 p.m. Night racing will be limited during the State Fair. The Albuquerque meet runs through Sept. 25.
Night racing is an old idea. It’s been kicking around Albuquerque since at least the 1980s. There was night racing at Sunland Park a while back, but one evening the lights went out in the middle of a race, and the track either did not have backup lights or they didn’t kick in. A couple of jockeys were hurt and that was the end of that.
In 2007, the Downs at Albuquerque purchased lights from Bay Meadows after that track went out of business.
But everything was put on hold as the State Fair considered bids from potential tenants. The Downs at Albuquerque eventually won and is now in the third year of a 25-year lease.
Still, there is some adjusting that will need to be done.
“Is everybody going to be 100 percent behind it? No.” Cook said. “Some trainers like to be in bed by 8 o’clock. But we’re doing this to try and give the industry a shot in the arm. Let’s try and do something that gives us a jump-start instead of the same ol’, same ol’, same ol’.”
Blanchard is going all in.
“I believe in New Mexico,” said Blanchard, who once played football alongside Rocky Long at UNM in the 1970s. “I’m tired of everybody saying we’re always last, because we’re not last. We’ve just got to promote more. We’ve got to keep investing in this state. Everything I’ve got is in New Mexico. This is a New Mexico operation.”