Sunland Park to host horse racing this Friday
Sunland Park is ready to conduct the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby worth $800,000 this Friday. During the season, Sunland will host both thoroughbreds and quarter horse races. The Sunland season will go on to 19th April 2011.
The track is located in Texas, near the El Paso border. The slots-rich track was rejuvenated by removing and replacing eight inches of surface material during the off season. In addition, a new outside rail was also placed around the one-mile oval.
“The reason we’re putting a lot of attention on the track is that we have a graded [Kentucky] Derby prep and we want to make sure we have the best dirt surface we can provide,” said Harold Payne, general manager of Sunland.
“I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on the track so far. We’ll have to see how it will play. It’s a kinder surface. It’s less clay and more fine sand, more coarse sand. And it’s got a lot of organic content.”
Last spring, the 1 1/8-mile Sunland Derby got a first graded endorsement by winning. On 27th March, the Sunland Derby card will have six stakes worth a cumulative $1.4 million, including the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks. Of the total 32 stakes for the thoroughbred
meet, Sunland Derby has the highest stakes. Along with this, Sunland’s Grade 1 $350,000 Championship scheduled to take place on 26th December is the top event for quarter horses.
Sunland will probably aim to increase play on both thoroughbreds and quarters. It will do this by adding two new bets to its wagering format. Four races are covered by the Grand Slam wager. The first leg of the bet is a quarter horse race, while the final
three are for thoroughbreds. In it, players are required to select horses that are able to secure the top three positions in the first three races. The last selection is to be a winner of the fourth race.
Payne said that the bet is of $1 and has a compulsory daily payout.
Other changes include conducting a mile and 70 yard races. This will be the first time in the track’s history that such a race will be conducted. It faces a constraint of keeping 10 horses in one-mile races because of the configuration of the track. However,
Sunland will be able to make room for 12 horses at the new distance. This has been done by adjusting the distance to a mile and 70 yards, said Payne.
$250,000 per day will be offered in purses this meet. This has attracted divisions from Steve Asmussen, who leads all thoroughbred trainers in wins in North America this year. It has also lured Paul Jones, one of the country’s top most quarter horse trainer.
New trainers include Shannon Ritter, winner of Sunland Derby with Endorsement. According to Payne, Ritter is bringing the horse for the meet.
Another person who will be new to Sunland is Ramsey Zimmerman. He is currently in contest for the riding title at the Remington Park meet that will end on Saturday.
The track got full accreditation by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance on Wednesday. It was the 19th track that received this accreditation. In order to meet the standards of the alliance, Sunland undertook to upgrade its pre-race veterinary
inspection procedures, instituted testing for alkalizing agents, and is requiring specific safety equipment be worn by those on the track. These are just some of the features of the policy changes that have taken place.
“This puts us in the company of some respectable names in the business,” Payne said of the accreditation. “People that race here know we are doing all we can to uphold integrity and safety.”
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