On September 22, an El Paso Times photographer stood at the entrance to Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino. A locked gate blocked the drive, and the grandstands behind it were empty. The next day, across town at Win, Place & Show, co-owners Mike and Denni Cheney posed for a portrait. Denni held a framed newspaper clipping about the business, which opened in 1956. The El Paso Times photo gallery ran on October 2 under the headline "Ruidoso businesses cope with uncertain horse racing future."
Most of the talk since September has been about the Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown moving to Lone Star Park in Texas. Those three races haven't run in Ruidoso since before the fires, though. What hasn't been decided is the track property itself, and its future is tied to a licensing rule with a specific number attached.
Three summers in Albuquerque already
El Paso Times reporting, syndicated by the Lufkin Daily News, notes that the Triple Crown races were held at Albuquerque's racetrack for the last three summers. The Ruidoso track had sharply shortened seasons in 2024 and 2025 and couldn't run at all in 2026. The races were gone well before September's announcement. This year's sequence went like this:
| Date in 2026 | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 19 | Track management said the entire 2026 season would run at The Downs at Albuquerque instead of Ruidoso, KVIA reported. |
| July 16 | NMDOT's district bridge manager recommended closing the track's main entrance because of a culvert damaged by floodwaters the year before. The track's announcement said Billy the Kid Casino and simulcast betting would close to the public. |
| July 22 | The New Mexico Gaming Control Board voted to approve the closure, KVIA reported. |
| September 3 | General manager Rick Baugh announced the Lone Star Park framework. |
| September 7 | The All American Futurity ran in Albuquerque. |
| September 30 | The New Mexico Racing Commission met in closed session on Ruidoso Downs and took no action. |
In July, the track kept one Ruidoso tradition going even with the casino closed. The New Mexico Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred Sale on August 15 and the All American Select Sale on September 4 and 5 stayed on schedule at the Ruidoso Downs Horse Sales Pavilion.
What Lone Star Park would get
The AQHA's September 3 announcement says owners Johnny and Jana Trotter agreed on a framework with Global Gaming Solutions. It would move three things to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, starting in 2027: the Triple Crown series, the All American Super Select Sale and the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame. The series is the $1 million Ruidoso Futurity, the $1 million Rainbow Futurity and the $3 million All American Futurity.
It's still a framework, not a signed deal. In the Village's October 2026 newsletter, Mayor Lynn Crawford wrote that "this deal is not yet final." On October 8, Speedhorse posted an update saying both organizations were "working toward completion" and that the proposed transaction and any relocation of races "remain subject to regulatory review and approval and other conditions."
The framework doesn't include the Ruidoso Downs property, and it doesn't include every stakes race connected to it. In the New Mexico Horse Breeders' Association newsletter dated October 23, Baugh told the association on October 1 that Ruidoso Downs would accept nomination payments, with a grace period, for the 2027 Mountain Top QH Derby and Futurity and the 2027 Zia QH Derby and Futurity. Taking nominations doesn't approve any race dates. It does show the track is still collecting payments for 2027 New Mexico-bred races while the bigger deal is pending.
The 17-day rule behind the casino question
This rule is what links the empty grandstands to everything else on the property. Ismael "Izzy" Trejo, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, told the El Paso Times that a track must hold at least 17 race days to get a New Mexico racing license, and that license is required to run a casino at the track. In a normal year, Ruidoso Downs runs about 45 race days, from late May to early September.
That means Billy the Kid Casino can't come back on its own. It needs a racing license, and the license needs racing. Trejo said selling a license without a racetrack location would be "a unique scenario." He described the September 30 meeting as part of a fact-finding process, then laid out the commission's problem: "If they are not going to run, we need to figure out a way to fill the void of the 40-plus race dates that they've been allocated in 2027."
The property's future is also unannounced. As of that reporting, the owners hadn't said whether they would reopen at the current location, move the track or sell it. When the casino closed in July, the New Mexico Horse Breeders' Association reported that structural teams were evaluating repairs and no reopening timeline had been set. The mayor has described the site as hard to protect. "An outside engineering assessment concluded that even significant flood control investment cannot reliably protect the current track from a moderate rain event given the burn scar above town, and that is a safety finding, not a preference," Crawford said in a statement quoted by the El Paso Times. She also said where the Trotters run their races "is their call as the track's owners," and that "the village is not giving up on this industry having a presence in Ruidoso, even as its footprint changes."
A Labor Day weekend with no races
Ruidoso has already been through the summer everyone worried about. The mayor and a track official put the track's economic impact at about $160 million a year in normal operation, according to the El Paso Times. Crawford said that estimate came from gaming and tourism data covering all New Mexico tracks combined. The 2026 season ran without any of that racing in town, and the busiest weekend of the old racing calendar still filled up.
Shelby Rist-Gutierrez co-owns Downshift Brewing Company, which runs two restaurants and bars in Ruidoso plus a standalone brewery. She also sits on the Ruidoso Midtown Association board. She told the El Paso Times that Labor Day weekend "was packed," and added: "I think everyone who owns a business will tell you there could be more business. But it was a good (Labor Day) weekend, and a good summer across town." Crawford said the same thing in the Village newsletter, writing that business owners, restaurateurs and lodging operators told her it was a strong weekend.
Rist-Gutierrez said Ruidoso has relied on too few attractions for too long:
"It's not just the track. I mean, we've had good snow years and bad snow years, and you can't just rely on two major drivers, on the track and on the ski mountain, to bring people in."
Greg Cory chairs the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce and serves on the village council. He and Rist-Gutierrez told the El Paso Times that community leaders are bringing in new events so the economy depends less on the track and Ski Apache. From August through October, those events included:
- New Mexico State Disc Golf Championships, in August.
- Sierra Blanca Pack Burro Race, August 22 at Wingfield Park, with almost 100 teams. Ruidoso Midtown Association executive director Tim Duckworth wrote that he hopes it becomes an annual event.
- Ironman half triathlon, in September.
- Low Class Cruise Weekend, September 11 to 13, which Duckworth called "another hit."
- 2026 XTERRA World Championship, October 8 to 11.
Rist-Gutierrez said the burro race turned out to be a surprisingly big event that drew people from across the United States.
Midtown kept signing new tenants
New businesses kept opening along Sudderth Drive while the track was dark. In the same October newsletter, Duckworth welcomed three new members of the Midtown family: Sausage King and White Mountain Popcorn in Bigfoot Plaza, and Still Wild in Boxcar Alley. On September 23, the El Paso Times photographed construction still underway at Boxcar Alley.
Wingfield Heritage House Museum at 2813 Sudderth Drive also had news this fall. Its second-anniversary celebration on October 22 was set to open a new Carmon Phillips exhibit. Admission is free, and the museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The next dates on the calendar
The holiday season comes next, and none of it depends on the track. Times are from current organizer listings and can change, so check with the hosts before you go.
- 39th Annual Christmas Jubilee, Friday, November 13 through Sunday, November 15, at the Ruidoso Convention Center, 111 Sierra Blanca Drive. It's presented by the Ruidoso Valley Greeters (Discover Ruidoso listing).
- Wingfield Park ice rink opening day, Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at 300 Center Street. The season runs through Presidents' Day, February 15, 2027 (Ruidoso Parks and Recreation).
- Christmas in the Park, Thursday, December 3, 5:30 to 8 p.m., at Wingfield Park. Expect music, skating, the community tree lighting, Santa and Mrs. Claus and sleigh rides, with lights staying up through January (Discover Ruidoso listing).
- Festival of Lights Parade, Saturday, December 5, 5:30 to 7 p.m., on Sudderth Drive. This year's theme is "A Holly Dolly Christmas," and the Chamber is collecting toys with Toys for Tots (Discover Ruidoso listing).
For updates on the track, the Racing Commission's 2027 date allocations are the next thing to watch. Crawford also takes questions on Mondays with the Mayor, every Monday at 8 a.m. on KRUI, 99.1 FM and 1490 AM.
If you own property in Ruidoso or Ruidoso Downs and want to talk through what the track news might mean for your plans, I'm always glad to sit down with a neighbor and go over it. Call or email Misty K Strickland for a personal market consult.
