Sunland Park

Getaway Car just got his nose in front to nip Caldera on the line in a dramatic finish to the Sunland Park Derby. Already a graded stakes winner and Grade I stakes-placed, Getaway Car was sent off the 6-5 favorite in his sophomore debut Sunday. He went right to the lead and was unchallenged while setting fractions of :23.31 and :46.93. Caldera, who had raced in midpack down the backstretch, rushed up four wide as the favorite attempted to skip away on the far turn. The gray stuck his head...

In the lone GI Kentucky Oaks points race on Sunday, Runnin N Gunnin (Gun Runner) deposited into her account the top prize of 20 points as she took home the Sunland Park Oaks. Breaking out of the maiden special weight ranks at third asking when the filly owned by Valor Farm's Douglas Scharbauer won by a head at Horseshoe Indy at the end of October, Runnin N Gunnin was well-beaten against optional claimers at Churchill Downs a month later. In her prep for this spot, the Keeneland September grad cleared...

Both the jockey and the owner/breeder of the second-place finisher in the Feb. 18 GIII Sunland Derby have filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an attempt to reverse a more-than-six-strikes whipping disqualification under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rules that cost them the placing in that stakes and $85,360 in purse winnings. At issue is the contention by jockey Oscar Ceballos and Eleanor Martin, the owner/breeder of Alotaluck (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), that some of the 11 strikes of the whip that Ceballos administered...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Lorenzo Ruiz was issued a combined 7-year suspension and charged a total of $95,000 in fines for three separate post-race positives for Diisopropylamine, a banned substance under HISA. The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) classifies Diisopropylamine as a vasodilator, which is a substance that dilates the blood vessels to allow blood to flow more freely through them. Diisopropylamine is also found in...

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico--Todd Fincher cuts an easy path along the apron through the Sunday crowd at Sunland Park, giving nods and an occasional smile as he goes. It's closing day at the track and a homebred owned by Kirk and Judy Robison from his shedrow just won the Island Fashion S. Sporting his standard duds, including a ball cap, creased jeans and shades, Fincher has his modular phone slung on his belt, ready to be drawn from its holster. "Busy," replies the New-Mexico based trainer when asked about how...

Recharge (Gun Runner) wound up banking 20 points in her Kentucky Oaks checking account after she got the money at Sunland Park on Sunday afternoon. The homebred arrived in El Paso with two wins to her credit in as many races. Breaking her maiden by nine lengths in mid-December at Remington Park, the filly shipped to Houston and passed the two-turn test when she cleared the allowance ranks with a 4-3/4 win Jan. 21. Sent on her way at odds of 2-1 here, the 3-year-old established a lead heading into...

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is playing host to a fundraiser for recently injured riders 19-year-old Bryce Bourdieu and 21-year-old Joree Scriver. The pair will be presented checks by SPRC Simulcast Coordinator and Chaplaincy representative Rayeanne Holland Saturday, Apr. 1, the racetrack's final Saturday of the season. Raffle prizes included VIP packages at Sunland Park, a Professional Bull Riding event, the Ruidoso Jockey Club and Del Mar Racetrack, as well as a $2,000 saddle, a $1,000 pallet of horse feed and $3,500 custom boots by Mario Garcia. Raffle tickets are...

Once a year, a small track in New Mexico plays host to some big names as everyone chases points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in the GIII Sunland Park Derby. While Tim Yakteen scratched his transfer in Fort Bragg (Tapit) Saturday, the field still included Bob Baffert's Hard to Figure (Hard Spun) and Steve Asmussen's How Did He Do That (Good Magic), as well as local Mine That Derby winner Henry Q (Blame). But for all the big connections, it was the longest shot on the board that...

Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr. has never been to the Kentucky Derby. Not even as a spectator. However, the 2023 renewal may very well change that fact after Practical Move (Practical Joke), who he owns in partnership with his wife Leslie and Roger Beasley, stamped himself a major Classic contender with a victory in last weekend's GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita. "My wife and I were very emotional after the win," said Pierre Amestoy. "It was phenomenal. It was exhilarating. We're just elated." "I guess we're heading to the...

Ryan Noffsinger has been named track superintendent at Prairie Meadows. A third-generation horseman, Noffsinger has worked at tracks from California, Arizona, New Mexico and, most recently, in Florida. "In my 18 years working in various roles with track maintenance, I've been able to gain valuable knowledge at tracks like Del Mar, Turf Paradise, Zia Park, Sunland Park, Gulfstream Park West and Palm Meadows which will serve me well as Track Superintendent for Prairie Meadows," Noffsinger said. Prairie Meadows Vice President for Racing Derron Heldt added, "Ryan brings so much to...

The Week In Review On Saturday, six days after Joree Scriver got hurtled to the Sunland Park dirt in a violent, one-horse spill, the 21-year-old jockey was able to report good news: For the first time since her accident and emergency surgery to fix spinal damage, she was able to discern a bit of sensation in each of her legs. "I'm a little rough, but I'm alright," Scriver told TDN via phone from the intensive care unit at Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, about five miles over...

Santa will make his annual pre-Christmas Eve visit to Sunland Park, as hundreds of area children will receive Christmas gifts as part of a giant toy giveaway organized by the El Paso County Sheriff's Posse. Santa and his Stagecoach will pull into the parking lot at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino Saturday, Dec. 17 at 10:00 a.m. More than 800 new toys are expected to be given away during the event to children selected by the local schools in Sunland Park, Santa Teresa, and La Union. The Christmas Toy Giveaway...