Ruidoso Downs destroyed by floods; ABC-7 Live

RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM - Because of flooding caused by a monsoon storm and the burn scars in this region of New Mexico, the historic Ruidoso Downs horse-racing track has been shut down.

"I heard the roar of water and it kept raining, with lighting, and I looked with the binoculars, I knew it was water, and then I saw the track," said Andrea Donna Hazel, who lives in apartments in the mountain above the racetrack.

The track was completely engulfed in water, and looked much like a lake at the time with the water levels so high.

"This is the worst (storm I've seen). The one last year was pretty bad, it came through towna and wiped out several trailer parks," said Glenn Kasehagen, a resident of Ruidoso for over 40 years, "This one here (more than) 20 feet deep coming down this narrow canyon, not wide, but, narrow."

The horse racing season at Ruidoso Downs traditionally begins on Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day, however, because of the damage, we won't see any more horse racing at the historic track this year.

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford added, "This won't be the last time, and this isn't our first time. That's why we have thge new emergency operations center in play now. We're preparing.  You can see the clowds oever hear.  We're in our regular monsoon season, which is usually the season we love.... Since we've had the fires, the burn scars combine  with the rain and, so it just runs right off into the community."