Ruidoso Downs Race Track & Casino agrees to move major races, events to Texas by 2027

RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M. (KVIA) -- Some of Ruidoso Downs Race Track's events will move to a track near Dallas, according to a news release.

Ruidoso Downs Race Track & Casino said the following events will move to Grand Prairie, Texas: Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown Series, the All-American Super Select Sale and the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame.

The Triple Crown Series includes the $1 million Ruidoso Futurity, the $1 million Rainbow Futurity and the $3 million All-American Futurity.

Ruidoso Downs Race Track owners Johnny and Jana Trotter agreed on a framework with Global Gaming Solutions to move the events. Both are expected to finalize the agreement in the coming weeks, the news release said.

The events will move to the Lone Star Park race track starting in 2027.

On July 22, the New Mexico Gaming Control Board unanimously voted to approve the temporary closure of the race track. Ruidoso Downs Racetrack & Casino announced it would temporarily close due to a flood-damaged culvert.

The race track's general manager, Rick Baugh, issued the following statement about the races moving to Grand Prairie:

“For generations, Ruidoso Downs has been the home of the Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown Series. The Triple Crown Series, the Super Select Sale and the Hall of Fame have a treasured history among the breeders, owners, trainers, jockeys and racing fans who built them. That history belongs to those people, and it travels with these institutions.

Following the fires and floods of recent years, we have taken a hard look at what comes next and evaluated every realistic path forward. Our responsibility has always been to protect not just a place but a legacy.

On behalf of Johnny and Jana Trotter, I am announcing that we have agreed on a framework with Global Gaming Solutions to move the Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown Series, the All-American Super Select Sale and the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame to Lone Star Park. We expect the agreement to be finalized within the next few weeks.

This was not an easy decision, but we believe it is the right one. Lone Star Park has the leadership, the facilities and the visibility to ensure these institutions continue to grow, thrive and reach new racing fans for generations to come.

The address will change, but what the horsemen in this industry have built will not change. To every breeder, owner, trainer, jockey and groom who made the Triple Crown what it is and to the fans who filled these stands, thank you. We are grateful to have been part of it, and we are confident that these traditions will continue to grow at Lone Star Park.”