Horses competing in Sunland Derby arrive in El Paso

The thoroughbreds competing in the 2018 Sunland Derby are arriving in the Borderland.

A first class plane touched down at the El Paso International Airport Thursday morning. “These horses are worth a lot of money. After this weekend, they could all be worth a lot more,” said horse racing analyst Julie Farr.

The horses, who will be competing in the 15th running of the $800,000 race at the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, flew in from California.

Since September of last year, the horses have been accumulating points in Kentucky Derby qualifying races around the country. The winner of the Sunland Derby will get 50 points towards Kentucky Derby qualification.

Horse racing enthusiasts are inviting the community to Sunday’s race, which will feature three jockeys who have won the Kentucky Derby.

“We are very family friendly. We welcome everyone. This kind of event only happens once a year and it benefits our entire community. It really does. So, we’d love for everyone to come out,” said Farr,” This type of event only happens once a year and we would like to encourage everyone to come out.”

The main race is scheduled to start at 5:15 pm Sunday.