From match racing in a cleared cornfield to the opening of Hollywood Park in 1947 to hosting the All-American Futurity, the biggest purse for Quarter Horses, Ruidoso Downs Race Track has a storied history.
An announcement was made Thursday, Sept. 3, that Ruidoso Downs Race Track owners Johnny and Jana Trotter have agreed 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 in Grand Prairie, Texas, beginning in 2027.
Ruidoso Downs Race Track timeline
1920s-1930s: Local ranchers and Texans looking for a cooler summer retreat. They brought their horses up the mountain to test them against each other, gathering to wager on match races in a cleared-out cornfield belonging to a Ruidoso farmer named
Mr. Miller.
1947: Hollywood Park race track opens June 27 in Ruidoso. 360 horses were in the stables for opening day.
1953: Gene Hensley of Phoenix buys the track and takes over as general manager. Hollywood Park is renamed Ruidoso Downs. One of the improvements that year is a new electric totalizer board in the track infield.
1957: Ruidoso Downs hosted the Southwestern Futurity (precursor to the All-American Futurity), where the winner took home $19,700—the largest single check in Quarter Horse history at the time.
1959: The richest-per-foot horse race ever run on a public track, the inaugural All-American Futurity, was the featured attraction at Ruidoso Downs on Labor Day.
1964: The Rainbow Futurity was first run. Double Queen was the winning horse, taking home a $90,090 purse.
1978: All American Futurity became the world's first single horse race to offer a purse exceeding $1 million.
1980: The million-dollar race caught the attention of CBS, which broadcast the event live in prime time. Higheasterjet, ridden by jockey Danny Cardoza, won that race.
1981: Special Effort became the first and only horse to sweep the entire Ruidoso Triple Crown
1988: R.D. Hubbard of Fort Worth buys the Ruidoso track.
1992: The Hubbard Museum of the American West opened just past the track's grandstands.
1999: Billy the Kid Casino officially opened adjacent to the Downs grandstands.
2003: The first class of the Ruidoso Hall of Fame was inducted. The Hall celebrates top horses, owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys at Ruidoso Downs Race Track.
2017: Former AQHA President Johnny Trotter purchased the track from Hubbard as part of a partnership. His partners included Stan Sigman, John Andreini, and Narciso "Chicho" Flores. Trotter bought out his partners in 2023.
2024: An evacuation order is issued for Ruidoso Downs because of the South Fork and Salt fires. Flash flooding damages the racetrack. Ruidoso Downs' racing moves to the Downs in Albuquerque for the rest of the season.
2025: Flooding hits Ruidoso again, killing three people. The track suffers more damage.
2025-2026: The All-American Futurity is again run at the Downs in Albuquerque.
Sept. 3, 2026: Trotter agrees to a deal with Global Gaming Solutions to relocate the Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown Series to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, starting in 2027.
Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: From Miller’s cornfield to Lone Star Park: A timeline of Ruidoso Downs
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside. It is your sole responsibility to act in accordance with your local laws.
Gambling involves risk. Please only gamble with funds that you can comfortably afford to lose. While we do our utmost to offer good advice and information we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of gambling. We do our best to make sure all the information that we provide on this site is correct. However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable. Please check any stats or information if you are unsure how accurate they are. No guarantees are made with regards to results or financial gain. All forms of betting carry financial risk and it is up to the individual to make bets with or without the assistance of information provided on this site and we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of following the betting tips provided on this site. Past performances do not guarantee success in the future and betting odds fluctuate from one minute to the next. The material contained on this site is intended to inform, entertain and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally or any sort of professional advice.
Prediction Markets: Certain prediction markets are event contracts regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or other applicable regulatory authorities and are legally distinct from traditional gambling and sports betting. Eligibility requirements to participate in prediction markets differ from those for sports betting and gambling — you may be required to be 18 or older (or such other age as the applicable platform requires) and to satisfy other eligibility criteria established by the relevant platform and governing law. Prediction market trading involves financial risk and may not be available in all jurisdictions. The legal and regulatory status of prediction markets varies by jurisdiction and by platform. It is your sole responsibility to confirm that participation is lawful where you reside and to comply with all applicable laws and platform terms.
