Ruidoso Downs in 2026: where things stand
The race track sits along U.S. 70 in the small city that took its name, about three hours by road from Albuquerque. Its license-holding company is listed by the Gaming Control Board as All-American Ruidoso Downs, and Johnny and Jana Trotter own the property. For two years running, summer floods have pushed the races off the mountain.
On January 19, 2026, the owners said that engineers retained by the state had concluded the site “is not sustainable as a public venue.” Owner Johnny Trotter, general manager Rick Baugh and Ruidoso mayor Lynn Crawford had gone to Santa Fe days earlier looking for flood mitigation money and came back without a workable plan.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| July 2024 | Flooding washes out part of the track; rest of meet moves to Albuquerque |
| July 2025 | Second flood submerges barns and backstretch; meet cancelled |
| Jan 19, 2026 | Owners confirm no live racing at Ruidoso in 2026 |
| Jul 19, 2026 | Casino and simulcast close temporarily |
| Sep 3, 2026 | Triple Crown, sale and Hall of Fame to move to Lone Star Park in 2027 |
The 2026 racing schedule, run in Albuquerque
The Racing Commission still lists the meet under the Ruidoso Downs name: 49 days, Friday through Sunday plus two Mondays, from May 22 to September 7, with Thursday, August 13 added in a March amendment. Every race went off at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, which then rolled straight into its own State Fair meet on August 28.
The stakes calendar kept its usual shape. Highly Lethal V set a 350-yard track record of 16.886 seconds winning the $1 million Ruidoso Futurity on June 7. The $1 million Rainbow Futurity followed on July 12, and the $3 million All American Futurity closed the season on Labor Day with a national Cowboy Channel broadcast.
The All American Futurity and the quarter horse Triple Crown
Ruidoso Downs created the All American Futurity in the late 1950s, and the first running on Labor Day 1959 paid a purse of about $129,687. It has billed itself as the richest quarter horse race ever since. The 440-yard dash for two-year-olds closes a Triple Crown that only Special Effort, in 1981, has swept.
On September 3, 2026, the track announced a framework with Global Gaming Solutions to take the Triple Crown series, the All-American Super Select Sale and the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, from 2027. The parties expected to finalize the deal within weeks of the announcement.
Billy the Kid Casino at the race track
The casino opened beside the grandstand in 1999 and offers more than 300 slot machines from makers such as Konami, IGT, WMS and Bally, from low stakes up to a high-limit area. Like every New Mexico racetrack casino it has no live table games; state law limits racinos to gaming machines. The Cantina served food on the floor.
That floor has been dark since July 19, 2026. A state bridge engineer recommended closing the entrance over a culvert damaged in the 2025 flood, and the track shut the casino and simulcast room with it. Vouchers can be redeemed by mail within 60 days, and the Gaming Control Board allowed the license to stay in place.
A short history of Ruidoso Downs
Racing here began informally in the 1940s on flood-leveled fields, with a rodeo stand hauled in from Capitan in 1945. Arizona investor Eugene Hensley bought the track in 1953. R.D. Hubbard took control in 1988, added simulcast wagering in 1989, and built the sales pavilion; his family opened the casino in 1999.
Before the floods the plant used two dirt courses: a 550-yard straightaway reserved for quarter horses and a 7/8-mile oval for thoroughbreds and longer quarter horse races. The 1937 Kentucky Derby trophy won by War Admiral was usually kept on display, a reminder that thoroughbreds raced here for decades too.
Visiting the Ruidoso area without racing
The Ruidoso Downs Horse Sales Pavilion stayed busy in 2026 with the New Mexico-bred yearling sale and the All American Select Sale. Visitors who want live racing in the state can follow the New Mexico racinos calendar: Sunland Park runs January to April and Zia Park races from late October.
For a meet closer to home, the national horse racing schedule lists dates at every active race track in the country, and our guide to what a racino is explains how New Mexico’s slot revenue flows back into purses. Whatever the venue, setting a budget before playing machines or betting races keeps the day predictable.