Where Zia Park Casino sits
Hobbs is the largest city in Lea County, an oil town on the edge of the Llano Estacado. U.S. 62/180 runs through it, east toward Seminole, Texas, and west 69 miles to Carlsbad. Zia Park Casino stands on the northwest side of town at 3901 West Millen Drive, and Lea County Regional Airport handles commercial flights into Hobbs.
The location explains the crowd. Most guests drive in from the Permian Basin oil field, including West Texas towns where casinos are not legal, and the property is set up for an overnight stay rather than a quick stop. Among New Mexico’s racinos, this is the one built most clearly around a hotel.
The Zia Park racetrack and its fall meet
The racetrack is a one-mile dirt oval that carries both quarter horses and thoroughbreds. Live racing runs in the closing weeks of the year: the 2026 dates cover 31 days from October 31 to December 15, Saturday through Tuesday, plus three Fridays. A year-round simulcast parlor takes bets on tracks across the country between meets.
| 2026 Zia Park race dates | Days |
|---|---|
| October | 31 |
| November | 1–3, 6–10, 14–17, 21–24, 27–30 |
| December | 1, 5–8, 11–15 |
Racing for horsemen: purses and the state calendar
Zia Park’s meet follows Sunland Park in winter, SunRay in spring and the long summer and fall run at The Downs in Albuquerque. Horses shipping from the State Fair meet can race here within a week. The Gaming Control Board reports that slot revenue from all five tracks added almost $53 million to purses in fiscal 2024.
The formula is fixed in law. Twenty percent of each racino’s net take on machines goes to the horsemen’s purse account, and the state collects 26% in gaming tax. Slot money props up purses that betting handle alone could not carry here. Our pari-mutuel betting guide explains how the betting pools themselves work.
Inside Zia Park Casino
PENN reports that Zia Park Casino has about 18,000 square feet of gaming space and roughly 723 machines, close to the state cap of 750 per racino. Play runs from reel slots to video poker, because New Mexico law keeps live dealers out of racetrack casinos. The filing lists zero table games for the property.
At Zia Park Casino the floor and the simulcast parlor share the building with the restaurants, so a race-day visit rarely means leaving the complex. Opening hours, promotions and players club offers change through the year and are posted on the official site. Visitors who set a time and money limit before sitting down keep a racing trip in proportion.
The Zia Park hotel
The hotel has 154 rooms on the same grounds as the casino floor and the grandstand, and PENN lists it among the core assets in its filing. None of the other four New Mexico racinos lists guest rooms of its own, so Zia Park is the one where a race day and an overnight stay share one parking lot.
Ownership and the Clovis contest
Penn National Gaming completed its purchase of the Zia Park racetrack and Black Gold Casino in April 2007 for $200 million and later renamed itself PENN Entertainment. The real estate now sits under the amended PENN master lease with Gaming and Leisure Properties, which also owns the Sunland Park land.
In early 2026 PENN tried to enter the eastern New Mexico market a second time. Its attorneys told the Racing Commission that a Clovis racino from Zia Park’s owner, worth about $200 million, deserved a competitive bid. The commission approved SunRay Park’s relocation instead; the full story is on the New Mexico racinos page.
Getting there and nearby racinos
Lubbock and Midland are each roughly 100 miles away by highway, and El Paso lies about 260 miles to the west. With Ruidoso Downs closed, the nearest working New Mexico racinos are Sunland Park and The Downs in Albuquerque. Texas has no racinos, the Oklahoma tracks are the next option, and racinos near me maps the rest.