Sunland Derby highlights 65th year of horse racing at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino

Posted by author January 3, 2025 Horse Racing

The 65th year of horse racing is set to start at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino.

There will be several top jockeys and trainers competing during the 55-day meet on Friday, Jan. 3, as well as several major stakes races in both the quarter horse and thoroughbred divisions.

Parking is free, as is admission into the races.

Here is a look at what to expect in 2025:

Racing days, post times

Post time during the 55-day season will be 12:25 p.m., with racing being held on a Thursday through Sunday basis and closing day to be held on Sunday, April 6. This week will be the only week without a Thursday race card

The opening day program on Friday, Jan. 3, will feature two thoroughbred stakes races, the $90,000 New Mexico State Racing Commission Stakes and the $65,000 KLAQ Stakes.

The calendar features 38 stakes races worth purses of $4.25 million.

Sunland Derby returns

The $400,000 Sunland Derby is set for Sunday, Feb. 16 and serves as a Kentucky Derby prep race, offering 20 qualifying points to the winner for entry to the 2025 Run for the Roses. The 20th edition of the 1 and 1/16th miles mile classic anchors a huge day of racing with six stakes races worth over $1 million in purse money. The $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks will also take place Sunday, Feb. 16, and is a prep race for the Kentucky Oaks, which is for fillies only. The Kentucky Oaks is always run the day before the Kentucky Derby. The Sunland Oaks also carries 20 qualifying points.

The Kentucky Oaks and Derby are May 3-4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Last year’s Sunland Derby winner, Stronghold, parlayed the win into a hard-fought victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby before finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby. Trained by Phil D’Amato and owned by Eric and Sharon Waller, Stronghold finished his 3-year-old campaign with consecutive second-place efforts in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby and the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

However, while the Sunland Derby will still have the qualifying points, it will not be a Grade III race this season. The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association took away the graded status for the Sunland Derby.

The committee reviewed 957 U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000 and assigned graded status to 415, 14 fewer than were graded in 2024, and listed status to 210 races. Listed status represents a step below Group Grade III status in terms of quality and, therefore, a step above handicap races.

The $100,000 Riley Allison Derby at one mile on Friday, Jan. 17, is a key prep race for the Sunland Derby. The $65,000 Borderplex Stakes, also scheduled, features 3-year-old fillies in a prep for the Sunland Park Oaks.

Other key races

State-bred thoroughbreds will be in the spotlight when Sunland Park presents the $150,000 New Mexico Breeders’ Derby, and the $150,000 New Mexico Breeders’ Oaks will be run on Friday, March 28.

The top races for Quarter Horses this season are the $350,000 Championship at Sunland Park, which will be run on Sunday, Feb. 2. The world’s best quarter horses will collide in the 23rd running of this 440-yard featured event. Flash Bak, trained by Heath Taylor and ridden by Francisco Calderon, flew home in the final yards to win last year’s race.

The New Mexican Spring Futurity and Grade II West Texas Futurity for two-year-old quarter horses will be showcased on Saturday, April 5, and will showcase some of the top young quarter horses.