All American Futurity to relocate to Albuquerque for second straight year

The richest quarter horse race in the world is relocating to Albuquerque for the second straight year.

The $3 million All American Futurity, plus its corresponding Derby and Oaks races, will be at Albuquerque Downs on Labor Day, Ruidoso Downs Racetrack owner Paul Trotter announced in a release Thursday.

The announcement comes after Tuesday's historic flash flood — which killed three people and damaged as many as 400 homes in Ruidoso — engulfed the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack, where the All American races are held annually. The track's scoreboard, jockey quarters and timing mechanisms were destroyed in the flood, according to the release.

Trials for the All American Futurity, Oaks and Derby will be held Aug. 4-6 at Albuquerque Downs. A full card, including the finals for those three and two other stakes races, will be held on Labor Day.

"Under our current circumstances we are grateful to Albuquerque Downs owner Paul Blanchard that he has graciously offered to host the All American again," Trotter said in the release. "The recent events are unfortunate for everyone associated with Ruidoso Downs, but we are happy to announce that our signature race will have the opportunity to move forward this year."

After wildfires and floods ravaged Ruidoso last summer, Albuquerque Downs hosted the All American Futurity in September. The race was subject to controversy after 12 horses — including the winner — tested positive for a banned medication, leading to the suspension of two trainers.

This year, New Mexico Racing Commission Executive Director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo said plans to move the races were made Thursday and will be approved by the commission as soon as possible. He expects moving this year's race slate to be "relatively seamless," following the blueprint of last year's relocation.

"We learned that there's a lot of communication needed, and everyone needs to know who's responsible for what," Trejo said Thursday. "And I think when the lines are drawn clear, this year should go very smooth."

Albuquerque Downs president of racing Don Cooks agreed, pointing out that the track had only five days' notice ahead of the running of last year's All American; this year, Albuquerque Downs has 21 days to prepare for the trials and nearly two months before the finals are run. The track will also run only specific races instead of full race cards ahead of Labor Day, lightening the load for Cooks and his staff.

For now, Cooks said he's arranging to make stalls available for horses traveling to Albuquerque. With 400 horses expected to arrive over the next few weeks, Cooks is coordinating with the New Mexico State Fair to clear space for a surge of additional occupants.

"We're confident we’ll get it done, and get it done right … It'd be a shame to see the race go somewhere, mainly out of state," he added. "… It makes the most sense to have it here, and we're excited to put it on."

The rest of Ruidoso Downs' race schedule — namely the $1 million Rainbow Futurity — will not be held. Purses for the Rainbow, Zia Futurity and corresponding races will be distributed equally among trial participants, per the release, and Trejo added it is his understanding that the remainder of Ruidoso Downs’ smaller stakes races will not be held this season.

Multiple non-racing events hosted by the track remain on the schedule, including a concert by country music singer Casey Donahew (July 26), the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame Banquet (Aug. 7) and two horse sales.

Ruidoso Downs crews have started clearing mud and debris after 10 feet of water rushed across the infield and caused "significant damage," the release said. Flooding contributed to the death of one racehorse, Ruidoso Downs general manager Rick Baugh told the Ruidoso News.

Baugh had not responded to the Journal's request for comment at the time of publication.

Despite the damage — and another relocation — Trotter said he "remains confident" there will be horse racing at Ruidoso Downs in 2026.

"We have been assured that corrective measures will be taken by the state of New Mexico to improve flood control," he said in the release. "However, we did need to make an immediate decision about this year’s All American on behalf of our horse owners and trainers and that’s what we are announcing today."