RMTC

Edited Press Release

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced March 19 that Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino has earned reaccreditation from the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Located outside of El Paso in Sunland Park, New Mexico, adjacent to Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua, the 56-year-old racetrack hosts its biggest day of racing Sunday (March 22) with seven stakes highlighted by the $800,000 Grade II Sunland Derby, which offers 85 points (50-20-10-5) toward Kentucky Derby qualification as part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series.

Last year’s Sunland Derby card attracted a record on-track crowd of 18,642. Among the supporting stakes Sunday is the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks, worth 85 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

“We are proud to be among a select group of racetracks fully accredited by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance,” said Sunland Park director of racing operations Dustin Dix. “Sunland Park is more committed than ever to protecting horsemen and the public from those that would seek an edge by venturing outside the rules. For this weekend’s Sunland Derby and Sunland Park Oaks we are enacting some of the most stringent protocols in racing, including a secured pre-race detention barn and pre-race testing on every entrant.”

Sunland Park received its initial alliance accreditation in 2011. All accreditations and reaccreditations carry an effective period of two years.

“Sunland Park has done an extraordinary job of working with the New Mexico Racing Commission to make the safety of horses and riders and the integrity of the sport top priorities at its track in New Mexico,” said Alex Waldrop, NTRA president and CEO and acting head of the Alliance. “We commend Sunland for making great strides since their initial accreditation with the implementation of a number of best practices track-wide.”

In areas of equine drug testing and penalties, best practices in use at Sunland Park include out-of-competition testing for blood and/or gene doping agents; frozen storage and retroactive “supertesting” of suspect plasma or urine samples; use of an official testing laboratory (the University of California, Davis, Kenneth L. Maddy Laboratory) that is fully accredited by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium; and proper security assessment and training.

Regarding the health and safety of jockeys, best practices recognized include adherence to the Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules pertaining to the scale of weights and jockey qualifications.

In areas intended to create a safer racing environment, best practices include an on-site substance abuse and addiction treatment program; utilization of the Uniform National Trainers Test (adopted by the New Mexico State Racing Commission); and notification of House Rules in the Condition Book.

Sunland Park’s accreditation was the culmination of a lengthy process that began with the track’s completion of a 48-page written application and continued as Sunland hosted several meetings with Alliance officials. An on-site review included inspections of all facets of the racing facility. Interviews were also conducted with track executives, racetrack personnel, jockeys, owners, trainers, stewards, and fans.

The inspection team was comprised of Jim Gates, consultant and former general manager of Churchill Downs; Ron Jensen, DVM, former equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board; Mike Kilpack, security and integrity consultant and past chairman of the Organization of Racetrack Investigators; and Mike Ziegler, former executive director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Sunland Park is one of 23 racing facilities currently fully accredited by the alliance.