New Mexico’s racing industry is a long way removed from its heyday, yet it remains one of the state’s largest moneymakers.
Last year, the state’s five racinos — horse racing tracks that also house casino gambling – generated $810.5 million in economic impact and supported more than 4,000 jobs, according to the American Gaming Association. By comparison, the New Mexico film industry generated more than $1 billion in economic impact in fiscal year 2023.
Since being prohibited from airing the Kentucky Derby, which set a national record for wagering this year, New Mexico’s horse racing revenue has been in question.
In a February letter to the New Mexico Racing Commission, the Albuquerque Downs racetrack said patrons bet more than $824,000 on the Kentucky Derby in 2023. This year, the Albuquerque track’s president of racing wrote, revenue from betting on all televised races is down 25 percent.
In New Mexico and across the nation, gambling has offered a lifeline to the horse racing industry, which has struggled in recent decades due to declining interest and race track closures. Across the country, legislation allowed these entities to boost their revenue with slot machines, video poker and more, as long as patrons had the choice to bet on the races — either those happening at the on-site track or across the country by way of a video feed in the casino.
Lawmakers have tried to further accelerate that growth by sponsoring legislation, which did not pass, that would allow table games on non-tribal New Mexico land for the first time.
When the New Mexico racing community sought to open a sixth racino nearly 20 years ago, officials envisioned a $50 million behemoth in Raton, just south of the Colorado state line. The plans were bullish for the casino: It would operate 16 to 18 hours a day, every day of the year, and offer 600 slot and video machines. Business filings from the time name Sam Bregman, the current Bernalillo County District Attorney and former New Mexico Racing Commission chair, as the proposed venture’s registered agent. The effort to open that racino ultimately failed.
While casino gambling has helped the horse racing industry stay profitable, the symbiotic relationship between slot machines and race tracks has come under increased scrutiny.
“Nevada, the state that houses Las Vegas, used to have a healthy horse racing industry. It no longer exists thanks to mechanized gambling,” according to testimony before the Kentucky Legislature. “Slot machines will not save the horse industry. They will replace it.”
Trainers allege that’s exactly what’s happening in New Mexico. These casinos would not be able to operate without horse racing, they say, so watching them grow at the expense of the industry that enabled them adds insult to injury.
“With very minimal race days and casinos open every day of the year, it’s pretty much turned into just casinos and no racing,” said Adam Archuleta, an Albuquerque horse trainer.