The New Mexico racetrack of Santa Fe first hosted racing on 5th June 1971, offering both thoroughbred and quarter-horse races. It was an 8 furlong oval dirt track, with separate 7 furlong and 500 metre chutes, and a 302 metre home straight. At that inaugural meeting in June 1971 over 11,000 people attended. The track was a splendid affair, but cost a great deal of money, much of its borrowed, to build. As a consequence, when crowd sizes decreased the track started running at a loss and the racing administrators filed for bankruptcy in December 1975. By 1976 the track was operational again and renamed Santa Fe Downs. The track was run by a consortium of local businessmen, led by Ken Newton, and attracted some of the best horses in the country. These included Real Quiet which captured 2 of the 3 legs of the Triple Crown. The track was successful until 1995, with the Indian Nation Futurity the highlight of the racing year. In the 1996 season the track was sold to Pojoaque Pueblo who injected almost $7 million to improve track facilities. However, within a year the track had closed, shutting its gates for the final time on 1st September 1997, and today the ground on which the former track stood is used for local events like concerts and markets. |
