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2 days ago
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Horse racing fans remember The Downs at Santa Fe as it's demolished
At his home just 5 miles from the recently razed grandstand of the former horse racing track southwest of Santa Fe, Tony Martinez's mind wandered into the past. He recalled the names of horses and jockeys from the 1970s — the brigade of swift thoroughbreds raising dust as the finish line approached. Much like the jubilant shouts sweeping through the crowds, they are just memories now, as is The Downs at Santa Fe. The faded grandstand has been demolished, toppled in the last few weeks to make way for redevelopment plans by Pojoaque Pueblo, which purchased the struggling track in the 1990s and hoped to put it on the map with big races and, later, a 'racino' with slot machines that could compete with tribal casinos — including its own operations. Those plans never came to fruition. The pueblo secured $4 million in state legislative capital outlay this year and $8 million last year to help move forward with new plans for the 320-acre site at 27475 W. Frontage Road just off Interstate 25. Pueblo officials did not respond to inquiries last week about the project, though a preliminary development plan obtained by The New Mexican indicates a hotel and various types of housing could be in the works, as well as commercial space. Martinez, a former horse trainer, now 83, is among many longtime patrons who lament The Downs at Santa Fe's demise and now its disappearance. 'We had some really, really good times at The Downs,' Martinez said. 'We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood.' 060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez talks about his days working at The Downs at in the 1970s with his wife, Lou Martinez. A former horse trainer, the 83-year-old Tony Martinez has almost perfect recall for races run at The Downs. 'A sentimental deal' The towering and long-lonely grandstand at The Downs was a landmark that loomed off I-25 since the early 1970s. Suddenly, almost overnight, it is gone, stirring memories for locals, some of whom stopped in recent weeks to take photographs of the stadium buckling under the pressure of excavators. It served for a couple of decades as a fixture of entertainment and gambling during its heyday in Northern New Mexico until it closed in the late 1990s, then lay mostly dormant for more than 25 years. As a music venue, The Downs drew top-dollar musicians, including the Grateful Dead — with fans recalling legendary performances there in 1982 and '83 — and country star Roger Miller, known for his 1965 hit 'King of the Road.' Plans to revive horse racing at The Downs in the 2000s never took hold, though Pojoaque Pueblo made preparations, smoothing out a massive pile of manure that had angered neighbors and restricted use of the property. Workmen began screening trash out of the pile in 2008 and spreading manure 4 to 5 inches thick across a 40-acre parcel on the property. The manure was tilled into the soil and native grasses were planted over it. The site has since hosted soccer matches, flea markets, movie nights, music shows — one festival that epically fizzled — and a fall fest with pumpkin carving and a costume parade. Some 800 people gathered for the Ultimate Gladiator Dash, an extreme sports challenge, in 2014, the same year an equestrian event was staged there — but not for racing. Horses and riders tested their skills in dressage, show jumping and cross-country jumping competitions. Mostly, The Downs has been empty. SKM_450i18092610340 The Downs at Santa Fe circa 1976. Racetrack anticipation burned hot in Santa Fe when the track opened in 1971: So popular was The Downs, a $5.5 million, 1-mile oval track, that on its opening day in June a crowd of 11,000 people lured to the events created traffic jams. Members of the horse racing industry in New Mexico cite a suite of reasons why operating venues like The Downs has proved challenging amid increasingly high competition for the 'gambling dollar' in the Land of Enchantment. The racing industry has struggled nationally in recent decades amid what is generally perceived as a dip in interest; slot machines and gambling are keeping many racetracks — which double as 'racinos' — afloat. These days, Martinez and his wife travel to The Downs Racetrack & Casino at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque to play the horses there, but the experience isn't the same as what they remember decades ago at their hometown track: Times have changed, and they no longer see people they know. J.J. Gonzales, another Northern New Mexican involved in the industry who fondly recalls The Downs at Santa Fe, enjoyed a storied career in the sport, winning the All American Futurity — considered to be quarter horse racing's biggest event — at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack & Casino in 2003. Once a boy with a talent, he became a licensed jockey at age 16, and he credits Santa Fe with launching his career in the 1990s. 'I won my first race there, and that's always a sentimental deal right there,' said Gonzales, a native of the community of Sena in San Miguel County. 'That sticks to you pretty hard.' Don Cook, now president of racing at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, worked at the local Downs from 1988 until it closed in the 1990s. While in Santa Fe, he did about everything there is to do at a track: He was a clocker, a placing judge, a stall superintendent, a director of security. 060625 jw albq downs Don Cook, now president of racing at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, did about everything there is to do at The Downs at Santa Fe during his tenure there, working as a clocker, placing judge, stall superintendent and director of security. It's a shame the track closed because it had ample potential and upside, he said. 'It was nicknamed the Saratoga of the West,' Cook said, referring to the famed racetrack in New York state. 'It had a nice, beautiful grass infield, a great view of the mountains. It was a shame it got closed down, but things happen.' Out of the gates hot Racetrack anticipation burned hot in Santa Fe in 1971. On opening day in June, a crowd of 11,000 people turned out at the $5.5 million, 1-mile oval track, creating traffic jams. Stabling facilities were unable to accommodate the volume of horses streaming into Santa Fe, so ran the reports in late May that year. Ismael 'Izzy' Trejo, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, grew up around the track; his father was a horse trainer. He recalled the feeling of euphoria as a child when jockeys gave him their goggles following races. But the racetrack, run by a company called Santa Fe Racing, began to experience financial difficulties even in its early years — the 1976 racing season was in doubt for a time when debts exceeded $3.5 million, according to reports in The Santa Fe New Mexican. The Pueblo of Pojoaque acquired the property in the mid-1990s and had big plans to continue horse racing. With events such as the Indian Nations Futurity Cup under the pueblo's ownership, there was every indication the struggling racetrack could still become a significant place for the sport in the Southwest, Trejo said. Racing at The Downs in September 1982. The racetrack, run by a company called Santa Fe Racing, began to experience financial difficulties even in its early years — doubt was cast on the 1976 racing season, with debts exceeding $3.5 million, according to reports in The Santa Fe New Mexican. In 1997, track officials hoped the Indian Nations Futurity Cup would shower national prestige on Santa Fe, The New Mexican reported. A Pojoaque Pueblo official told a reporter at the time the goal was for the race to put The Downs at Santa Fe back on the map, with an estimated purse of up to $600,000. 'But I think they realized it's hard to run a racetrack,' Trejo said. 'It's costly. You have to have a lot of employees — assistant starters, jockey valets, racing office staff, stewards, concessionaires, track maintenance people, mutual tellers. You have a whole army.' The pueblo closed the track in the late '90s after a few years of ownership, citing millions of dollars in losses. Cook said, in his opinion, the closure of The Downs at Santa Fe had more to do with a dispute over the number of race days than anything else — with the racers wanting more. 'It was actually closed down over the amount of races the horsemen wanted to run and the racetrack wanted to recall. From what I can recall, it was over one day,' Cook said. 'In my opinion, that track would still be there if there wasn't a fight over a race day.' Making name in Santa Fe While the racetrack had its ups and downs in its two decades of operation, it allowed trainers and jockeys in the area to get a strong start on their careers. Two prominent photographs of J.J. Gonzales appeared side by side in The New Mexican in 1993. Then 16, the young jockey was already turning heads in the sport. One image shows him riding a quarter horse named Sapello Kid at The Downs at Santa Fe. In the other, he is shown stroking another fleet-footed equine in the barns where his father, James Gonzales Sr., was a trainer. Ten years later, he would win the All American Futurity in Ruidoso. 060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez goes through his scrapbook of winners at The Downs last week. 'We had some really, really good times at The Downs,' Martinez said. 'We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood.' About a year after he retired as a jockey in 2008, he began training horses. Now Gonzales and his sons operate a successful stable based in El Paso, known as the Gonzales Racing Stable, and compete in races around the Southwest, including in Oklahoma City and Dallas. The Downs in the City Different was where many horsemen, especially those from the region, made their name. 'It started right there in Santa Fe,' Gonzales said. 'For me, that was a big part of my life growing up.' Gambling rise takes toll Meanwhile, the rise of tribal gambling operations in the state in the 1990s created difficulties for New Mexico's horse racing industry. In 1995, then-Gov. Gary Johnson began signing compacts with various pueblos and tribes, allowing them to open casinos. When Johnson signed those compacts, 'he signed a death knell for racing in this state,' Ken Newton, the former Downs at Santa Fe owner, once told The New Mexican. 'Racing can't compete, even with video slots, against full-bore casino gaming,' he said at the time. Newton, who died in 2015, sold his interest in Santa Fe Racing to the six other stockholders in 1996; later that year, they sold it to Pojoaque Pueblo. The casinos would continue to pose challenges for the horse racing industry, which fought for two years for a 1997 law allowing slot machines at up to six racetracks in the state. Steven Hollahan at The Downs in 1982. Casino operations at five tracks — now known as racinos — help subsidize the racing, Trejo noted. 'The competition for the gambling dollar has gotten fierce,' he said. There were attempts to get a racino license for the track in Santa Fe. Pojoaque Pueblo sought in 2008 to convince the Racing Commission The Downs at Santa Fe would be the best place to locate what was expected to be the state's sixth and final racino for at least the next 33 years. It was one of three in the running. However, an operator in Raton won the license based on a little-known statute designed to regulate competition between neighboring racetracks — The Downs at Santa Fe was too close, within 80 miles, of the Albuquerque track. The Racing Commission later revoked the Raton license after the project collapsed following repeated construction delays and persistent questions about its financing, The New Mexican reported in 2018, when the Racing Commission was again considering issuing a sixth racino license. The process faced delays, and a new license was never issued. A former Pojoaque Pueblo governor had told The New Mexican in 2008 The Downs at Santa Fe was not profitable without slot machine revenue to subsidize the horse racing operation. Supporting this statement, a 2008 economic impact study of southeastern New Mexico's Zia Park Racetrack, which opened in 2005 in Hobbs, found casino revenues were the primary source of income for racetracks in the state. Gamblers' slot machine losses enrich purses in horse races, according to the study, conducted by the New Mexico Racing Commission. Competing with casinos The horse racing industry relies heavily on a pari-mutuel system, which combines bets from racetracks and casinos. It has been in place in New Mexico for more than a quarter-century and has become a significant source of revenue. New Mexico commercial casinos, or racinos, face considerable competition from the state's 21 tribal casinos, according to the American Gaming Association, with tribal casinos in the state generating $835 million in casino gaming revenue in fiscal year 2023, an increase of 4.6% from 2022. 'Unlike the state's racinos, tribal casinos are permitted to offer table games and sports betting in addition to electronic gaming devices,' states a 2024 report from the association about New Mexico. 060625 jw albq downs Maintenance workers grade the track as trainers start to arrive at The Downs Racetrack & Casino last week. The Albuquerque track is one of five 'racinos' in the state — Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino, Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino and Sunray Park & Casino in Farmington. Cook, who noted there are few horse tracks in the nation operating without slot machines, highlighted some of the competition in the Albuquerque metropolitan area when it comes to gambling. He said The Downs there competes with an array of casinos on tribal land within a half-hour drive, including Sandia Casino and Isleta Casino. 'There are so many other forms of gambling now that were not around in the '70s and '80s,' Cook said. He thinks only a couple of racetracks in the state would be able to survive without casinos attached — the Ruidoso Downs and The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque. The state has three other racinos aside from those in Ruidoso and Albuquerque: Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino and Sunray Park & Casino in Farmington. Trejo said costs associated with the sport have jumped. 'They used to call it the sport of kings, and the amount of cost that the racetracks and the horsemen have to endure just to enjoy the entertainment of horse racing, it's very expensive now,' Trejo said. 'It's going full circle to where the common man is having difficulty sustaining in this industry,' he added, 'and it's becoming the sport of kings again — only the wealthy can prevail.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Coming Sunday and Monday
060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez talks about his days working at the Santa Fe Downs in the 1970s recalling the names of horses and jockeys from that era as his wife his wife Lou Martinez fills in gaps during an interview at their home on Thursday, June 6, 2025. Santa Feans remember The Downs Thousands of people gathered at The Downs at Santa Fe as the Grateful Dead stunned a Santa Fe crowd. The afternoon of the legendary concert on Sept. 10, 1983 — one of two shows the Dead performed that weekend — was tempestuous. A prolonged desert shower forced the band to pause. Then a rainbow appeared across the property, viewed as something transcendent by the band's rambling and loyal disciples. "There was this glorious revelation. The sun came out and the Dead came back on," said Don Usner. The show came amid The Downs' heyday, when it doubled as a popular racetrack and entertainment venue southwest of Santa Fe. The old grandstand, sitting vacant along Interstate 25 in La Cienega for the better part of 25 years, recently was demolished, making memories flow for local Deadheads of a certain age. Deadheads aren't the only ones with fond memories of The Downs. A former horse trainer, 83-year-old Tony Martinez has almost perfect recall for races run there. "We had some really, really good times at The Downs," Tony Martinez added. "We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood." He is one of many longtime local patrons of The Downs who lament its demise and now its disappearance. The faded grandstand has been demolished, toppled in the last few weeks to make way for redevelopment plans by property owner Pojoaque Pueblo. 060525 jw fire train Darvi Soto, left, Andres Davis-Martinez Brandy Huerta and Eddie Mendoza from Station 7 don their gear before a training exercise that closely resembled an escape room challenge in full turnout gear on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at the Santa Fe fire training facility on Siler Road. Recently, the Santa Fe police and fire departments have made significant progress in reducing their vacancy rates. Santa Fe makes progress on police, fire vacancies Although vacancies in the Santa Fe police and fire departments have long been a stubborn problem, the city appears to be making progress on tackling it. The fire department has 10 vacancies currently but is in the process of hiring several new firefighters, which will leave it with four vacancies in its frontline operations division after July 22. The police department has 13 vacancies out of 169 sworn officer positions, but two new officers are expected to join the force June 21, leaving it with 11, Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said. That's down from 38 vacancies in July 2022. "We have a better story than we've had in quite some time," Valdez said. "These are rates that we have not had, I'd say, in at least 10 years for police officers." 060525_MS_Food Depot_003.JPG Bob Wolf, a volunteer at the Food Depot, prepares bags of groceries during a food distribution effort at the Food Depot on Siler Road on June 5, 2025. Local nonprofits face funding cuts Twenty-six trucks were supposed to deliver groceries to The Food Depot between April and December of 2025. Two weeks before the first truck was scheduled to arrive, staff at the Santa Fe food bank learned the food — a mix of expensive and tough-to-source groceries like yogurt, milk, chicken and produce — wasn't coming after all, Executive Director Jill Dixon said. The goods were from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Emergency Food Assistance Program, which in March was hit with $500 million in funding cuts. It's a common story for New Mexico nonprofits these days. A new report commissioned by the Thornburg Foundation, Anchorum Health Foundation and Santa Fe Community Foundation surveyed more than 200 nonprofits across the state, finding "federal funding cuts may disproportionately affect New Mexico." Some $1.1 billion in grants has been awarded to the surveyed New Mexico nonprofits with only about half paid out so far. The other half of that money can be — and in some cases, has been — clawed back, all while philanthropic funders are likely to see a surge of funding requests and steep competition for private dollars. Read it all at
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SoCal Edison to pay record settlement for sparking massive L.A. County wildfire
Southern California Edison will pay a record-breaking price to settle a lawsuit alleging the utility sparked a massive blaze in Los Angeles County. Edison has agreed to pay $82.5 million, the largest settlement by the U.S. in California's Central District, for its role in the Bobcat Fire, which burned for more than 80 days and scorched 116,000 acres in the fall of 2020. The federal government alleged that the fire was sparked on Sept. 6, 2020, when trees came into contact with SCE power lines. Prosecutors accused Edison and its tree maintenance contractor of not properly maintaining those trees to prevent potential flares. The fire burned approximately 175 square miles, primarily in the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains, and caused extensive damage to public lands and habitats of several federally protected species. The blaze also destroyed 171 structures, damaged 47 others, totaled 178 vehicles, and displaced thousands of residents while blanketing much of Southern California under a dense cloud of acrid smoke. More than 100 miles of trails and multiple National Forest campgrounds were closed for years by the Bobcat Fire, which grew to be one of the largest and most expensive fires in the county's history. The settlement with SCE will help the federal government recoup costs of battling the blaze, which was estimated to have cost more than $100 million. As part of the agreement, Edison did not admit fault or any wrongdoing. 'We are grateful to receive these settlement funds, which mark an important step toward recovery and restoration,' said Angeles National Forest Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez. 'These resources will help us rehabilitate burned areas, restore wildlife habitats, and strengthen our forests' resilience to future wildfires.' The settlement was agreed to on May 14, and Edison will have 60 days from that date to complete its payment, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Southern California Edison to pay record $82.5 million settlement in Bobcat Fire lawsuit
Southern California Edison will pay the United States an $82.5 million settlement, resolving a lawsuit pertaining to the Bobcat Fire that burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Los Angeles County nearly five years ago. It's the largest wildfire cost recovery settlement by the U.S. in the Central District of California, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California news release on May 23. "We are grateful to receive these settlement funds, which mark an important step toward recovery and restoration,' said Deputy Forest Supervisor Tony Martinez of the Angeles National Forest in a statement. 'These resources will help us rehabilitate burned areas, restore wildlife habitats, and strengthen our forests' resilience to future wildfires.' Southern California Edison agreed to pay the $82.5 million within 60 days of May 14 — the effective date of the settlement agreement — without admitting wrongdoing or fault, according to the news release. In 2023, the U.S. filed a lawsuit on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service against Southern California Edison and its tree maintenance contractor, Utility Tree Service, to recover costs from fighting the Bobcat Fire and for the 'extensive damages' it caused to the Angeles National Forest. The Forest Service, which manages the Angeles National Forest, 'sustained fire suppression costs in excess of $56 million' as well as property and natural resource damages of over $65 million, according to a news release from 2023. The lawsuit alleged that the wildfire was caused by Southern California Edison and its tree maintenance contractor's failure to properly maintain trees that came into contact with power lines, according to the news release. The Bobcat Fire ignited on Sept. 6, 2020 in the Angeles National Forest, burning over 115,000 acres and destroyed more than 100 structures, according to an incident report from October of that year. Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@ This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Southern California Edison to pay $82.5 million in Bobcat Fire lawsuit
CBS News
23-05-2025
- CBS News
SoCal Edison agrees to pay $82.5 million for Bobcat Fire
Southern California Edison has agreed to pay the United States $82.5 million to recover costs and damages associated with the 114,000-acre Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest, the Justice Department announced on Friday. The United States filed a lawsuit in 2023 on behalf of the Forest Service against SCE and Utility Tree Service, claiming the utility did not properly maintain trees that came into contact with power lines, causing the 2020 wildfire to ignite. "This record settlement against Southern California Edison provides meaningful compensation to taxpayers for the extensive costs of fighting the Bobcat Fire and for the widespread damage to public lands," United States Attorney Bill Essayli said. The wildfire damaged public lands and closed more than 100 miles of trails and numerous campgrounds for years. It also detrimentally impacted habitats and wildlife, including the federally endangered mountain yellow-legged frog and federally threatened fish and birds, according to the Justice Department. SoCal Edison agreed to pay $82.5 million within 60 days of the settlement agreement, which was May 14, without admitting wrongdoing or fault. "We are grateful to receive these settlement funds, which mark an important step toward recovery and restoration," said Angeles National Forest Deputy Forest Supervisor Tony Martinez. "These resources will help us rehabilitate burned areas, restore wildlife habitats, and strengthen our forests' resilience to future wildfires." The blaze also destroyed 87 homes, 83 structures and damaged 28 homes. The Nature Center at the Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area was also destroyed. CBS News Los Angeles reached out to Southern California Edison for comment and is waiting to hear back.
