General manager Harold Payne named Sportsman of the Year Dec. 13, 2009

$800,000 Sunland Derby attains Grade 3 status
The $800,000 Sunland Derby has achieved Grade 3 status following an announcement made today by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association in Lexington, Kentucky.

Effective immediately: All horses entering New Mexico race tracks will be required to have a negative Equine Piroplasmosis test conducted by the National Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Ames, Iowa. -Race Track Testing Schedule -
NEW MEXICO LIVESTOCK BOARD

$18 million Live Racing Season begins Dec. 11
2009-10 Sunland Park Stakes Schedule - Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino begins an $18 million live horse racing season on Friday, December 11 and continues through Tuesday, April 20, 2010.
The 77-day meet is loaded with rich championship stakes races and an enviable purse distribution of nearly $18 million. Average daily purses for the new meet should exceed $230,000.

Quarter Horses - Toe grabs with a height greater than four millimeters worn on the front shoes are prohibited while racing or training.
Thoroughbreds - Toe grabs with a height greater than two millimeters worn on the front shoes are prohibited while racing or training.
Post race testing will be done for anabolic steroids at Zia Park and continuing at Sunland Park starting October 1, 2008. From October 1-December 31, 2008 there will be a grace period for penalties. Any horse that tests above the accepted level for anabolic steroids during this grace period will result in the owner and trainer of that horse being notified.
Penalty phases will be finalized and go into effect in January 2009.