Horse racing returns to Raton in 2010
The City of Raton will be the site of New Mexico's newest horse racetrack.
Horse racing at the former La Mesa Park
The new generation of horse racing.
Racing returns to Raton in 2010, as the city reconnects with its horse racing past. The city that has been tapped as the new home for racing in New Mexico is also the historic first home for racing in the state.
Horse Racing at Raton LLP, the partnership that leads the Raton bid for the last New Mexico horse racing permit, has estimated that locating the track in Raton would bring 300+ permanent jobs, over $7 million in annual payroll, and approximately $13.3 million in annual tax revenues to the state.
Civic leaders from communities as near as Red River, New Mexico, and as far as Amarillo, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, have signed letters in support of the Raton proposal, as have the owners and managers of the five existing New Mexico tracks.
Learn more at www.racingatraton.com
A history of horse racing.
Raton was the location of New Mexico's first racetrack, which brought in racing fans from all over the five-state region. Horses ran at La Mesa Park from 1946 to the early 1990s, when competition from casinos forced several New Mexico Racetracks to close (La Mesa closed in 1992, Farmington in 1994 and Santa Fe in 1996).
As a result of the La Mesa history, Raton is home to a number of fifth generation horse racing families, who are eager to see the sport return to the city.
