Sunland Park

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino opened its doors in 1959 as just a racetrack. In the 1990s New Mexico designed legislation allowing racetracks to incorporate slot machines into their business as an effort to save New Mexico horse racing, and the revenue from slot machines at Sunland Park have had a profound effect on the quality of their live race meet. Today the track offers the $800,000 Sunland Derby each spring, a race worth 50 Kentucky Derby points to the winner that virtually guarantees a spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate. The Sunland Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies offers points toward a spot in the Kentucky Oaks, the Kentucky Derby's sister race that takes place on the Friday before the Derby at Churchill Downs.