Zia Park Racetrack in Hobbs, New Mexico, is currently accepting nominations for its seven stakes to be run on Land of Enchantment Day.

© Coady Photography

HOBBS, NM-—OCTOBER 16, 2014—Zia Park Racetrack in Hobbs, New Mexico, is currently accepting nominations for its seven stakes to be run on Land of Enchantment Day, Wednesday, November 26.

To be run Thanksgiving Eve, the Land of Enchantment Day stakes will feature purses totaling $1.1 million. Two of the stakes will be for Quarter Horses, the 440-yard, $150,000 Zia Park Quarter Horse Championship (G1), and the 400-yard, $140,000-added New Mexico Fillies and Mares Championship (RG1) for New Mexico-bred distaffers.

Zia Park director of racing operations Fred Hutton will be traveling to the Breeders’ Cup in southern California from October 29-November 1 and to Kentucky from October 22-24 to promote the Land of Enchantment Day Thoroughbred stakes to horsemen in those regions. The five Land of Enchantment Day Thoroughbred stakes are topped by the 1 1/16-mile, $300,000 Zia Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, and the 1 1/16-mile, $200,000 Zia Park Derby for 3-year-olds.

Last year’s inaugural Zia Park Oaks was New Mexico’s richest race ever for female horses. The race was won by Unusual Way, a Grade 2-placed California-bred filly trained by Jeff Bonde for owners Edward J. Brown Jr. and Philip Lebherz.

Land of Enchantment Day 2013 also set a single-day track-record wagering handle, as $1.56 million was bet on the 11-race program.

“Having Zia Park’s races in the national spotlight exceeded our wildest dreams,” said Hutton. “With the success of last year, hopefully more talented horses around North America will consider our races.”

Zia Park is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary of live racing. Nearing the halfway point of the 56-day meet, the track is handling an average of $496,704 in wagers per day, a 39-percent increase over the same period last season.