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The Downs at Albuquerque Kicks Off Meet on Saturday
The Downs at Albuquerque will kick off their 2020 meet Saturday with some restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Downs at Albuquerque Kicks Off Meet on Saturday

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—AUGUST 7, 2020—The Downs at Albuquerque will kick off their 2020 meet Saturday with some changes because of the coronavirus pandemic. The purse structure remains the same and the New Mexico track will again host the American Quarter Horse Association’s annual Bank of America Challenge Championships this fall.

Albuquerque will run a 27 day mixed-meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses and has been allotted, racing through the Challenge Championship night October 24th. The State Fair portion of the meet, which comprised 17 dates, will not be run this due to cancelations from the pandemic officials say.

The loss of those dates has enabled average daily purses to hold at $205,000 per program, despite the fact that Albuquerque has not been able to offer simulcasting or gaming since March.

The stakes program will remain intact, with $2.7 million in offerings, including the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 19.

"We didn’t cut any stakes races," said Don Cook, president of racing for Albuquerque. "The reduction in days helped us maintain our purse structure, because we haven’t had any simulcast revenue or gaming." Albuquerque will open without fans on-track, as part of New Mexico's restrictions due to the pandemic. Owners may watch their horses run from a designated area.

Cook hopes that restrictions might in time be lifted prior to the Sept. 20 card of stakes featuring the Grade 1, $300,000 Downs at Albuquerque Fall Quarter Horse Championship and the Challenge Championships, which last year drew an on-track crowd of nearly 10,000.

"Hopefully, we’ll get this state fired up as soon as possible," Cook said.

Albuquerque will race Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Sept. 20. The final day of the meet will be Oct. 24. First post is 1:30 p.m. Mountain in a pandemic-caused departure from night racing.