Ruidoso Downs racetrack in New Mexico has been a longtime destination for tourists and race horse fans, with many from West Texas finding their way to the mountains to attend key meets and escape the heat.
Faced with severe flooding issues the past few years, the Ruidoso Downs race meet has been conducted at the Downs of Albuquerque. But that will change in 2027 as owners prepare to move major races to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.
Beginning in 2024, the last several weeks of the Ruidoso Downs season, including the All American Futurity and Derby, were held in Albuquerque after a series of floods devastated the Ruidoso Downs property.
The floods were caused by a massive runoff of rainwater, mud and debris from mountains above the track that sustained massive scars from a wildfire in June 2024.
Ruidoso Downs resumed racing in May 2025 but the second half of the meeting was canceled because of a flood more severe than what the track sustained in 2024. The 2025 Rain- the track sustained in 2024. The 2025 Rainbow Futurity and Derby were canceled.
Ruidoso Downs announced in January that there would be no racing at the track this year, with the entirety of the season run in Albuquerque.
According to a statement released by owners Johnny and Jana Trotter and Global Gaming Solutions, the parent company of Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, the racetrack has agreed on a framework to move the Quarter Horse Racing Triple Crown Series, the All-American Super Select Sale and the Ruidoso Downs Hall of Fame to Lone Star Park beginning in 2027.
The Triple Crown Series for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds includes the $1 million Ruidoso Futurity (350 yards), the $1 million Rainbow Futurity (400 yards), and the $3 million All-American Futurity (450 yards).
The All-American, a Labor Day fixture since 1959, is the most famous in Quarter Horse racing.
Additionally, two major stakes races for 3-year-old fillies at 440 yards - the Rainbow Oaks and All American Oaks – will also be relocated.
By moving the key races from Ruidoso Downs and Albuquerque to Lone Star Park, the Grand Prairie location will provide a more dominant role in Quarter Horse racing.
Lone Star Park is home to the Texas Classic Futurity, which is run in November. The race had a purse of $910,508 in 2025.
The announcement did not specify Quarter Horse race dates at Lone Star Park in 2027. The track runs a Thoroughbred meeting from mid-April to mid-July followed by a Quarter Horse meet from early September to late November.