Archive for the ‘Sunland Park Racetrack’ Category

23 Sep

Revered Sunland Park Jockey Retired In Style

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez, Sunland Park Racetrack. Tagged: .

© by Ray Sanchez 05.01.16

Think football players have it tough? Think jockeys.http://raysanchezbooks.com/clambert.jpg
It’s been said that pound for pound, racehorse jockeys are the toughest, and bravest, athletes in the world.
Think of it. Jockeys take their lives in their own hands every time they get on a thousand pound animal going 40 miles an hour on four spindly legs.
The result can be catastrophic, and it is more often than one would think. Just about every jockey who has been riding for any amount of time has been involved in a spill when a horse’s leg breaks during a race. The result is broken bones – and even death – when a jockey hits the turf. Other horses in the race can, and often do, run over, or fall on, the fallen jockey.

I MENTION this because of Casey Lambert, one of the most revered jockeys in the history of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. He has been involved in five serious spills and several other minor ones. The last serious spill occurred in 2013 when he broke his neck for the second time.
His most serious one occurred in 2005 at Lone Star Park outside of Dallas. Following is an excerpt from BloodHorse Magazine:
“His horse was on the lead when it fell heading into the stretch. ‘He (the horse) broke down and I had two (other horses) go over me,’ says Casey. ‘It was pretty ugly.’
“The wreck left Casey with punctured lungs and six broken ribs. His jaw was broken in two places and a piece of his skull was ripped out. Casey was hospitalized for almost two weeks.
“Two years later, Casey was involved in another spill at Sunland Park. This time he broke his jaw again and suffered a compound fracture that required artificial bone to be inserted in his left arm. His left wrist was so badly hurt that he needed two plates and 10 screws to repair the damage.”

BUT TO THE relief of racing fans and his family, Casey, who will be 50 on Aug. 24 and has made Santa Teresa his home, has hung up his jersey.
He retired from riding after the 2015-2016 Ruidoso Downs season and just before the live racing season began at Sunland. His retirement was somewhat overshadowed by Sunland Park’s problems this season. A virus hit the track, horses had to be quarantined and many races were cancelled.
But Casey went out in style after 35 years of riding. He won the thoroughbred jockey championship at Ruidoso Downs during the 2015 summer.
And he was so revered by the national racing community that after his retirement he was named winner of one of the most prestigious honors in the sport: The Laffit Pincay Award. It is named for retired U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr. and is given “to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction.”

NEEDLESS to say, Casey’s retirement was received with the most relief by his parents, Cliff and Glenna Lambert, and Casey’s wife, Brandi, and their two children.
“Physically and mentally, he could probably go another 10 years,” Casey’s mother, Glenna, told BloodHorse Magazine, “but I don’t want him to have any more injuries. This was a wise decision.”
And his father, Cliff, a former jockey and trainer himself, simply added, “Casey is an amazing person.”

CASEY LAMBERT won’t be riding anymore but he’s not leaving the sport. He’s taken up training. And it didn’t take long for him to become a winner in that department. Out of his first 25 starters he had two wins, seven seconds and five thirds. That’s more than 50 percent in the money. Not bad for a rookie.
The live horse racing season at Sunland will end Tuesday. I’m sure all racing fans are wishing Casey Lambert success in his new endeavor. He certainly deserves it.

2 Jan

UTEP’s Artis: Another Hill, Nate or Tim?

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in Ray Sanchez, Sunland Park Racetrack. Tagged: , , , .

by Ray Sanchez 11.22.15

After the Texas Western College Miners beat University of Kentucky for the artis.jpgNCAA basketball championship in 1966, Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp was asked what he thought of Miners guard Bobby Joe Hill, who had stolen the ball twice from Kentucky guards on consecutive plays and gone in for easy layups.

Rupp replied, “He’s a good little guard, but everybody has a good little guard.”

Really? Rupp must have been awfully frustrated. Everybody has a good little guard, but not everybody has an exceptional guard. Bobby Joe’s consecutive steals still stand as one of the greatest feats in the history of NCAA championship games.

We El Paso fans know the difference. The Miners have been lucky to have seen other exceptional guards besides Bobby Joe. Like Nate Archibald and Tim Hardaway. Both went on to excel in the National Basketball Association.

 

AND NOW, it looks like this season’s Miners may have another of that caliber, an exceptional guard who can dominate a game with incredible quickness, ability to drive through the tiniest of holes for layups and put the ball through the basket from anywhere on the floor. Oh, yes, and play great defense, too.

I’m talking about Dominic Artis, a 6-foot-3 transfer from University of Oregon. He came highly touted but I expected nothing like what I saw in his debut with the Miners last week. He has greatness written all over him.

Folks, you’re in for quite a show at the Don Haskins Center this season.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Nate Archibald and Tim Hardaway both had their numbers retired by UTEP. Can you tell me what the numbers were? Answer at end of column.

 

YOU PROBABLY know that Don Haskins resigned as UTEP basketball coach after the Miners won the 1966 NCAA championship. He was offered $60,000, which was three times what he was making at then-Texas Western College, by Detroit University in 1969. He visited the Detroit school and it was a shock. The media kept referring to his 1966 players as “outlaws” and asking what the “outlaws” were doing now. They also wanted to know what it was like living in the desert, if there were any snakes and how about all those Mexicans. He was so disgusted he asked for his job with the Miners back.

His “resignation” lasted exactly one day.

But did you know that he seriously planned to resign at UTEP another time? It’s true, and it was because of Norm Ellenberger.

 

ELLENBERGER, who passed away Nov. 15 at the age of 83, was fired by University of New Mexico in 1979 over a recruiting scandal involving forged academic transcripts.

After his firing, Ellenberger went into business but he always wanted to return to what he loved most, coaching.

He and Haskins had become friends and Haskins was not one to turn his back on a friend.

He hired Ellenberger as his assistant in 1986. The administration didn’t like it, and let Haskins know it. Haskins became extremely unhappy. Or should I say furious? I was sports editor of the El Paso Herald-Post at the time. He told me frankly that he was so disgusted he was seriously thinking of quitting.

Luckily, the administration relented, Haskins stayed and Ellenberger helped Haskins coach the Miners the next four years.

 

AFTER LEAVING the Miners, Ellenberger, a friendly and loquacious man and a heck of a coach despite his troubles, found other coaching positions. He even became an assistant to Bobby Knight at Indiana and an assistant to Tim Floyd with the Chicago Bulls.

And I’m sure he was forever grateful to Don Haskins, who stood up for him in the worst of times.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Archibald wore No. 14 and Hardaway No. 10.

27 Jun

Sunland Hotel Shows Importance Of Track, Casino

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez, Sunland Park Racetrack. Tagged: , , , .

by Ray Sanchez 06.21.15

splogoWhat a smart idea. I mean, the fact that Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino is going to build its own hotel.

Heck, other smart folks have been building hotels all around Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino for years. So why not have Sunland build its own right on its premises?

Yes, that’s how popular the racetrack and casino have become. I don’t think El Paso appreciates what an asset Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino is. Not only does it attract tourists and racing fans by the thousands, it provides hundreds of jobs for El Pasoans.

And I won’t even mention what a great contributor it is to worthy causes, including UTEP and New Mexico State.

 

SOME PEOPLE look down on the Sunland operation because it involves gambling — but they shouldn’t. It’s entertainment. Yes, a few may overdo the betting part, but the vast majority of fans know how to handle their money. That’s why you see the same folks year after year at the track or casino.

Look, anywhere you go it’s going to cost you money. If you go to a movie, it’s going to cost you money. If you go out to dinner, or a play, or a sporting event, it’s going to cost you money. In horse racing or casino playing, besides being fun and exciting, you at least have a chance of going home with more money than when you left.

And you’d be surprised how often that happens. I know, I’ve been a Sunland fan since the track opened.

 

THE SUNLAND hotel will be located in its parking lot and is part of a $7 million expansion project.

It will have 79 rooms, a business center and a fitness center with track-side views and will be connected to the racetrack and casino with a bridge, just like some of the best hotels in Las Vegas.

Construction will begin in August and will be ready by the summer of 2016.

Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino director of operations Dustin Dix says he’s very “excited” about the coming hotel.

So am I. So should you.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name an NBA guard who was a first team all-star for 10 consecutive seasons? Answer at end of column.

 

EDDIE MULLENS, former longtime UTEP sports information director, has been through quite an ordeal. I’ll let him explain in his own words:
“…If I took the time to fully explain what has happened in recent months, you would say something like: ‘why the hell did I ask!’…Seriously, to give you the Reader’s Digest version, my problem started with a botched knee replacement that required a second surgery which was still unable to correct the damage done to tissues, etc. … Then neuropathy arrived big time and I’m now wearing braces on each leg, using a walker to get around with a wheel chair in the wings … Not to mention three ER trips in 16 days with heart issues …

“But I can still laugh, joke and smile about the situation even though I no longer drive a car… I hope to be able to see you at the UTEP Hall of Fame gig (in October) … Time will make that call. Otherwise, as Mrs. Lincoln was asked, ‘Otherwise how was the play?’”

 

I’M PRAYING for Eddie’s full recovery. He’s a legend in El Paso sports lore. In addition to his remarkable work ethic, his similes while at UTEP added fun and enjoyment to his press releases and brought national attention to the school.

Two of his similes I remember most: 1) When he described someone being “as excited as Tarzan with his loin cloth on fire” and 2) when he said 1966 Miners basketball rebound specialist Harry Flournoy “takes everything off the boards except the paint.”

Needless to say, Mullens was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame years ago.

I’ll see you in October, Eddie.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Bob Cousy, from 1951-1952 through 1960-61.

 

8 Feb

Some Happy Doings at Sunland Racetrack

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez, Sunland Park Racetrack. Tagged: , , .

by Ray Sanchez 01.18.15

jackrownfamily 001There have been some happy doings at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino lately.jockeybrown

Jack Brown, the very first leading jockey when the upper valley track opened in 1959, was honored with a race last Saturday.

Brown became a legend in the sport throughout the Southwest. He not only was a leading jockey at Sunland through its early years but won titles at Bay Meadows in California, Las Vegas, La Mesa Park and various other tracks.

He passed away last May at the age of 80 and it was good to see him remembered at Sunland. Present in the winner’s circle at his race last Saturday were members of his family, which are identified in the accompanying photo.

A SECOND happy doing was the visit of several of this season’s top Sunland jockeys decked out in full uniforms at the El Paso Children’s Hospital last week. They included Larry Gamez, Casey Lambert, D.R. Shepherd, Ry Eikleberry and Lisa Love.

They brought gifts for the children. More than that, they brought smiles to their faces.

Sunland’s new chaplain, Donald Stover, organized and led the operation.

 

A THIRD happy doing is that El Paso’s Henry Dominguez, one of New Mexico’s most successful trainers, will be back in action at Sunland this week.

Dominguez, a graduate of El Paso’s Austin High School, had quite a year in 2014. He won 110 races, finished second 103 times and third 97 times out of 581 starts and earned $2,316,798. Along the way he also got married.

The year could have been even better but he was suspended for 60 days by the New Mexico Racing Commission. The suspension began on Nov. 22 but will end on Jan. 20. Dominguez appealed the ruling, which was for TCO2, or total carbon dioxide overage. He says a horse from a 2013 Sunland Park race had the overage.

“I ran 400 horses last year (2013), and all of a sudden only one comes up with [an overage] with it,” Dominguez said in a statement. “The limit is 37 [millimoles]. Mine was 37.2. You can’t send (a split) to another lab and have them test because it dissipates.”

Whatever, I know quite a few El Paso fans will be eager to see him back in action.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Which heavyweight fighter won the Olympic Gold medal three times? Answer at end of column.

HARRISON KOHL holds a special place in El Paso sports lore. He was a key figure in getting the Sun Bowl on national television.

Before coming to El Paso he was quite an athlete at Mason City High School in Iowa and later at Drake University. Just the other day I got a long distance call from Lynn Lee, an old friend of Kohl’s. Seems he wants to nominate Kohl for induction into the Mason City Athletic Hall of Fame and wanted to get more information about Kohl. He found that I had included Kohl in one of my books, “El Paso’s Greatest Sports Heroes,” which was published way back in 1989, and wanted to buy one. Luckily I still have some copies in print and gladly obliged. Kohl certainly deserves the new honor.

SPEAKING OF Halls of Fame, start thinking of who you’re going to nominate for induction into the El Paso Athletes Hall of Fame this year. Meeting of the board of directors begin this month. This year’s meeting will be held in the Carroll Hall of First Christian Church, 901 Arizona Avenue at 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 19, Feb. 2 and 16 and March 2 and 16. To nominate someone you must present a resume and photos at the time of nomination. And please, don’t ask someone on the board to do it for you. If you truly believe someone is worthy, show up at one or more of the meetings and do it yourself.

ANSWER to trivia question: Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba in 1972, 1976 and 1980.