Posts Tagged ‘horse racing’

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.