MORIARTY TRACK
By Garry Boulard
Even though it has been nearly three months since the New Mexico Racing Commission approved a relocation site in the town of Moriarty for the The Downs at Albuquerque racing track, construction at the new location remains very much in the planning stage.
“This is all very preliminary right now,” remarks Treesha Mattioli, executive assistant to Paul Blanchard, the president of the Downs of Albuquerque.
“Nothing has been built, no ground has been broken,” continues Mattioli. “We are still doing the drawings and really at the very initial stage of what is going to be an enormous project.”
Those plans as initially aired this spring include building a one-mile racetrack on a 500-acre stretch of land, located at the northeastern corner of N.M. 41 and Interstate 40.
The new facility will be the home to nearly two dozen barns, a recreational vehicle park, amphitheatre, food court and at least five bars.
The new location will additionally offer a large increase in the current number of slot machines available at the Downs’ Albuquerque location, from 330 to more than 700.
While Downs officials are planning for a full 2009-2010 season in Moriarty, the New Mexico Racing Commission is in the process of reviewing additional applications for other tracks that may be located across the state.
“Right now we have three pending applications,” reports Rosemary Leeder, the manager of the New Mexico Racing Commission. “One is for a race track in Tumcumcari, the other is to reopen the Downs at Santa Fe and the third is to open a new track in Raton.”
“Cities interested in making these kinds of applications usually supply us with a wide variety of background information for us to look over,” continues Leeder. “We then go to the communities in question and talk to the people who live there about whether or not a track would be a good idea.”
Adds Leeder: “As a matter of fact in July we were on the road, doing public meetings in all three of the location currently under review.”
City leaders in Moriarty, which according to the 2000 federal census had a population of less than 2,000 people, have long regarded the relocation of the Downs track as a significant economic development tool that will bring in new businesses and residents to their town.
The May approval of the relocation by the racing commission has been widely hailed by local business leaders in Moriarty.
“There really is a tremendous amount of excitement in every direction,” remarks Mattioli. “We are getting a lot of packages in the mail from contractors who are interested in the construction of the track, and are hearing a lot of good ideas. The energy level is incredible.”
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