The program is highlighted by the Riley Allison Derby, a key local steppingstone toward next month’s Sunland Derby, alongside three supporting stakes that showcase depth across divisions.
By Levi Gwaltney
Source: Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino
Image of Degas’ “Race Horses” Courtesy The Met
Cover Image Caption: “Race Horses” by Edgar Degas (ca. 1885–88). Degas undertook racing scenes throughout his career, often reworking horses and jockeys from one picture to the next.
Sunland Park, NM—Sunland Park stages one of its most concentrated afternoons of the winter racing season on Sunday, with four stakes races totaling $305,000 in purses anchoring a nine-race card that blends emerging 3-year-old talent with proven older sprinters. The program is highlighted by the Riley Allison Derby, a key local steppingstone toward next month’s Sunland Derby, alongside three supporting stakes that showcase depth across divisions.
The 62nd running of the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby brings together a field of nine 3-year-olds going one mile in what is traditionally the most important local prep for the $500,000 Sunland Derby. Past winners of the Sunland Derby have gone on to national prominence, giving Sunday’s race significance beyond the immediate purse.
Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is represented by Way Beyond, a Kentucky-bred colt whose campaign has included starts at Churchill Downs and Remington Park, while Truly Unbelievable, trained by Robertino Diodoro, seeks to give his connections a second consecutive Riley Allison victory. The winner is expected to emerge as an early favorite for the Sunland Derby when it is run in mid-February.
Earlier on the card, the $65,000 Borderplex Stakes offers a compact but telling test for 3-year-old fillies with sights set on the Sunland Park Oaks. The five-horse field includes Not A Lady, who arrives off a stakes win at Remington Park, and Ready To Dial, an unbeaten filly shipping in with a perfect two-for-two record. With Oaks season approaching, the Borderplex serves as an early separator among fillies in the region.
Older horses take center stage in the $75,000 Ft. Bliss Stakes, a six-furlong sprint featuring seasoned campaigners. Headlining the field is Ryvit, a multiple stakes winner with more than $1.15 million in career earnings, who enters Sunday’s race riding a winning streak and representing one of the most accomplished résumés on the card.
The stakes action concludes with the $65,000 Bold Ego Stakes, a five-and-a-half-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares. Lookinforbargains, fresh off a victory in the Zia Distaff, anchors a competitive field that brings together proven local form and outside class, providing a fitting capstone to the afternoon’s stakes lineup.
First post on Sunday’s nine-race program is 12:25 p.m., with stakes races interspersed throughout the afternoon.