Ruidoso Downs, NM

Ruidoso Downs is a Lincoln County city of 2,620 residents in the 2020 census, along U.S. 70 east of Ruidoso and inside the Lincoln National Forest area. It began as a village and became a city in 2002, taking its name from the Ruidoso Downs Race Track. Quarter Horse racing, the All American Futurity, horse sales, and the Billy the Kid Casino have long tied the city's working and visitor economy to the track grounds. The current situation needs a date attached.

Flooding in 2025 damaged critical track infrastructure, moving the 2025 and 2026 racing meets to Albuquerque; the 2026 New Mexico Bred Sale and All American Select Sale remain at the Ruidoso Downs Sales Pavilion, and the Billy the Kid Casino is operating. U.S. 70, the track complex, nearby Ruidoso, and the forested mountain roads make up the local map. Ruidoso Downs is a horse-racing city even in a year when the main meet is temporarily running elsewhere for now.