The ol' 1-2-3 finish

[Doug Kerr]

Ruidoso Downs is a charming racecourse located in the Sierra Blanca Mountains of southern New Mexico, at an elevation of about 6900 ft MSL. It is named after Ruidoso (ree-do'-so, to use the Spanish pronunciation), a nearby town of about 8000 population, named in turn after Rio Ruidoso (noisy river), a small but aptly-named creek that runs rapidly through the town in a narrow rocky bed.

Both thoroughbred and quarter horse races are run at Ruidoso Downs. Quarter horses are horses bred for great speed over short distances, for example one-quarter mile, hence the name. The breed is derived from the working horses used in the western U.S.

Ruidoso Downs is unusual in that it has both a 7-furlong (7/8 mile) oval for thoroughbred races and a 550-yard straightaway for quarter horse races. (A quarter mile is 440 yards, but races for quarter horses are of varying length, often a bit greater or less than a quarter mile.)

At Ruidoso Downs, on a given day's program there will be both thoroughbred and quarter horse races, and often (as today) a "mixed" race, in which both thoroughbreds and quarter horses compete, running on the oval at distances of often about one-half mile.

The track is about a one hour drive from Alamogordo, and is a popular site for adventures of Carla's chapter of The Red Hat Society (one held just today, as a matter of fact).

Here we see an unusual 1-2-3 finish for one of the quarter horse races:

Carla C. Kerr: The 1-2-3 finish

Canon Powershot G16
ISO 160, f/2.5, 1/1000 s

The 2 horse is about 2/3 length over the finish line.

As you can see from the exposure metadata, the track benefited from New Mexico's legendary sunshine (this was already at 4:40 pm MDT).

Here we see a classical shot of the pack nearing the finish line in a earlier quarter horse race:

Carla C. Kerr: The home stretch

Canon Powershot G16
ISO 80, f/3.2, 1/2000 s

Its not only at Ascot or Churchill Downs that we see fine ladies in fabulous hats.

This was Carla's first outing with the chapter since her birthday, so it became a celebration of that.

Best regards,

Doug

[Asher Kelman]

Originally Posted by Doug Kerr

Ruidoso Downs is a charming racecourse located in the Sierra Blanca Mountains of southern New Mexico, at an elevation of about 6900 ft MSL. It is named after Ruidoso (ree-do'-so, to use the Spanish pronunciation), a nearby town of about 8000 population, named in turn after Rio Ruidoso (noisy river), a small but aptly-named creek that runs rapidly through the town in a narrow rocky bed.

Both thoroughbred and quarter horse races are run at Ruidoso Downs. Quarter horses are horses bred for great speed over short distances, for example one-quarter mile, hence the name. The breed is derived from the working horses used in the western U.S.

Ruidoso Downs is unusual in that it has both a 7-furlong (7/8 mile) oval for thoroughbred races and a 550-yard straightaway for quarter horse races. (A quarter mile is 440 yards, but races for quarter horses are of varying length, often a bit greater or less than a quarter mile.)

At Ruidoso Downs, on a given day's program there will be both thoroughbred and quarter horse races, and often (as today) a "mixed" race, in which both thoroughbreds and quarter horses compete, running on the oval at distances of often about one-half mile.

The track is about a one hour drive from Alamogordo, and is a popular site for adventures of Carla's chapter of The Red Hat Society (one held just today, as a matter of fact).

Here we see an unusual 1-2-3 finish for one of the quarter horse races:

Carla C. Kerr: The 1-2-3 finish

Canon Powershot G16
ISO 160, f/2.5, 1/1000 s

The 2 horse is about 2/3 length over the finish line.

As you can see from the exposure metadata, the track benefited from New Mexico's legendary sunshine (this was already at 4:40 pm MDT).

Here we see a classical shot of the pack nearing the finish line in a earlier quarter horse race:

Carla C. Kerr: The home stretch

Canon Powershot G16
ISO 80, f/3.2, 1/2000 s

Its not only at Ascot or Churchill Downs that we see fine ladies in fabulous hats.

This was Carla's first outing with the chapter since her birthday, so it became a celebration of that.

Best regards,

Doug

So full of life. This was a wonderful outing!

Doug she’s a keeper!

Asher

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Asher,

Originally Posted by Asher Kelman

So full of life. This was a wonderful outing!

Doug she’s a keeper!

Oh, indeed!

Best regards,

Doug