Do you know what the world's richest Quarter Horse race is? It's the $2 million All-American Futurity and its home is right here in Ruidoso's sister city, Ruidoso Downs in Southeast New Mexico. And this season the Track celebrates a Special 50th Anniversary of the running of this fabled race! The event, which debuted in 1959 with a winning filly named "Galobar", has been growing strong and gaining more momentum ever since this inaugural year, and now, 50 years later, The Race has become legend!

Ruidoso Downs Racetrack’s first race ever was run in the summer of 1947. Back then, there was not the established racing facility which is now Ruidoso Downs Racetrack so it literally took hours to prepare for this first race, a race in which locals volunteered to judge the finish. In the late 1940’s this track was little more than a coarsely plowed road with a considerable uphill tilt.

The Birth of the All American Futurity began in 1959 when Galobar entered the gates at Ruidoso Downs. Twenty seconds or so later, she became history itself by becoming the first All American Futurity winner. Total purse for the race was a mere $129,686.85, a considerable sum in the late 1950’s but nowhere near the king’s ransom of today’s two million dollar plus purse to the winner.

1982 marked the first year that the winners of the All American Futurity would become instant millionaires when this total purse reached well over two million dollar level. The instant fame and fortune associated with these instant millions grew this race quickly into what it has become today a premier showcase of racing’s who’s who and most importantly, a steely contest to determine who owns the fastest horse in the world of American Quarter Horse racing.