FREE: Vintage-1968 Ruidoso Downs Jim Beam Bottle

The listing, Vintage-1968 Ruidoso Downs Jim Beam Bottle has ended.

Vintage 1968 Beam Decanter Ruidoso Downs Horse Race New Mexico by Regal China, being Beams 100 Months Old, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey decanter handcrafted by Regal China, marked; "Ruidoso Downs - New Mexico - World's Richest Horserace". 10" tall (12 1/2" including stopper), 5 1/4" wide, base 1s 4" x 3 1/4". Plastic seal separated from horse's head stopper and stuck in decanter. No wear or damage. Vintage condition as shown.

In 1953 Eugene Hensley of Arizona, bought the racetrack and became its general manager. Bones Wright helped to build the stalls. The Jockey Club was organized in 1953 and in 1958 a new grandstand of steel and concrete was set. Around 1957, Hensley, Carl Mercer, and cowboy musician Ray Reed created and developed the All American Futurity. Beginning in 1959, the All American event was held annually on Labor Day. The Rainbow Futurity was added in 1964.

The racetrack could only succeed if patrons had a place to stay; Ruidoso was also underdeveloped and not incorporated until 1945. So El Paso and Dallas businessmen built the Chaparral Hotel, run by Harry and Leona Whipple. The Whipples had moved to Ruidoso in 1958 and opened the Whipple Café and developed the Gateway Shopping Center. The hotel had 120 rooms with an adjacent convention center/dance hall. The Texas businessmen ran into financial trouble, sold it to the Ramada, and after a year, a bank took ownership. It later became a barn and an auction site. The property was sold to Texas politicos Ben Barnes and John Connally, and it later became Champion's Run.{1}

{1} http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-news/ci_25340676/history-ruidoso-downs