Armstrong captures second SunRay Park thoroughbred trainer’s title
FARMINGTON — Trainer Sherry Armstrong capped off the 2026 SunRay Park racing season with a resounding upset win by Barossa (presentation pictured above) in the $75,000 San Juan County Commissioners Stakes, the traditional closing day feature at SunRay Park and Casino.
Barossa’s win helped lift Armstrong to her second thoroughbred trainers title in the last three years at the Farmington racetrack. Armstrong finished the meet with 12 winners, edging Greg Green (10), Alberto Amparan (8) and Dick Cappellucci (6).
Armstrong, one of the leading trainers in the state of New Mexico in recent years, has recorded more than 120 winners since the start of 2024. That year, she shattered her previous personal mark for most winners in a year when she won 52 times, earning more than $948,000.
Armstrong was the leading thoroughbred trainer at SunRay in 2024, also with 12 winners to capture the title. Armstrong was third in the thoroughbred trainer standings at Sunland Park that same year.
In addition to Barossa, Armstrong’s leading runners of late include Leave Them Behind, a recent allowance winner at SunRay Park and two-time winner at Sunland Park earlier this year.
Enrique Gomez finished the meet as the leading thoroughbred rider, reaching the winners circle 16 times this season. Miguel Perez was second with 10 wins, followed by Oscar Andrade, Jr. (8) and Luis Valenzuela (7).
Gomez is approaching 1,300 career wins as a thoroughbred rider with earnings of more than $26 million. He has won 10 or more races each of the last six seasons at SunRay Park and was the meet’s leading rider in 2021.
Wes Giles topped the quarter horse standings at SunRay Park this season with nine winners, five ahead of Eric Valenzuela, Jorge Morales-Flores and Luis Iturralde.
Giles did most of his winning at SunRay Park during trials for the New Mexico Breeders Futurity and Four Corners Futurity on the first weekend of the meet when he won eight times.
One of the nation’s all-time leading quarter horse trainers with more than 1,500 winners, Giles has led the quarter horse trainer standings eight times in the past 20 seasons at SunRay Park.
Noe Garcia, Jr. led the local quarter horse jockey standings with 14 winners this season, ahead of Jose Enriquez (8) and Gabriel Medrano (7).
Garcia, winner of the 2019 All American Derby aboard Rustys Miracle, has more than 450 winners in his career. He was second in the jockey standings in 2024 at SunRay Park.