Bad King has been installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the $200,000 guaranteed Namehimastreaker New Mexico Classic Quarter Horse Championship Stakes (RG1) at Zia Park Sunday.

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By Stallionesearch / Louanne Wainscott

HOBBS, NM–NOVEMBER 19, 2025—The Sunday card at Zia Park will be loaded with top New Mexico-bred talent, as six of the ten races on the program are dedicated stakes events.

The lineup includes the $60,000 added New Mexico Quarter Horse Juvenile Stakes, the $150,000 guaranteed New Mexico Classic 870 Championship Stakes, the RG1 $200,000 New Mexico Classic Quarter Horse Filly and Mare Championship Stakes, the RG1 $200,000 guaranteed Namehimastreaker New Mexico Classic Quarter Horse Championship Stakes, the RG2 $234,015 added New Mexico Classic Derby, and the RG2 $313,943 added New Mexico Futurity. First post is set for 12:05 PM

The fifth race will kick off the stakes action with the $60,000 added New Mexico Quarter Horse Juvenile, featuring the second ten fastest qualifiers from the November 1 trial heats. Ten promising juveniles will look to display their emerging talent when they break at approximately 1:53 PM to go 350 yards.

Tintero leads the field as the 5-2 morning line favorite. A maiden winner on August 30 at Albuquerque Downs and a qualifier to the RG2 $346,000 Mountain Top Futurity, he has already earned $30,565. The gelding is sired by Big Daddy Cartel and out of Tangled Vines by Dash Ta Fame, bred in New Mexico by MJ Farms.

He races for Denis and Julie Schoenhofer, along with Jose Arturo and Eloisa Moreno, who purchased him for $110,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale. James J. Gonzales III trains Tintero, who will start from post three under Eugenio A. Navarrete, Jr.

The sixth race shifts focus to the long-distance specialists, set to cover 870 yards in the $150,000 guaranteed New Mexico Classic 870 Championship Stakes.

El Vital headlines as the 6-5 morning line favorite. Last year’s winner of the RG3 $150,000 New Mexico Classic 870 Championship, he has added two allowance victories this season and now boasts seven career wins and $287,989 in earnings.

The gelding is a homebred for Hermenegildo G. Aldavaz, sired by Mr Special Cartel and out of Wdc Vital Sound by Brookstone Bay. Aldavaz also conditions El Vital, who will break from post five with Oscar Andrade, Jr. aboard.

Race seven highlights New Mexico’s top distaff runners in the RG1 $200,000 New Mexico Classic Quarter Horse Filly and Mare Championship Stakes, set for 400 yards at approximately 2:47 PM.

Maka Roon is favored at 8-5 after a victory in the $50,000 Champagne Lane Stakes and a win in the 2024 New Mexico Classic Distaff Stakes. The five-year-old mare has six wins and $208,474 in earnings for owner Christian A. Dominguez-Olivas, who purchased her for just $10,000 at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale.

Sired by Eye Am King and out of C Roon by Brookstone Bay, she was bred in New Mexico by Dirk Jones. Julian Rey Honesto trains Maka Roon, who starts from post three under Jacob Enriquez. Ten of the state’s top fillies and mares will line up looking to deliver a strong finish in this 400-yard G1 event.

The G1 $200,000 guaranteed Namehimastreaker New Mexico Classic Quarter Horse Championship Stakes follows, featuring ten of the state’s best three-year-olds and older set to run 440 yards at approximately 3:14 PM.

Bad King stands as the 3-1 morning line favorite after capturing the $70,000 First Moonflash Maturity and the RG2 $90,000 Pepsi Cola Stakes. With five wins and $381,490 in earnings, the four-year-old gelding represents owners Nove Racing LLC, Triple R Racing Stables, Antoinette Gonzales, and Patricio Venzor, who purchased him for $65,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale.

Sired by Eye Am King and out of Start Somethin Bad by Pappasito, he was bred in New Mexico by MJ Farms. James J. Gonzales III trains Bad King, who breaks from post two with Joseph Belloc, Jr. back in the saddle. With multiple graded stakes winners in the gate, the 440-yard feature is set to deliver a powerful finish to this portion of the stakes program.

See related article for Futurity and Derby coverage in “New Mexico Breds Take Center Stage in Power-Packed New Mexico Classic Futurity and Derby.”

The Zia Park races can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

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