Tucson’s historic horse track enjoys its annual 8 weeks in the sun, every weekend until March 30
And they're off! Horse racing returns to historic Rillito Park Race Track
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Track trumpeter Denny Schreffler played “Call to the Post” before the first race Saturday as horse racing returned for another season at the historic Rillito Park Race Track. The season lasts for eight weeks, with quarter horses and thoroughbreds racing every weekend until March 30. Gates open at 11 a.m., and post time is 1 p.m. for the day’s first race.
Soft Defense, carrying the jockey in pink, crosses the finish line ahead of Okie Dokie Petey and Meet Me Midway, right, in Saturday’s fourth race.
Between races, Ayadeck Galindo, 14, blows into the nose of Indio, a horse used to pony the racehorses around the track.
Rodney Davis, who goes to the races two or three times a year, sits in the clubhouse and checks the sheets listing the upcoming races’ horses and odds.
David Molina and Fernanda Vecerra sit in the grandstand, waiting for the next race to begin.
Spectators lean on a railing overlooking the paddock, observing the horses walk around and warm up before the first race starts.
