The Navajo Trails Fiesta was in its heyday when this photograph was taken between horse races at the 1974 meet. The Depression-era grandstands were almost filled to capacity with nearly 7,000 spectators. The Fiesta Committee introduced parimutuel betting in the early 1970s and the attendance grew accordingly with the opportunity to legally wager on the races. By the early 1980s, these large wood and stone grandstands were deemed unsafe and were closed, taking along with it the Fiesta Committee’s ability to provide horse races. With the loss of the grandstands, the Navajo Trials Fiesta was soon abandoned. A smaller version, still known today as Fiesta Days, survived. These grandstands, along with the 95 horse stalls located along Main Avenue were demolished in 1999 and 2000. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 22.38.22 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)
The Navajo Trails Fiesta was in its heyday when this photograph was taken between horse races at the 1974 meet. The Depression-era grandstands were almost filled to capacity with nearly 7,000 spectators. The Fiesta Committee introduced parimutuel betting in the early 1970s and the attendance grew accordingly with the opportunity to legally wager on the races. By the early 1980s, these large wood and stone grandstands were deemed unsafe and were closed, taking along with it the Fiesta Committee’s ability to provide horse races. With the loss of the grandstands, the Navajo Trials Fiesta was soon abandoned. A smaller version, still known today as Fiesta Days, survived. These grandstands, along with the 95 horse stalls located along Main Avenue were demolished in 1999 and 2000. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, [email protected] (Catalog Number: 22.38.22 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)