By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Easing rules around online betting would help ensure the survival of New Mexico’s horse racing industry as it faces intensifying competition for attention from gamblers in the state and around the world, a top racing official told a panel of state lawmakers Thursday. New Mexico law prevents residents from betting …

Peter Stein/News-Sun Richard Erhard had an unhappy task on Wednesday. Erhard, executive director of the New Mexico Horsemen’s Association, was cleaning office equipment out of Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino, something he did not imagine he would be doing just a week earlier. The NHMA was instructed by the New Mexico Racing Commission to clear the premises of Ruidoso …