Cerrillos Pack Burro Race Draws 90 Teams in New Mexico Tradition

More than 90 burros and their human partners turned Cerrillos into one of New Mexico’s most unusual outdoor scenes, with runners leading the animals by rope along a six-mile trail as the Strike It Rich Pack Burro Race Series opened its 2026 run.

The race gave the old mining town a burst of movement that fit its history. Organizers describe the series as rooted in New Mexico’s mining past, and the Cerrillos stop carried that theme through a timed format that began at 10 a.m. on First Street and finished with an awards ceremony. New Mexico Pack Burros listed the Cerrillos, or Turquoise Trail, event as offering both 2.5-mile and 6-mile courses, making it a fit for beginner teams as well as more experienced racers.

For a Southwest weekend, the attraction went beyond the race itself. KSFR described the 2026 Cerrillos event as the fifth annual Turquoise Trail Pack Burro Race, and said people came from around the Southwest to crowd Main Street in the village. That kind of turnout turns Cerrillos into more than a stopover between Santa Fe and the Turquoise Trail. It becomes the destination, with the race, the historic setting, and the village streets all part of the draw.

The Cerrillos race also sat inside a broader regional circuit. The 2026 Strike It Rich series included Magdalena on May 16, Ruidoso on August 22, and Silver City on September 12, giving travelers several chances to pair a burro race with a road trip through New Mexico’s mountain and mining-country communities. New Mexico Pack Burros said the Cerrillos race was one of 14 pack burro races in California, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico supported by the Western Pack Burro Association, which helps set rules and donkey-welfare guidance.

That mix of heritage and access is what makes Cerrillos stand out. The event works as a family-friendly, spectator-accessible day in a former mining town that still knows how to make a spectacle out of its past. For visitors building a route around Santa Fe, the Turquoise Trail, or Cerrillos Hills, the race offered a rare chance to watch a working-animal tradition become a live outdoor event instead of a museum display.