# Drug Money & Horse Racing



## Jill (Jun 12, 2012)

I thought this article might be of interest to some of you...

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*Mexican drug cartel launders money through American horse racing*

On Tuesday, the Justice Department moved against Tremor Enterprises, a horse racing business funded by Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, the second in command of Mexico’s Zetas drug cartel, reports The New York Times.

The company has operations in Oklahoma and New Mexico and is run by Treviño’s older brother José, a legal resident of the United States. The younger Treviño, Miguel, is one of the DEA’s most wanted fugitives, and there is a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He has become the lead enforcer of the Zetas, who are known for mutilating his victims’ bodies while they are still alive.

The brothers’ horse breeding company won three of horseracing’s biggest races in the last three years, earning about $2.5 million in prize money. The operation was used to launder money from the drug cartel through legal enterprises in the United States.

The Justice Department sent helicopters and hundreds of agents to Tremor’s stables in New Mexico and its ranch in Oklahoma Tuesday morning.

The Zetas were originally a protection force for another but split off in 2010 to start their own operation, which is now one of the most influential in Mexico.

Read more: http://dailycaller.c.../#ixzz1xbuyhH7S


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## Miniv (Jun 12, 2012)

I'm not surprised...


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## Jill (Jun 12, 2012)

I think it's a pretty corrupt industry.


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## little lady (Jun 12, 2012)

Ditto!


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## vickie gee (Jun 12, 2012)

Jill said:


> I think it's a pretty corrupt industry.


Jill,

Please clarify. Are you saying the horse racing industry is a pretty corrupt industry? I did not want to elaborate (just yet) not knowing for sure that is what you are saying. Living down here in the south a hop from both Louisiana Downs and Oaklawn Park I am a walking novel of stories.










































:GetDrunk








Gee, I did not mean to get so emotional. Memories...........pressed against the pages of my miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind!


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## Jill (Jun 13, 2012)

Horses killed for insurance money, yearngs and 2yo's run so hard their lungs bleed, the drug connections, etc.





Most prospects do not pan out, but few come off the track (as very young horses) sound.

These are some of the reasons I am a non fan of TB racing.


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## Riverrose28 (Jun 13, 2012)

I just heard it was a quarter horse racing operation. They were money laundering.


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## Jill (Jun 13, 2012)

I think you're right, this case is QH racing related. Just another "branch" of the racing corruption





Here's another article about the same situation:

*‘Serious Threat’: Brother of Zetas ‘Enforcer’ Used Okla. Horse Ranch to Bankroll Cartel*

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/serious-threat-brother-of-zetas-enforcer-used-okla-horse-ranch-to-bankroll-cartel/


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## Jill (Jun 13, 2012)

I have heard enough about racing when it comes to TB and QH to personally find myself unable to enjoy it with a clear conscious... I'm sure not everyone is corrupt or commits abuse, but the knowledge of the corruption that happens and the wasted horses sucks the joy out of it for me personally. I'm actually sure MOST people are not like the bad examples, but it still taints it for me. This latest is just one more example, and as always, just my honest feeling.


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## sundancer (Jun 13, 2012)

if memory serves me correctly, wasnt there the same thing going on with the hunter jumpers? They were doing the same thing to collect insurance money, etc. The name is slipping me, but it was a big name in the hunter jumper world that got caught.

Its sad tp think this could happen, but unfortunately greed and money talks.

Julie

Victory Pass Stable

Maine


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## vickie gee (Jun 13, 2012)

It is a double edged sword for me. I know nothing first hand of the money laundering but have no doubt it does exist and it saddens me. This is just the first time I have to admit crime exists in the horse racing industry aside from rigged races, horses drugged illegally, illegal gambling, crooked bookies, and greedy people actually cheating bookies. Greed and corruption have not been absent in any aspect of humanity no doubt. ANY, we can all site examples in sports, politics, religion, education, and likely even beauty pageants. This is a first that I have to see of abuse of the animal (other than drugs) in the industry and it saddens me because I realize that it IS going on. Right now I cannot even convey how many good and bad memories I have from horse racing because it hits home with me in both memories of lives destroyed and joyous moments. I am going to have to distance myself from it for now (since Dallas just came on and as an old Texan I get excited). Literally, I have so many memories I do not know if I am willing to resurrect them.



(teeth chattering) I was introduced to horse racing by my parents as a teen-ager. After that, several chapters were written........


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## Katiean (Jun 14, 2012)

Way back when, when I was working on the race track. There were many, many nights that I made a ton of money because we all knew who was going to win. Oh, and I was 17.


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## stormy (Jun 14, 2012)

Professional sports in general draws corruption and tainted money...lots of $$$ there, lots of crooked ways to make it grow but after working in the Standardbred racing industry for several years please don't paint the whole industry black!! Wherever there is money there is corruption but most are in it for the same reason we raise and show horses....they love the horse, and the joy of breeding, raising and racing the next champion!!


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## ozymandias (Jun 14, 2012)

Please don't tell me they're in it for the love of the horses. I've yet to see a race horse owner or trainer wait until the horse is 3 or 4 years old before they start racing them. Don't tell me they don't understand horse anatomy. They know exactly what they are doing racing a one or two year old horse and it's not about the well being of the animal. Horses in the racing industry are nothing but commodities. If they were anything else they wouldn't be put down in the thousands they'd be put out to pasture.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/horse-racing/rspca-call-for-bechers-brook-to-be-removed-after-deaths-at-aintree-grand-national-3081681.html


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## MindyLee (Jun 14, 2012)

"If you think back, we even had convicted, illegal, corrupt activities with people in the Miniature Horse breeding business.. "

WOW!!! Never heard about this but not surprised!


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## ozymandias (Jun 14, 2012)

http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/

So I missed out on the corruption in the mini business...anyone willing to share the who, what's and where's of what was going on?


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## ozymandias (Jun 14, 2012)

http://racehorsememorialwall.blogspot.com/

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/rpcentraloregon.com/pub?key=tPHc9ylcGZrvYCNVlpbgM7A&output=html


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## KanoasDestiny (Jun 14, 2012)

In most cases in the US, horses are put out to pasture or used for breeding after their racing careers. There are also rescues/organizations that adopt out retired or priorly injured racers.

Studies show that horses who begin racing as two-year olds have better musculoskeletal health throughout life than horses that race at a later age.


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## tagalong (Jun 14, 2012)

It is completely inaccurate to state that the racing industry is corrupt based on the one drug-related QH racing place/ They were obviously not in it for the horses at all even though they had an All American Futurity winner, I think.

_Where are yearlings run til their lungs bleed, Jill? _

It is also an outright LIE that no one cares about the horses. That burns me up - no, it makes me _furious_ - every time I hear someone who obviously has never worked at a track or on a breeding farm say that. Or even hung around a track for any extended period of time. *You might as well say all mini people hate the horses and just view them as inventory - it would be just as accurate.* There may be a small percentage of owners and breeders out there IN ANY BREED/DISCIPLINE who do look at things purely from a numbers and inventory standpoint but the majority do not. So just because I know of a few mini breeders/trainers who gave their stallion liposuction or had other "work" done - it means that EVERYONE does it all the time. That is the kind of logic in play here that simply does not add up.

I am not just blowing hot air here. I have worked on the backstretch (both TBs and Standardbreds). I have worked on a breeding farm (both TBs and Standardbreds). I have prepped yearlings for the big sales in Keeneland. I have sat next to a farm manager in the straw when he could not revive a stillborn foal from his favourite mare and broke down in tears. Yeah - he hated the darn horses all right. Of course he did. I know - someone will say he was lamenting the lose of potential $$$$. NO, he was lamenting the loss of a life. But I guess people who were not in that stall that February night know better. That guy cared deeply for all the horses - and followed them throughout their careers, making sure they had good homes when they were no longer racing.

What makes people think that anyone who puts in those long hours doing tedious work on the backstretch must hate the horses? I am sorry - but every time I read a less than factual, sneering, blanket statement like that... I see red. No one puts in those hours and basically dedicates their life to the horses - who hates them.

More *show horses* are badly treated than racing TBs. Subjected to gimmicky training, physical alterations and devices all for a cheap blue ribbon. And yes - DRUGS.

I do not care for two year olds racing - but at least they have light weight on their backs centered over their center of gravity and are doing what horses love to do - run. What about the endless two year old futurities for stock horse breeds? Where babies are asked to pivot and spin and turn and may have a 200 pound weight sitting back on its pockets in their backs? Look at some of the bigger (in physical size as well as reputation) QH and Paint trainers - where is the outrage directed at them? Outrage is only selectively convenient, it seems.

No matter that our neighbour down the road has ruined three Paint two year olds. Overworked in deep footing they were not physically capable of holding up to, their front legs are a mess. No problem - she just buys a new one for 5 figures and goes back to the same trainer. The medicine cabinet in her barn is alarming...

You do know that drug tests are constantly run in a random fashion? You do know that a vet is on hand at the starting gate to ascertain if a horse is not warming up correctly and/or seems "off" - and can scratch them even at the last minute? When was the last time you saw a show horse pulled at the gate by a vet - oh, wait.

As far as breakdowns and injuries at the track go - yes, sadly it happens - even to the best, most conscientious trainers at the upper levels. Do you have any idea how much work and research goes into footing and anatomy and mangement to try and prevent that? Not that I expect the naysayers here to have noticed this or care - but the past few years have been full of fabulous horses with caring, open trainers and owners who have stirred people's hearts and brought many back to racing. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were stars. Superstars. Zenyatta's owners and trainer even had regular visitng hours with her at her barn. Everything was open and above board. The track is not an opium den as many would have you believe. They brought out crowds of what many here must think were delusional morons instead of intelligent racing fans and horse lovers who appreciated great horses and the good people that go with them. They retired sound. Happy. And they each have a colt at heel this spring.

Some of the biggest breeders in the country have taken back one of their own 10 years after the fact when he/she turned up at one of the bottom level tracks and then was headed for Mexico. They take responsibility for their horses for the duration of their lives. How many horse breeders do you know who do that? Or even dog breeders?

If the industry and the people in it are so evil as some maintain - why all the support groups and charities for injured horses and jockeys. Why all the organizations that help horses off the track find new homes and/or careers? What about the edicts some tracks have issued fining and banning any trainer who is discovered to have dumped horses at an auction for meat or sodl them to a meat dealer?

No - it must be a fact that the_ entire_ industry is evil and corrupt - based on a lot of conjecture and finger pointing and some bad episodes instead of the big picture.

This past week, I'll Have Another - who IMO would have been the next Triple Crown Champion - was pulled from the Belmont Stakes due to a bit of tendonitis. They did the right thing for that horse and yet were heaped with un-founded accusations. They thought of the horse first - and yet were vilified. I can guarantee you that many show horses were out in the ring that same weekend, performing on that same kind of tendon injury - as at that stage it appeared to be just a bit of inflammation that you could hose and treat.

Sorry to get a bit heated and longwinded- but maybe some facts are preferable to a litany of generalizations, misinformation and condemnation.


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## minimomNC (Jun 14, 2012)

Wow, if people think money laundrying only goes on in horse racing, you should check out bigger sporting events. As for horse racing, I agree with Mary Lou and Tag. Unless you have been there, behind the scenes, up close and personal, how can you even begin to judge. One bad thing in one place doesn't make the entire industry bad, thank goodness. Because if it did, we would all be in prison for some of the things that go on in the entire equine industry. Miniature horses included.


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## KanoasDestiny (Jun 14, 2012)

EIPH (bleeding of the lungs) is common in most race horses, the blood just isn't always noticeable. However, this condition is also found in horses used in high performance barrel racing, roping, and cutting - anything that involves strenuous sprint exercises. But they have a drug called Lasix that can help or eliminate the problem.


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## Jill (Jun 14, 2012)

I'm currently on a road trip and it's not convenient to post research links However, I'd like to point out that I don't need to be a jockey or own a track to have an opinion about the industry. What a small amount of mind it would take to hold only first hand experiences.


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## tagalong (Jun 14, 2012)

*Jill* - you are entitled to any opinion you please - but when you present things as facts that are not - you can expect to get a reaction. I do know what I am talking about...



> What a small amount of mind it would take to hold only first hand experiences.


It would take a very small mind to assume that blanket generalizations and what you have "heard" (you own words) mean more that the experiences and knowledge of others who are or have been actually involved in and followed the industry for years. And are not wearing blinders.

No one has said that racing does not have issues that need to be addressed. What you are saying is that everything is corrupt and evil and so on and so forth - and that is simply not true.

You did not refer to facts about Lasix or bleeders - you just pointed fingers and use sensationalist generalized statements as "proof". Like a recent NPR editorial about racing by a guy who used many of the same ridiculous generalizations (everyone hates the horses!!) and many skewed "facts" that were not true - and showed that he did not really have a clue what he was protesting about. He even made the inane argument that it was some kind of a big conspiracy that IHA was scratched - as it would not be good for racing to have aTC Champion - and right there you could tell that the guy did not have a freaking clue. The best thing for racing would be to have a TC Champion... but that idiot "knew better". Of course he did.

He probably has never laid a hand on a horse and wouldn't know a fetlock from a forelock.


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## Jill (Jun 14, 2012)

Tag, if I ask nice, would you stop expecting me to discuss my every non mini related post I growing detail with you? It's been years of it from you and I'm real tired of it. Try a search of my name on the back porch and see what I mean. You're always looking for more from me no matter how plainly or clearly something was expressed.

Thanks...


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## susanne (Jun 14, 2012)

Jill said:


> Tag, if I ask nice, would you stop expecting me to discuss my every non mini related post I growing detail with you? It's been years of it from you and I'm real tired of it. Try a search of my name on the back porch and see what I mean. You're always looking for more from me no matter how plainly or clearly something was expressed.
> 
> Thanks...


After all, Tagalong, you're not an American citizen!

.


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## susanne (Jun 14, 2012)

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but this issue is not nearly as black or white as both sides here have suggested. There is truth in everyone's posts.

There are owners/trainers/riders who love their racehorses. There are owners/trainers/riders who see them as nothing but a meal ticket. We need to recognize both the good and the bad, especially if we hope to eradicate the latter.


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## Jill (Jun 14, 2012)

susanne said:


> After all, Tagalong, you're not an American citizen!
> 
> .


Thanks, Susanne, for that valuable and well meaning insight.


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## andi (Jun 14, 2012)

So which is it? Are experiance or facts/numbers more important? Maybe, both are equally as important and attacking eachothers opinions on the bases of how they are formed is just a way to avoid the information being shared. It would be wonderful if everyone could see the value in what eachother brings to the table in these "debates" and actually considered changing their own opinions because of that information. If the goal isn't to learn from eachothers different experiances AND research then why bother voicing them at all? We all have such an opportunity on this forum to discuss things and "grow", but it is completely wasted if we all feel so strongly the need to defend our opinions that we refuse to alter them.


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## tagalong (Jun 14, 2012)

> Tag, if I ask nice, would you stop expecting me to discuss my every non mini related post I growing detail with you? It's been years of it from you and I'm real tired of it. Try a search of my name on the back porch and see what I mean. You're always looking for more from me no matter how plainly or clearly something was expressed.


*Jill*, with all due respect - _everything is not about you._ Especially not _"years and years"_ of it. No matter what I say, it seems to be wrong.

Let's stick to facts instead of hyperbole. I respond to topics that I find interesting or that concern me. We both like political discussions/topics. Thus it is no surprise we meet up in those types of threads. I have also posted with you in mini-related threads - are you going to call me out on that as well? If you do not want people to address your comments or have a discussion about them, then why on earth would you start up such a discussion?

No matter who started a topic that suggested that all racing was corrupt and evil and about money laundering and nothing else... and made the exact some comments that you did in your OP, I would have responded to it with passion in the exact same way. It has nothing to do with who the author is - I _try_ to respond to the comments, not the person behind them. Unlike what you seem to be doing to me - and even suggesting between the lines that I shut up? 

I do not see you over on the Thoroughbred racing forums engaging in intense discussions about racing practices, eviscerating or evaluating trainers and how some tracks are the end of the line... or evaluating the failure of NYRA to do their job.. or discussing milkshaking... or tracking down tattoo numbers to ID horses... how different footing relates to breakdowns - or anything else of the sort. I have discussions there - and when I see it come up here, I am also going to take part.

No, I am not harrassing you. No, I am not targetting you. Yes, I want to take part in specific topics. You want to make it personal - I don't. I want to discuss the topic and share opinions, thoughts and concerns. My question about yearlings being "forced to run until their lungs bled" was a genuine one. Where did that happen and when? The posters on the racing forums would track it down and find out what was going on and who was involved.



> Thanks, Susanne, for that valuable and well meaning insight.


Well, to be fair - in a recent thread you posted something along the lines of "who are you voting for in the 2012 election, tag?" to me - out of the blue - which had nothing to do with the topic at hand and was just a smug little off topic jab. So that was were Suzanne's comments came from.

Now let's steer this thread back to the topic in the hopes that it does not get deleted. We can discuss racing issues based on facts as opposed to generalizations and myths. If the racing forums can discuss all angles of the racing industry... all the research, the good and bad, the ups and downs, objectively and calmly based on facts and learn from the opinions and offerings of others... then surely we can do that here as well. My opinions and thoughts are always morphing as I learn different aspects of things... they are never set in stone. There is always wiggle room.



> We all have such an opportunity on this forum to discuss things and "grow", but it is completely wasted if we all feel so strongly the need to defend our opinions that we refuse to alter them.


Well said.


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## Jill (Jun 14, 2012)

Whatever, Tag... Keep typing "*Jill*", which I guess you so frequently type in reference to another Jill and it must be her opinion you continually like to hash and rehash, thread after thread, year after year, on almost anything EXCEPT miniature horse issues. I'm going to discontinue noticing how much attention you pay to my opinions.


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## tagalong (Jun 14, 2012)

Oh for heaven's sake - I use your name out of politeness to show that I am referring to what you said - and not by way of an insult or harrassment or whatever else you want to read into it. _I do not single you out - as much as you seem to want to believe that. _ You

I pay attention to EVERYONE's opinions whether I agree with them or not... as that is part of any proper discussion. I have never been completely dismissive of anything anyone says. You have gone out of your way in the past to single out things I have said and point out how inconsequential they are... but I let it roll off, for the most part.

Did you even bother to read _anything _I said? Or did you just summarily dismiss it...

So much for a balanced, interesting discussion on the issues. If this thread still exists tonight, I would like to discuss some of the info in the links Ozy provided.


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