Mexican drug cartel invests in US quarter horses

[horses4courses]

NYT article explores connection between Mexican drug ring and US quarter horse group:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/us/drug-money-from-mexico-makes-its-way-to-the-racetrack.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

[JBmadera]

NYT article explores connection between Mexican drug ring and US quarter horse group:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/us/drug-money-from-mexico-makes-its-way-to-the-racetrack.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Very interesting story, thx for posting.

Folks come up here from Mexico all the time and buy up a bunch of the 2yr old Q-horses. Not sure if they are for ranch work or the match races. Local breeders would be bummed to see that biz go, but if it's connected to the drug sh*t then it is for the best to cut it off now.

[ElKabong]

after reading the whole story, I'm floored. This is bound to have a huge effect.

If this means QH racing takes a near fatal hit, so be it. Kills me (and some of my pocketbook) to read this

[TJDave]

All that money that the Mexican mafia spends on ranches and horses...

Where does it come from, exactly? ;)

[ElKabong]

Slot $. (and a shitload of drug sales)

I often wondered how people made a profit running q's in TX, CA...

NM, OK, La all have slot added purses, but the $ you make in TX, CA is hard to make ends meet. Zzeta's aside, I don't know how they do it

[bigmack]

What a shock. :rolleyes: It's clear you don't need to be a rocket scientist to sling narcotics.

Peachy, another story of horse racing for Jane & Jogn Doe to digest.

Dumping the bodies of 49 people — without heads, hands or feet — in garbage bags alongside a road.

[Tom]

Sure-fire way to cripple the drug cartels.

Make it legal.
Duh.

The fallout from legal use would be a fraction of what it is trying - and failing - to stop it.

People want sex, drugs, booze, and gambling.
No one will ever stop it.
Period.

The best anyone will is make it worse by trying.

[Robert Goren]

They can make their own dope for their own horses.;)
When I live a small town , a town nearby had a Q-track, Thayer County Downs, that ran for 5 weeks a year for several years. Most the races were futurity trials for 2 yo and 3 yo. The added money was unreal. A purse of 2k with added money of 20k+ was the rule. They $25ed the owners to death to get the added money. Every weekend some trainer got busted because of a bad test. Usually it was a big stable too. It was a guessing game as for which drugs they were testing for every week. They couldn't afford to test for everything. It was rummored that more money changed hands on the backstretch than was run through the windows. When OK and TX got parimutuel racing, the horses stopped coming and they went out of business. I made a little money betting jockey switches there.

[ElKabong]

It was rummored that more money changed hands on the backstretch than was run through the windows. .

In the 1980s i used to go to old Ross Downs in Colleyville TX, a FtWorth suburb. Pre-parimutuel days here. Races all day on weekends, jocks wore jeans and western style shirts w/ snaps instead of buttons.....every fence post had a "no betting allowed" sign, but horsemen were openly betting horses, usually theirs, and the amounts were large. One bucket had 8k in it, pre-race. That's one that I saw...., me (and the people I went out there with) weren't allowed to see the bigger purses / buckets.

Ross Downs was purchased by a developer in the 90s...homes on that site go for about 700k or so

[JBmadera]

Sure-fire way to cripple the drug cartels.

Make it legal.
Duh.

The fallout from legal use would be a fraction of what it is trying - and failing - to stop it.

People want sex, drugs, booze, and gambling.
No one will ever stop it.
Period.

The best anyone will is make it worse by trying.

agree 100%. the hypocrisy is insane....just goes to show how powerful the alcohol, tobacco and big pharma lobbying operations are, plus what would DEA do with all those cool windbreakers????

[maddog42]

agree 100%. the hypocrisy is insane....just goes to show how powerful the alcohol, tobacco and big pharma lobbying operations are, plus what would DEA do with all those cool windbreakers????
That Oklahoma ranch is about 16 miles south of Norman Ok, where I live. I had heard about some of the "big spending" q-horse guys.

[maddog42]

From the article above:

"The affidavit said the Zetas funneled about $1 million a month into buying quarter horses in the United States. The authorities were tipped off to Tremor’s activities in January 2010, when the Zetas paid more than $1 million in a single day for two broodmares, the affidavit said.

The New York Times became aware of Tremor’s activities in December 2011 while reporting on the Zetas. The Times learned of the government’s investigation last month and agreed to hold back this article until Tuesday morning’s arrests. "

I guess the wheels of justice move slow, but 2 1/2 Years? Ridiculous.