Spooked By The Infiltration Of Zeta Money Into Southwestern Horse Racing

Just the tip of a very dodgy iceberg:

Eight men accused of buying and training racehorses to launder drug profits for the powerful Zetas cartel are scheduled to go on trial Oct. 22 in Texas.

...Prosecutors said the evidence includes 30,000 pages of records on horses, as well as banking and auction documents and recordings of 2,000 phone calls.

Among those accused is Jose Trevino Morales, the brother of two alleged Zetas cartel leaders.

...Meanwhile, Jose Trevino Morales remains in federal custody as a flight risk pending trial on allegations that he was involved in a money laundering scheme centered on an Oklahoma horse ranch.

...The head of the agency that regulates horse racing in New Mexico told the El Paso Times on Wednesday he is deeply concerned about allegations that the notorious Los Zetas drug cartel had fixed the 2010 running of the All American Futurity, the state’s most prestigious race.

...Mares was referring to an informant’s claim, made in a federal court document, that a Zetas leader boasted of fixing the race run at the Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino — a race known as the Kentucky Derby of quarter-horse racing, the Times said.

...He said his staff would contact the FBI to see whether the agency plans to investigate the allegations that crews were bribed at the 2010 All American Futurity, which was won by Mr. Piloto, a horse won by Jose Trevino Morales, who allegedly ran the cartel’s U.S. horse operations.

...Late last week, officials at the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino denied allegations that the 2010 All American Futurity was fixed, the El Paso Times reported.

“We have looked at the video tape of the 2010 All American Futurity from every angle many times in recent days and can see no evidence of any horse being held or denied a fair start,” track General Manager Shaun Hubbard said in a statement. “We can find no evidence that there was any wrongdoing by our starting gate crew.”

...Maldonado-Huitron ran a horse farm in Bastrop County, southeast of Austin, and is charged with helping the Zetas launder millions through quarter horse operations in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and California.

...Gonzalez-Falla said that Maldonado Huitron was an illiterate horse trainer who posed no threat to the Zetas. An associate of Huitron Maldonado’s from El Paso testified Monday that the trainer was actually dismissed weeks before his arrest because his horses were underperforming, which the defense attorney said meant his client was now even less important in the eyes of the cartel.

“Why on earth would they hit my client?” he asked. “What has he done? He’s a horse trainer.”