14 Arrested, Drugs Seized in Raid of Unsanctioned Horse Track After PETA Complaint
For Immediate Release:
October 1, 2024
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
On Sunday, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas Racing Commission raided unsanctioned horse racing track Carril Mochomos and arrested 14 people for offenses including engaging in organized criminal activity, money laundering, unlawful racing, illegal gambling activity, and racketeering. Officials found electroshock devices, illegal equine and human drugs, and large amounts of currency and seized 135 grams of cocaine and numerous gambling devices.
The raid follows PETA’s complaint to DPS in April urging authorities to investigate the more than 50 bush tracks operating in Texas, at which rampant drugging and abuse of horses as well as other crimes are common. DPS investigated the track and presented evidence to a grand jury that resulted in at least nine indictments of individuals who were later arrested during the raid, along with five other people. Based on currently available information from the agency and the Hockley County Sheriff’s Office, DPS arrested the nine individuals indicted by the grand jury for alleged offenses including engaging in organized criminal activity under Texas Penal Code section 71.02:
- Ramón Garcia, the track announcer, and his wife, Edna Hernández (aka ”Edna Tello”), both prominent broadcasters of unsanctioned races via the social media channel “Carreras Time”
- Cesar Pacheco, the track operator
- Delmy Lizette Rios-Guerrero, Pacheco’s partner
- Jaime Hernandez, track security
- Daniel Avila, a jockey who also races at regulated tracks in New Mexico
- Marcela Olivas
- Maria Gonzalez
- Juan de Alejandro Rios
As more information becomes public, specific additional charges will be revealed against these individuals.
The following five additional individuals were arrested by DPS on the day of the raid for various alleged offenses:
- Louis Morales (felony possession of a controlled substance)
- Isaias Morales-Martinez (gambling promotion)
- Juan-Carlos Rios (gambling promotion)
- Luis Rivero (gambling promotion)
- Ivan Zamora (property theft)
“PETA has found that bush tracks are cesspools of crime where horses are beaten, electroshocked, injected with street drugs, and raced literally to death,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA applauds the Texas Department of Public Safety for cracking down on Carril Mochomos and urges it to do the same at the more than 50 other bush tracks operating in the state.”
Sunday’s raid follows PETA’s previous investigation into unsanctioned racing in Georgia that resulted in charges against seven people. There, PETA’s investigators documented illegal gambling; trainers and jockeys injecting horses with cocaine, meth, and other street drugs; the use of electroshock devices to make horses run faster; and the deaths of horses on the track.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
