The Oklahoma-bred quarter horse barreled across the finish line in September, edging out a field of nine competitors to take the top spot in the 440-yard All American Futurity.
Hezgothelook Z held the lead throughout the high-stakes race at the Albuquerque Downs Racetrack & Casino, where he won about $1.5 million of a $3 million purse and secured the Ruidoso Triple Crown. But four months later, the purse still hasn’t been paid out amid an investigation by the New Mexico Racing Commission.
Executive Director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo was cryptic about the investigation but said equine drug tests are still being processed for some of the horses.
An attorney representing some of the would-be winners has criticized the commission for lack of transparency and says the monthslong delay in payment could dissuade some in horse racing from entering future races in the Land of Enchantment, where the industry is big business.
“The whole thing is just bewilderment,” said Tulsa-based attorney Clark Brewster, known for representing adult actress Stormy Daniels in President Donald Trump’s hush money case.
“It really creates so much uncertainty, so much chaos, so much ineffective administrative agency function that it puts a pall over anyone who may have some interest in getting involved,” Brewster added. “Seriously, would you go to work if they said, ‘Hey, we may not pay you?’ ”
The commission
The situation has put a microscope on the influential New Mexico Racing Commission, a regulatory agency whose members are appointed by the governor. It’s not the first time the panel has faced controversy.
A coalition of the state’s racehorse owners and trainers sued the commission in 2021, accusing it of “skimming” millions of dollars in race-day winnings, Searchlight New Mexico reported last year. The conflict generated national attention and led the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association to prohibit five of New Mexico’s horse tracks from betting on the Kentucky Derby.
The Racing Commission’s website indicates it held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss “threatened litigation” that could involve the commission.
Trejo acknowledged the commission is “taking a little longer” in the All American Futurity case to “do more due diligence.” He pointed out the top three finishers in a race are usually tested for things like blood doping agents, steroids and growth hormones.
“We don’t pay the purse out until we get confirmation that the samples that were tested for the participants in the race come back negative,” Trejo said. “This is a unique situation, and I have to be very careful what I say.”
The horse
The horse at the center of the controversy, Hezgothelook Z — trained by Toby Keeton and owned by Triple One Ranch LLC in Texas — completed the 440-yard sprint in 21.12 seconds Sept. 2. He was never behind.
“Hezgothelook Z came away fast,” gushed an announcer as the powerful animals sprinted around the track, raising dust.
The gelding held off a tough challenge from KJ Bad Moon Rising to win the race by about a neck and become a Ruidoso Triple Crown winner that day.
The other two races that make up the Ruidoso Triple Crown were the Grade-1 Ruidoso Futurity in early June and the Rainbow Futurity in July.
The final race, the All American Futurity, was moved to Albuquerque after Ruidoso was swept first by fire in June and then flooding in July that damaged the track.
Hezgothelook Z solidified a place in racing history with his Triple Crown victory, a feat accomplished just one other time by a quarter horse — Special Effort in 1981 — according to a news release from the Ruidoso Downs.
Rick Baugh, general manager of the Ruidoso Downs, said the track will pay out the race’s purse after the New Mexico Racing Commission gives it the green light.
The investigation
Baugh disagreed that four months is a long time to wait for a payout and defended the commission’s delay, saying the process playing out is meant to ensure the integrity of the race.
“When you are looking at the integrity of this sport being protected, why would that dissuade anyone from wanting to advance their product? It would be like, if there was a recall on a factory automobile, wouldn’t you want to know it as soon as possible?” he said.
“The thing that I can say is this is in the hands of the commission,” he added. “And the commission, they’re doing testing and doing everything they can for the integrity of the race. I commend them for doing what they are doing.”
The five-member commission has offered little information about the investigation.
“We’re hoping to have results back sometime supposedly today,” Trejo said Thursday, noting lab testing for the race is being done in Denver. “But maybe it won’t happen. We don’t know. We’re letting the lab do what they need to do … The samples are being tested for any illicit drugs, as all our samples are.”
Trejo, appointed to the commission by former Gov. Susana Martinez in 2016, added: “There’s no blueprint for this. Is it unusual? Yeah, some could see it as unusual. During any investigation, there’s no blueprint on a burglary investigation or a murder investigation. It takes as long as you need to take to do a thorough job.”
The horses underwent extensive testing before the race, and Brewster believes there is no evidence any of the animals in question tested positive for any illicit substances.
“It’s a dereliction of duty,” he said.
“Listen, I’m all for enforcement if somebody is doing something that is harmful to a horse or in some way violates a rule, gains an unfair competitive advantage,” Brewster said. “None of that’s happened here. And the reason I know none of that’s happened here is they have a very wide matrix of testing in the screening, and it showed nothing. The pre-race testing showed nothing.”
No transparency?
Brewster said the New Mexico Racing Commission essentially has told him nothing about what has been going on since he was retained by his clients, including the trainer of both the first- and second-place finishers in the All American Futurity.
According to his LinkedIn page, Brewster and his wife operate a 4,200-acre cattle ranch and equine training center and actively race thoroughbreds across the U.S.
“After a month went by, I reached out to the New Mexico Racing Commission executive director. He doesn’t return even a phone call. He doesn’t even respond,” Brewster said. “We send him a letter, and he says, ‘Talk to our lawyer.’ We call the lawyer. He talks to us one time and then won’t return any phone calls, nothing. … No transparency.”
Trejo could not be reached Friday to respond to Brewster’s comments.
However, Richard Bustamante, general counsel for the Racing Commission, said trainer Keeton, Brewster’s client, has been informed the samples are still being tested.
“Just like he, we’re waiting for the test results to come back, so that has been communicated to him,” Bustamante said.
“The commission’s duty and mission to the taxpayers of the state of New Mexico, as well as to the fans of the sport and the wagers of the support, is to basically do reasonable and thorough regulatory oversight,” he added.
