Unlicensed horse racing raises hackles in Colorado
FORT LUPTON, Colo. - Before the horse races began at Rancho El Caporal, people gathered around a man holding a jug full of rocks and a boot. The jug was to get their attention. The boot was to hold their bets.
It was a warm April day in Fort Lupton, where thousands descended to watch horses race.
With more than a dozen armed security guards, portable toilets, food trucks, an ambulance and plenty of parking, and with the blessing of Weld County commissioners, the annual event felt like many others. It could pass for a concert at the Greeley Stampede.
“The county is happy, the cops are happy, everybody is happy,” said Martin Gutierrez, who owns Rancho El Caporal.
Gutierrez had a permit for the twoday event, just as he’s had each of the past six years.
But after race organizers provide the necessary documents to get a permit, there’s little to no oversight, both from local law enforcement or state officials, something insiders and advocates say paves the way for illegal gambling, mistreatment of horses and a potentially unsafe environment for spectators.
“I have sources who have been dealing with legal horse races,” said Floss Blackburn, of Denkai Animal Sanctuary. “They pump (horses) so full of drugs they’re having heart attacks. They’re a tool; they’re a way for these guys to make money, which is not fair to the animal.”
The only licensed racetrack in Colorado is Arapahoe Park in Aurora. That track is licensed for pari-mutuel betting. It’s also monitored to ensure animal and spectator safety.
Racing horses, though, is perfectly legal all over the state.
Gutierrez knows the rules. In a phone conversation that ended prematurely when he hung up, Gutierrez said there’s no organized betting.
“It’s match races. You can bet through a friend,” Gutierrez said. “We don’t take any commission.”
If he did, it would be illegal gambling. And that’s hard to prove, Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said. Reams’ easiest recourse against horse races is when the organizers fail to take the basic step of getting an assembly permit from the county.
Gutierrez was in that camp in 2010. He was cited for hosting illegal rodeos and horse races with hundreds in attendance, according to county documents.
Horse races go on throughout the state, Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer said. Fox31 Denver, in an investigation concurrent with The Tribune’s, uncovered similar races in Deer Trail. There, Mayor Kent Vashus is also the registered agent of the Deer Trail Jockey Club, which owns the rodeo grounds where unsanctioned races were held on Easter weekend.
After being questioned about the races, Vashus told Fox31 on video the races wouldn’t be coming back to Deer Trail.
Kirkmeyer said if Weld officials discovered problems with an event they permitted, whether horse racing or any other, they could use that information in future permitting decisions.