The one-line summary of Cowboy Cartel, a new Apple TV+ documentary series, is hard to resist. Here is the story of how an inexperienced but determined FBI agent brought down Mexico’s biggest drug cartel – by exposing how they were using American quarter horse racing as the vehicle for a giant money-laundering operation.
Quarter horse racing, which doesn’t really have a UK equivalent, is the wayward southern cousin of thoroughbred racing: the sort of steeds a cowboy would ride, smart and stocky and lightning-fast over short distances, compete in sprints of only a quarter of a mile or so down a straight dirt track. It’s a simple, explosive sporting thrill that has traditionally been awash with doping, illegal gambling and fixing. In 2009, followers of quarter horse racing noticed a new owner, José Treviño Morales, suddenly enjoying great success.
