Page 118 - July 2019

IZZY TREJO
by John Moorehouse
“I love standing at the finish line and watching all that horse power running towards you.”
It’s been a tumultuous year so far for Ismael “Izzy” Trejo, the Executive Director of the New Mexico Racing Commission. In January, the NMRC passed a new zero-tolerance policy for albuterol that went into effect in May and applies to all breeds of horses. Then, at the end of April, all five racing commissioners were dismissed and replaced by Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham.
Trejo filled Speedhorse in on some of the goals and new policies the NMRC was enacting. According to him, New Mexico ranked third in the country in 2018 in the total number of out-of-competition tests on race horses. Still, he said he and the commission felt the need to do more.
“At the beginning of the most recent Sunland
race meet, the agency implemented a ‘high risk’ or ‘at risk’ program. It’s a program that searches for horses that are entered and may have something unusual in their past performances that raises a red flag,” Trejo explained. “Once red flagged, the stewards inform the regulatory veterinarians and the regulatory vets give
a thorough examination of the horse in the morn- ing, and if the horse passes that examination, it is scrutinized once again in the paddock and during the post parade. I am certainly not giving the program all the credit for the exceptionally low breakdown rates
at our first two race meets of the season, Sunland and SunRay, but it is a useful tool in trying to prevent catastrophic breakdowns at our race tracks.”
Trejo said a testing program that would screen horses during training also is in the works.
“We believe there are horses training out there in the morning that probably should have stayed in the stall that morning due to infirmities. We have to remember, horses do not only break down dur- ing races, but it happens in the morning as well,” he said. “The agency will also pursue funding to build a staff of Regulatory Veterinarians to be the voice for the horses.”
The commission also is working to create additional infrastructure to safeguard the welfare of equine athletes, whether it be planning an aftercare program for race horses, or recently creating a com- mittee/task force formed to present more proposed reforms to the sport.
For Trejo, his current work with the NMRC is just the latest step in a progression throughout the sport: “I have spent my entire life at the race track, doing everything from being a jockey valet, hotwalker, and groom.” He’s also worked as a placing judge, a stakes coordinator, a steward, and a racing secretary before accepting his current position in 2016.
Let’s learn more about Trejo in this Lighter Side feature.
Q: Where were you born?
A: Chicago, Illinois.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of horse racing?
A: I can’t give a specific reason why, but I collect decanters. Of course, they are empty when I buy them.
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: “O Brother Where Art Thou?” It delivers the com- plexities of life through very simple characters.
Q: What’s an interesting fact about
your family?
A: My Dad modeled clothes when he was younger. I would not believe it if my Mom didn’t have the pic- tures to prove it. Also, my distant cousin Clara de la Rocha and my Great Great Great Grandpa, General Herculano de la Rocha, were Mexican guerrilla fight- ers. My cousin’s hair style (buns on the both sides of the head) was the inspiration for Princess Leia’s hair in the movie “Star Wars.”
John Moorehouse
116 SPEEDHORSE, July 2019
THE LIGHTER SIDE