[Santana singing "Oye Como Va"]
[indistinct chattering]
[male #1] 'Oh, God,grant us such health'
'of mind and body'
'that those evils that we suffer for our sins'
'we may overcome'
'through thine assistance.'
Let us pray.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, it is now, and ever
'shall be, world without end.'
Amen.
♪Oye como va♪
♪Mi ritmo ♪
♪Bueno pa gosar mulata♪
♪Oye como va♪
♪Mi ritmo ♪
♪Bueno pa gosar..♪
Do you hear that, mi hijo?
That is why we do what we do.
I already walked the track, Poppa.
'Just be careful around that clubhouse turn.'
They should fire that new tractor guy, huh?
Turn is rockier than my second marriage.
[bugle blowing]
Just keep him tight on the inside, Poppa
and then give him his head and let him run.
You worry too much, Jose.
[male announcer] 'The 37th annual running'
'of the William Penn Million Dollar Derby.'
One more, mi hijo..
...then I go home to Mexico.
I'll have your saw. You give me a call.
Construction crew doing renovations
at the Franklin racetrack here
dug up this old horse grave.
Well, right here, outside the track?
Horse breaks its leg in a race
weight's too much for it to heal right.
They euthanized 'em for humanitarian reasons.
- Hmm. - Lot of dead horses.
Standard procedure back in the day.
Nothing standard about these remains.
M.E. says it's small for a femur.
Adult male, maybe five-two.
Decomposed silks, riding pants, leather boots.
They shoot jockeys back then, too?
Hmm, it's a money clip
initialed "S.S."
- Maybe a hundred bucks. - ID?
Nah, just a couple of old business cards.
[Rush] 'Uh, track comp cards for guests and family.'
Hmm. Ten digits. It's pretty faded.
Could be a bank account, phone number.
Racing silks, boots..
...all decked out and rarin' to go.
Well, someone didn't want this jockey
to make it to the finish line.
[theme music]
The money clip belongs to a jockey
named Sonny Sandoval.
ME's checking dental to confirm ID
said the guy had over 30 healed bone fractures.
Hmm, except these.
Multiple puncture wounds at the back of the skull.
Got CSU looking into it.
Well, the son, Jose, tried to file a missing persons report
back in '86 that didn't fit the criteria.
He was a legal adult, no sign of foul play
no indication he was in danger.
Last seen Labor Day, right after he lost
the William Penn Derby Cup.
Sandoval had lifetime earnings over three million dollars.
yet his house was about to be foreclosed on.
- Hmm, bank account statements? - Still digging.
His bank got bought out twice since '86.
Last one went belly up, taken over by the Feds.
Well, Jose states that his father might've
taken a flyer here and there.
Around all that action
sooner or later you're gonna shake the baby.
Gambling problem, multiple ex-wives--
Gee, I wonder where the money went.
Yeah, could've been in deep to somebody.
- Made sure he paid up. - Dug his own grave.
You know for a guy who liked to shoot the works
Sandoval's record's clean, not even a parking ticket.
Yeah, no official record.
Sonny "Mil Hombres" Sandoval.
Mil Hombres
"Strength of a thousand men?"
Uh, he needed it, keep up with the ladies
he was pulling down.
Sonny was a rock star.
Women, money, cars..
He got mixed up in any trouble
PPD gave him a pass just like
Iverson and Barkley.
Come on. Jockeys?
Those knee knockers get the ladies?
Hmm, still a man on a horse.
Confident, athlete..
...winning combo.
I'm saying this town loves a winner.
Somebody shoot me.
I'll beat the bushes with the local bookies and loan sharks.
See what falls out.
You know says here it took Jose 30 days
to report his father missing.
He's still a trainer there.
Let's hit the track.
[instrumental music]
[horse neighing]
You know at first I thought he went back to Mexico.
When I couldn't find him, I knew
something bad had happened to him.
Just didn't think it happened here.
You know anything about that grave, Jose?
No, just there was a barn back there
for the old horses, but Poppa always
got the ones on the way up, not the ones on the way out.
When's the last time you saw your old man?
When he lost the William Penn Derby in '86.
I mean, it really tore him up.
You two close?
Poppa was my hero.
I wanted to be a jockey just like him
but I hit a growth spurt when I was 14.
Only kid in America upset about it.
So close, yet it took you nearly a month
to file a police report.
Look, it wasn't uncommon for Poppa to take off
after a tough loss.
He was always talking about going back to Mexico.
Figured he just put himself out to pasture.
Understand Sonny liked the ponies on and off the track.
It's not worth rehashing.
Let's just say he liked a lot of things
that weren't good for him.
Mil Hombres con Mil Vicios.
Sorry, man, no hablo Espanol.
Born and raised in Philly.
Me, too.
Your dad in big to anyone?
I-I wouldn't know.
Poppa kinda told me things on a need to know basis.
Anyone else have a beef with your old man?
Oh, Poppa usually carried the beef.
You know, he had a big heart
but people liked to take advantage.
People like who?
Poppa's bug boy.
I mean, I told the cops back in the day
gave that guy everything, did nothing but betray him.
Bug boy?
He's a jockey's apprentice to your dad?
Angelo Rivera, turned out to be a worthless ingrate.
- Had to have the guy arrested. - Yeah, for what?
I mean, he stole Poppa's money and jewelry
to feed his drug habit.
Guy was a fiend.
[instrumental music]
Que en paz descanse.
'Sonny was like a father to me.'
Cut from the same cloth..
Two poor kids from Mexico.
Well, sounds like you learned a lot from him.
The man I am today... is because of Sonny.
That why you stole from him, Angelo?
They had you arrested. Pressed charges.
Esperate. Esperate. You got that wrong.
[Rush] 'It wasn't your first time to the dance.'
You got popped twice on meth charges.
I broke my collarbone riding, I started taking painkillers.
I have that kinda brain, you know, that can't shut it off.
Before I knew it, I was snorting it, I was shooting it.
- I just got lost. - Well, I'll say.
One more strike and you were lookin' at some serious time.
[Scotty] 'Yeah, but Sonny disappeared. Case got thrown out.'
Lucky for you, he wound up in that hole.
[Lilly] 'You knew about that horse grave?'
I heard the rumors, but I never saw it.
Not drawing a very convincing alibi, Angelo.
I was messed up, man.
Bottomed out, baking donuts in the Badlands.
You trickin' for drugs?
Look, the only person I hurt was myself.
After Sonny disappeared, I got help.
- Feeling guilty? - No. Fed up.
I got clean..
...and dedicated my life to helping these kids.
These kids need somebody to believe in them
like Sonny believed in me.
[male announcer] 'An unbelievable finish'
'as the rookie from Esteros, Mexico'
'Angelo Rivera gets his first win riding'
[cheering]
"Can't" he said, huh?
Born with it.
This kid is the next Mil Hombres. Huh?
[laughing]
- Te dije hijastro? -- Si. - You told me.
Told him what, wanker?
Box me in, grab my horse's bridle?
That's taking food off my family's table.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You boxed yourself in, Ric, okay?
Don't blame the kid because you tied one on last night.
That was a Mil Hombres move.
Even tugged his head. You taught him that.
Do what you got to do to win. It's the name of the game.
Maybe I'll take your advice, Sonny.
Do what I gotta do.
[instrumental music]
Ric Yanko, rival jockey.
Always eating Sonny's dust.
Should've put that shrimp on the barbie.
- Aussie still around? - He owns a bar near the track.
- Still riding? - 'Nah.'
But he had his day.
Ric never got a good horse until Sonny disappeared.
Then he became the track's number one rider.
Looked like an S and M joint back there.
All those whips and leather.
Riding crops.
Eh, same thing.
Well, whip's meant to inflict pain..
Riding crop's to motivate.
Uh, you're startin' to scare me, Lil.
You don't strike me as the"National Velvet"type.
Well, after my dad left, uh, my mom needed a job.
'She didn't notice she was juiced. So..'
She became a ticket taker.
Your ma worked the track?
Races were over I'd wait for her to count out her drawer.
Sit in the stands, do my homework.
It's probably not the best place to leave a kid alone.
Eh, not all bad.
Got to know some of the old-timers.
The railbirds.
They all had one thing in common..
Pfft, yeah. Compulsive gambling.
Dreamers.
Always hoping, tomorrow's better than today.
[instrumental music]
♪ Ain't no thing ♪
♪ She's gonna leave me ♪
♪ Ain't no thing ♪
Ric Yanko?
♪ If you turn and walk away ♪
Depends who's asking, mate.
Oh, yeah?
Well drinks are on the house, Johnnie.
Food you pay for, like everybody else.
Detectives, mate.
And we ain't here for the cuisine.
- Sonny Sandoval. - Oh, yeah?
That bloke finally show up off his face in Mexico somewhere?
Found Sonny's remains in an old horse grave
'at the back of the track.'
No kidding.
And that concerns me how?
Career really took off once he was gone.
[scoffs]
I didn't need to kill Sonny to beat him.
The old git was falling off all on his own.
'Maybe you were in a hurry.'
Or maybe you should get your story straight.
'Cause Sonny made me a better rider.
'No, like when the rookie whipped you'
and Sonny manhandled you in front of the other jockeys?
Manhandledme?
I've broken every bone in my body twice, mate.
You want a medal?
Twelve hundred pound horse. Shattered my pelvis in '92.
If you've got something to say, say it.
I hope the horse was okay.
Look here.
There was a lot of money on the table.
People lost their cool.
But all said and done, we were still jockeys.
And you wore funny costumes. So what?
[scoffs] People have no idea what we endure..
Flipping to make weight.
You know what it's like to weigh 110 pounds?
Not since fifth grade.
It's a brotherhood. Jockeys.
And there was no better friend a jockey could have..
...than Sonny Sandoval.
Vamanos, huh?
[Santana playing "Evil Ways"]
So the doc tells me..
...that he wants to put a pin in my knee.
What do you need that for?
So I could keep kicking
your dingo ass, Yanko.
[laughing]
Broke my kneecap so many times.
He thought I would be crippled for life.
Told him, "Go to hell."
[laughter]
Won over a hundred races since then
andcan still dance the Jarabe Tapatio
with the best of 'em, huh?
[cheering]
♪ You've got me running and hidin' all over town ♪
Hey, it's Baxter.
'Hide your money.'
Send that tab over to my table if you will, partner.
And just cut him off. He's got to make weight
and these beers ain't helpin' him.
I'll take care of the tab, Chris.
And another round for everyone.
You forget who owns you, Sonny?
Don't have a problem when I'm winning.
But you're not.
So I suggest you better..
...turn it around before you have a problem
that can't be fixed.
Owners, jockeys..
Love-hate relationship.
You got to hand it to old Sonny, though.
That bloke had a pair.
Why didn't Baxter just fire Sonny
for being such a thorn in his side?
Couldn't.
Sonny had a three year contract. Paid him, win or lose.
Sweet deal for Sonny.
Especially since he was in a slump.
Baxter came back that night
found Sonny at the bar.
Told him he was worth more dead to him than alive.
[instrumental music]
Randall Baxter?
I'm gearing up for the Melbourne Cup there, fellas.
I ain't in no mood for no interviews today.
Well, get in the mood.
You remember Sonny Sandoval?
Yeah, I heard about that. That's a terrible thing.
I understand you buried a few of your horses back there.
Well, sometimes horses have to be put down.
How about jockeys?
[chuckles] Now, hold on here.
Why would I want to get rid of Sonny? He was one of my best.
Well, way we hear it, he was losing more than he was winnin'.
Guaranteed contract was costing you major moolah.
Sonny was a champion, you know. you can't teach that.
Well, he still had the ability to pull it out
if he just had his head on straight.
Sayin' it wasn't?
Well, he started losing focus, you know?
And his...his sense of priorities were whacked out.
- Why is that? - Why else?
He started listening to a woman.
Should have never hired that female trainer.
Bad luck.
[Santana playing "Black Magic Woman"]
- 'A couple of minutes ago.' - Who told you?
- 'One of the farmhands did.' - 'Fine. Here, hold-hold it.'
[music continues]
Why did you scratch Firewalker, Baxter?
'Cause Firewalker can't win.
That horse would rather die than lose.
Well, then his legs ain't as strong as his heart anymore.
First time he's been healthy in a year.
Tell you what. He loses, you keep my money.
No, I can't risk that, Sonny. It's too big a race.
We had a plan.
Well, the plan's changed.
Firewalker's going out to stud.
Hell, we should all be so lucky.
Either Firewalker races, or I quit.
You better check your contract, Hombre.
'Cause you race for me, or you don't race at all.
'Now, you're on Sapphire, so deal with it.'
Sapphire's too young.
You're racing her too much.
You're taking her along too fast.
'She's gonna end up with the same injuries'
Firewalker got.
When did you become such an animal lover, Sonny?
Put that on the list of things
you don't know about me, Randall.
You saddle up on Sapphire
or you sit out the remaining two years of your contract, unpaid.
♪ Got a black magic woman ♪
That was the...beginning of the end.
He lost his competitive edge.
That old girl filled his head with all kinds of ideas
about how horses should be eating organic hay
and drinking room temperature water.
The horror.
Lady Macbeth got a name?
Yeah. Kristi, uh, Duren.
She made him soft.
It's the last thing a jockey can be.
Sounds like she wasn't just grooming the horses.
Yeah, the last I heard, she moved in with him.
I fired her ass a day too late..
...if you ask me.
Hey. Located a Kristi Duren.
Trainer in Saratoga.
She's in the city. On her way down now.
[Vera] 'Who sent the goods? What have we got?'
[Jeffries] 'You have a message'
from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department.
And the boss wants to see you.
What?
Your mama didn't teach you how to share?
[phone ringing]
You rang?
You get a hit on that number yet?
Sonny had a safe deposit box at another bank branch.
State escheated it due to inactivity.
It's been sitting up in Harrisburg
at the Pennsylvania Treasury Department the last 20 years.
Alright, get a subpoena, send a uniform up there.
'Uh, one other thing, Nick.'
I just saw this.
'Oh, yeah.'
That joker Sadowsky in Vice took this
after I worked a double last week. I was up all night.
It got e-mailed around the department.
Eh, guy's are breaking my balls.
It made its way up to the Deputy Commissioner.
He wants you to get a physical.
A physical?
What's that got to do with me taking a few winks?
Pencil pusher wants to send a message.
You opened the door.
Just a bunch of bull.
Just do it, Nick.
[instrumental music]
Hard business for a woman to break into back then.
Sonny helped me get my first training job.
He saw something in you.
The man had a good soul.
Loved horses.
- Loved horse people. - Like you?
Stayed with him whenever I wasn't on the road
and needed a place to crash.
Well, that come free, or with benefits?
What happened to Sonny?
Found his remains in an old...horse grave.
Back of the track.
[gasps]
- Horse pit. - 'That what they called it?'
For the horses they put down at the track?
That, and the old horses that got slaughtered for their meat.
Slaughtered? For meat?
From stable to table, in Japan within days.
[Kristi] 'Racing's dirty little secret.'
Well, Sonny know about that back then?
'Suspected as much.'
Horse is an investment.
Some owners try to eke out every last dollar.
I just opened Sonny's eyes to that reality.
Baxter didn't appreciate it.
I'm getting the feeling that you and Sonny
were more than just...bunkmates.
[sighs]
Fell for the old guy.
Taught me so much about horses, life.
I knew he needed someone to take care of him.
[Rush] 'Cared so much that you didn't even'
come forward, when he disappeared.
Only 'cause Sonny had already pushed me away.
Where the hell is Jose? I called him three times.
Stop worrying.
Relax.
You should take that job in Saratoga, Kristi.
Can't. I'm training you and Sapphire.
'Ah, Sapphire's had trainers.'
But you break that maiden there with its bloodline
you got a career.
I want to be with you.
Ten years ago, I'd give you a run for your money.
But this ride is slowing down to a light trot.
You're the best jockey I've ever seen, Sonny.
Aah! What has it gotten me, hmm?
'Doesn't matter how much money'
how many races I win..
I'm still just a monkey to Baxter's organ grinder.
That's not true.
Then why am I not riding Firewalker in my last race, hm?
Oh! 45 years old, and I can barely climb out of the tub.
[sighs]
Oh.
Oh!
Take the job, Kristi.
[Jose] 'I'm here, Pop.'
Don't look back.
[Sonny and Jose speaking in Spanish]
Next day, I was out as Sapphire's trainer.
Packed my stuff, went to Saratoga.
Been there ever since.
What were Sonny and-and Jose fighting about?
They always spoke in Spanish when they didn't
want me to understand.
- In Spanish? - Had to guess.
It was probably about Jose's money problems.
Oh, like father like son.
The gambling problems run in the family?
No, just Jose.
Sonny had a lot of vices.
But gambling wasn't one of 'em.
CSU says these puncture wounds
at the back of Sonny's skull are equally spaced.
Likely caused by some sharp instrument.
Well, could be a rake.
Pitchfork?
'Something from the stables.'
[Vera] 'Bunch of cashed checks made out to Jose'
from Sonny's bank account.
Sonny didn't have a gambling problem.
Jose did.
So, why did he lie about that?
Or speaking Spanish?
And what else does Jose got to hide?
[dramatic music]
[music continues]
[Valens] 'Perdon, que hora es?'
Son veinte despues de las..
Hola, Jose.
Sure sounded like Spanish to me.
[Valens] 'What, you ashamed of being Mexican, boss?'
My mother came to this country and cleaned people's homes.
'Wanted me to assimilate.'
Speak English.
Still no reason to lie about it.
Every time I speak Spanish, it reminds me of Poppa.
It hurts too much.
Kinda like his gambling problem.
There's no need to dredge that up.
[Rush] 'Oh, because it wasn't his problem.'
It was yours.
Your pop got tired of digging you out. Cut you off.
It took you a month to file a police report.
Waiting for that trail to go cold.
No, it wasn't like that.
What was it like, Jose?
Starting to lose track of all your lies.
'Look, I had a problem, okay?'
And I caused my pop a lot of pain.
But he made damn sure I paid him back.
- With what? - 'My back.'
He needed a new trainer for Sapphire.
And I needed to prove myself.
[Santana playing "Se A Cabo"]
[Jose] 'Let's go, Sapphire.'
Okay, cool her down.
- She's a little washy. - Anxious.
That's because she's been raced too much.
She's probably getting shin splints already.
[sighs] Listen, poppa.
I'm done this time, for real.
- No short cuts, Jose. - Uh-uh.
Man has to have a purpose, a calling.
It's a gift to have un don con los caballos.
Special bond with the horses.
Si, and you have it.
[Sapphire neighs]
The horse knows who to trust..
'Who to fear..'
'Who to lay it all down for.'
Like Firewalker.
- When I first uh, saw him run.. - Mm-hmm?
...this old, uh, dust track in New Mexico
just a two-year-old, small for his age...
not the fastest, not the strongest horse.
'38-1 odds.'
'Won by three lengths.'
- It's unbelievable. - Mm-hmm.
taken that horse from last
to first, more times than I can remember.
[Jose] 'A scrapper.'
[Sonny] 'Warrior.'
Leaves it all on the track.
Why isn't he racing in the derby then?
Ah, people don't care about what you did.
'They only care about what you're doing.'
[horse neighing]
You'll win with Sapphire, though, right?
Sapphire hasn't lost a race yet.
If she loses, it's my fault.
[neighing]
[music continues]
Largate, sinverguenza!
Largate! Andale! Largate!
No te metas en lo que no te importa!
Largate! Largate!
Suelta la pala a ver que pasa!
Yeah, fine!
Vete! Ver a te!
[music continues]
It only took him 20 years to tell me I was good at something.
It was like we just turned a corner..
...and then he was gone.
So, who was the guy in the truck, spooking the horses?
Juan Diaz.
He worked out of the back barn.
Seeing if we were selling any old horses.
Sold off to market for the meat?
Yeah. People turned a blind eye to what happened
to the old horses.
Poppa said he couldn't do it anymore.
He had Diaz banned from the track.
That back barn...is near where the horse grave was?
Until it burned down.
Look, I don't know if Diaz dug that grave
but he had to know it was there.
[neighs]
We'll be in touch, Jose.
Hot date?
Uh, something I gotta check on.
I'll meet you back at the roundhouse?
[instrumental music]
'Viejo?'
'Nuevo.'
[laughing] What's wrong?
Shoes didn't fit?
I don't think I can return them.
Ah, no, no.
Look, ma tell you she hurt her knee?
- Maybe. You know your mother. - She talks a lot.
Some I hear, some not so much.
This have anything to do with her
taking cash from our bank account?
Oh, just try to remember, Pop.
Oh, uh, I was watching the Phillies game
the one that ended in the triple play.
Kid on second base, unassisted--
Uh, Bruntlett, yeah, beat the Mets.
What happened with Ma?
She went to, uh, Dayley's market late
to pick up some seafood and rice to make me some paella.
She slipped and fell.
- And that's it? - Yeah, she came home..
...took a shower and went to bed.
What about the paella?
She said she was tired.
I had a frozen dinner instead.
That's Dayley's on 19th and Fairmount?
No, the one on Spring Garden.
Your mom says they have better produce there.
Everything okay?
Yeah, yeah, Pop. Everything's fine.
Okay.
- Wow, estas flaco. - Si, si, si.
Banana bread.
Put nuts in it this year.
Never misses an anniversary.
- The mother? - Wanda Johnson.
Left for school, never came home.
How long has it been?
Sixteen years.
Won't let go.
You call her back yet?
Just to break her heart all over again.
No new leads.
'No sense to be made of it.'
[phone ringing]
Uh, you get ready to make the call, use my office.
Yeah.
How the hell did you end up in Williamsport?
Car's got GPS, Wayne.
Well, turn on the lights and lead-foot it to Harrisburg
before the Treasury closes at 6:00.
I need that box!
Knucklehead's gotta be related to somebody.
Uh, looks like the meat man got his ticket punched.
Juan Diaz, deported by INS.
Yeah, impounded his truck back in '99.
And I found a track parking pass..
...butcher tools and a stunbolt gun.
Ah, put a horse down fast.
- Or a jockey for good. - We even know if he's alive?
Just that Diaz got deported to Esteros, Mexico.
And Angelo Rivera is from Esteros.
And population, 2100.
Sonny's bug boy comes from the same small town as Diaz.
Ends up working the same place, 4000 miles away.
Angelo worked for the meat man.
Knew damn well where that grave was.
[Angelo] 'Okay, that was good. That was very good.'
Okay, you guys go brush the horses.
Taco de caballo.
Ever make carne asada from horse meat, Angelo?
Back in Esteros?
That's some kind of sick joke?
Sick alright, but no joke.
- You working with Juan Diaz? - Know a lot of Juan Diazes.
Talking about the one from your hometown, knucklehead.
The meat man.
Um, Diaz offered me a way out of Esteros.
I needed a job, willing to do anything.
Killing horses?
I never killed a horse. Just buried what was left.
You know, it made me sick, but it was part of the business.
That all you buried? Horses?
Come on, guys.
Look, all I ever wanted to be was a jockey.
I owe my career to Sonny.
And your life to Juan Diaz.
Sonny had him banned from the track.
- Lost his livelihood. - Guy who gave you your start.
You dug that grave.
Put Sonny's body where it'd never be found.
No.
Juan got me here.
But Sonny gave me my dream.
And I threw it all away.
[vomiting]
[panting]
Heard about what happened to Firewalker.
Sorry.
It was no accident.
I'm not gonna let Baxter get away with it this time.
Be careful, Sonny.
Don't want to see you get blackballed.
End of the line for me, mi amigo.
My last race, was gonna ride Firewalker out.
Son of a bitch Baxter has taken that away from me.
Firewalker deserved better.
Killing horses for money has to end.
We all get thrown away when we can't win anymore.
Unless you keep winning.
Slow down, kid. You'll end up like me.
- One hell of a jockey? - Broke, whizzing blood.
Lucky to have one kidney working.
A 110 pounds.
Getting on a 1000 pound animal, going 45 miles an hour.
And you're not even straight.
Like you always taught me, do whatever I have to do to win.
I was wrong.
I'm worried about you, Angelo.
I'll be fine. Never felt better.
Is that why you stole from me?
I was gonna pay you back.
You want to pay me back?
Take care of yourself.
Sonny was right.
Horses, jockeys..
...were all disposable.
One day you're on top of the heap
and the next, done for good.
Firewalker? Sold off to Juan Diaz?
No, stable fire.
But everybody knew it was an insurance job.
- How sick was Sonny? - Pretty bad.
But a macho guy like that never went to a doctor.
Now where was he getting all the pain pills?
Track vets will hook you up for the right price.
'But for him, it just wasn't enough anymore.'
Neither is your alibi, Angelo. Comin' in with us.
[instrumental music]
[phone ringing]
I understand your...champion horse
Firewalker, died in a stable fire in '86?
Uh, casualty of the business.
You know, we can put a man on the moon
but we still make barns out of wood.
You were investigated for insurance fraud in '94.
Stallion named Bloodline.
Lost three champion horses
'over a 13 year period to barn fires.'
- Hmm.. - That's a lot of accidents.
Well, it happens to the best of us, partner.
But I'm gonna tell y'all just like I told them
insurance investigators.
Why in the hell would I wanna kill a horse that I paid
nearly a million dollars for?
That's exactly what we were asking ourselves.
Till we saw this.
This insurance claim.
Uh, you made two million dollars
when Firewalker went up in smoke.
And another mil and a half...from Bloodline.
Well, that right there is just peanuts
in comparison to..
...what I spend each year on stud fee.
Guess they outlive their use, like Firewalker.
[Valens] 'You really know how to squeeze'
a dollar out of a horse.
Dead or alive.
Well, I'm going to take that as a compliment.
That is, unless y'all know something those insurance
'investigators don't.'
Oh, we know Sonny was going to rat you out
after that big race.
[Rush] 'Couldn't afford that kind of attention.'
Open up another arson investigation.
So, you put him in a hole.
[scoffs]
I didn't kill that old cuss.
But I should've.
Thank y'all for coming.
[trumpeting]
[Santana playing "Jin Go Lo Ba"]
- 'Here.' - 'Good luck'
[crowd cheering]
This is why they call this the Sport of Kings.
Listen at 'em. They can't wait to see those beasts run.
It's going to be a good one, sir.
This goes well, you're going to be training many of my ponies.
Thank you, Mr. Baxter.
[bell ringing]
[male announcer] 'And they're off and running!'
'The William Penn Million Dollar Derby has begun.'
'Right out of the gate veteran jockey Sonny Sandoval'
'fillin' the lane with gusto riding Sapphire'
'to the front of the pack.'
Steady..
'First turn, Sapphire holds his lead.'
'But Little Hope, ridden by Angelo Rivera'
'makes his move on the outside.'
Come on, poppa!
'They enter the back stretch Sapphire by a head'
'Little Hope running a close second.'
He's going to break her out of the pack.
No, not yet..
'They turn for home, Sapphire breaks open'
'runnin' and gunnin' now, ahead a length, a length and a half.'
[laughing] That's him!
- Poppa! - 'Go! Go!'
'Letting out all stops in the final stretch..'
'Wait! Little Hope pulls within a length of Sapphire.'
What the hell's he doin'!
'Little Hope suddenly moves into the lead'
'as Sapphire begins to fade.'
[crowd cheering]
'Little Hope is ahead by a nose, a length.'
'She's gonna pull off the upset.'
'Little Hope wins!'
[crowd cheering]
Son of a bitch! He pulled up on him on purpose!
Mr. Baxter--
Shut up! Get the hell outta here.
I'm gonna have that taco bender and your whole family deported!
[groans]
[Baxter] 'You know, that was the..'
...first of three heart attacks.
I spent a month in recovery at Mercy Hospital.
Sonny choked on purpose?
Over a stupid horse.
Sapphire should've won that race, sure thing.
Even his son bet ten large ones on him to win.
So, why'd Sonny do it?
Crackpot, I think he wanted to take Firewalker
back to Mexico with him.
Till you killed Firewalker for the money.
Insurance investigators said in all three reports
faulty wiring caused those fires.
It's quite a coincidence.
So, another horse dies in the fire.
Why don't we just call it a return on my investment?
I beat that thing just like I did in 1994 with Bloodline.
Statute of limitations, detectives.
Is that right?
[Valens] 'How's your..'
heart...holding up, Randall?
You beat it in '94 'cause seven
years had passed in that investigation.
[Valens] 'Seven years from when the investigation begins.'
Not...when the crime was committed.
Yeah, which in the case of Firewalker was..
...hmm, an hour ago.
'When we called your insurance company and..'
...decided to investigate.
Stand up, Baxter.
You're under arrest for insurance fraud.
[dramatic music]
From the Treasury Department
I come bearing gifts.
Sonny's safe deposit box.
Inside..
'...a receipt for a plot..'
'..life insurance policy..'
..and a copy of his last physical.
Blood in his urine..
...years of bulimia and pills..
That guy was a mess.
Uh, he was getting his affairs in order.
And look who he left it all to.
Standard bow rake.
One inch width between each tooth.
Same exact width between puncture wounds
to the back of Sonny's skull.
Somebody brained your old man, Jose.
It's a terrible way to go out.
Ever cross your mind
your gambling might've cost your dad his life?
I told you, I cleaned up before that.
[Rush] 'Told us a lot of things, Jose.'
Truth is you bet large on your dad
and it cost you big.
The job with Baxter and a lot of coin.
Old man had to go, so you took him out with a rake like this.
Stable rake. Anyone at the track had access to that.
Like Angelo?
What I told you from the start.
Angelo, who...won that last race against your dad?
Yeah. So?
Angelo, who was like a son to him..
...cut from the same poor streets of Mexico.
Ah, y un verdadero Mexicano.
Wished he was his son. I mean, Angelo was a real man. A jockey.
You? Americanized.
Too big to be a jockey.
A gambler, liar.
'You did nothing but cost him.'
At least I wasn't a scumbag drug addict.
We found Sonny's life insurance policy.
Life insurance?
- My old man? - Oh, yeah.
Guess who he left everything to?
And I'd be worried if my son was a...compulsive gambler.
[chuckling] Why waste the money?
That makes perfect sense who he left his money to.
- Yeah. - 'Who?'
Kristi? Angelo? Firewalker?
- They all came before me. - He paid off your debts.
To save himself from embarrassment.
The great Sonny Sandoval couldn't have a loser for a son.
Now if he'd just won that last race, you'd have been rollin'.
Damn right.
But no, he had to pull up.
Just to make a point.
Yeah, that he never cared about me.
You're wrong, Jose.
[Rush] 'The weight loss, injuries, pills..'
had taken its toll.
Sonny's internal organs were...shutting down.
Your pop was makin' plans to take care
of those he left behind.
My father was dying?
Yeah. Still managed to make that last payment, though.
And you...were sole beneficiary.
[Valens] 'Left you $3 million.'
[Rush] 'Even after all you put him through?'
He still loved you, Jose.
[instrumental music]
I don't understand.
Why couldn't he just tell me?
[bottle shatters]
You happy now?
I'm free, mi hijo.
I borrowed ten G's.
What?
You promised me, Jose. You gave me your word.
I bet it all on you. To win.
Mi hijo, why?
When was the last time you bet on me, poppa?
- Hmm? - Son.
You're sick, okay?
- You need help. - Okay, then help me!
- I tried. - You tried?
By-by-by tanking the race so that Angelo could win?
I'm your son! Not Angelo!
I-I couldn't win another race for Baxter
after what he did to Firewalker.
But I'm the one that pays.
Poppa, it cost me money and a job!
I have failed you.
I did not want this life for you.
Wanted you to be better than me.
I made so many mistakes.
It's time everyone knows the truth, okay?
These horses deserve better, and so do jockeys.
What are you talking about?
Poppa, if you do that, they blackball me.
I'll never be hired as a trainer again!
No, you'll get help. It'll be okay.
- No, no, Poppa. - Trust me. Don't worry.
I will take care of everything, mi hijo. You'll see.
I'm so sick, I'm so sick and tired
of waiting for you!
[Santana singing "Samba Pa Ti"]
[music continues]
[female narrator] Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode
[theme music]