Props to Chris Halsne and Chris Koeberl of Fox31 for shining a light on illegal horse racing, a problem hardly anyone else in the Colorado media, or the governor, knew existed.

Match races are unsanctioned and the gambling unregulated and illegal, Halsne reported. But more troubling, like beauty pageant mothers, some horse owners will do almost anything to win. The Fox31 team found evidence of betting and doping before races at the rodeo fairgrounds in Deer Trail.

Gov. John Hickenlooper said it’s time for the horse racing and regulatory communities to have a chat about keeping animals safe.

“You want to get all those people together and say. ‘How can we make sure these horses are not mistreated for the lowest amount of cost and intrusion into people’s lives?'” he said on the Monday newscast. “We want to make the regulatory part of as minimum as possible and still guarantee the welfare of horses.”

The full story, a fine piece of reporting, can be found here.

The state Colorado Racing Commission has agents who investigate doping and gambling allegations at licensed horse races, but it’s up to local law enforcement to bust up illegal races, the livestock version of drag races, you could say.

According to its annual report, the commission oversaw 39 days of horse racing at Arapahoe Park in Aurora from May to August, handling $81.7 million in beds and ponying up $612,864.17 in pari-mutuel taxes, according to the commission’s latest annual report.

Agents did 862 drug tests and 98 percent came back clean, the report states.

The interview with the governor was a follow-up to Fox31’s May 17 report, which said the illegal match races are flourishing in Colorado.

Halsne and Koeberl reported from a race in Deer Trail:

“An Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy drove by slowly on the street outside the stadium but did not stop.

“By early afternoon, approximately 500 spectators are lined up along metal railings near a long, manicured dirt track.”