El Moro de Cumpas
The El Moro de Cumpas is a legendary match race that took place in Agua Prieta, Sonora, on March 17,
1957. The race pitted Relampago (Lightning), owned by Rafael Romero, against El Moro de Cumpas (The
Gray), owned by Pedro Frisby.
Geronimo Ramirez Sr. of Tucson and his brother purchased Relampago in California because of his good
bloodlines. Originally called Little Doctor Joe, his lineage came down from Joe Traveler. They sold the
chestnut stallion to an Agua Prieta man. Romero spotted him running loose after his owner died and
purchased him from the widow. Frisby said his father got El Moro cheap. He traded two mules for what
he thought was a good cow pony and then discovered his amazing speed.
News of the two wonder horses spread quickly on both sides of the border, and the Agua Prieta Lions
Club offered to sponsor a match race. Betting in both Cumpas and Agua Prieta reached frenzied levels.
Romero estimated that “At least 3 million pesos were bet on the race.” People in Cumpas were
confident that the little gray could beat the well-bred Relampago and bet money, cars, even cows on
their favorite.
Cheering fans lined up 20 deep on both sides of Calle Quatro as the horses came to the starting line for
the 500-meter race down the dirt street. El Moro jumped out first but Relampago, ridden by Trini
Ramirez, took the lead at the halfway mark. El Moro never caught up.
The competition turned international when Relampago was matched against Rex, owned by Felipe
Pinedo of Pirtleville. Horses cannot move freely across the border due to quarantine regulations, so
Relampago ran on the south side of the border fence and Rex on the north. Relampago won by threequarters of a length and continued beating younger horses until his death at 30 years of age.
The race caught the imagination of mariachi Nano Yanez, who performed at Romero’s nightclub, the
Copacabana. Yanez wrote a ballad, but didn’t name it after his employer’s winning horse. His popular
corrida “El Moro de Cumpas,” honoring the famous race of more than 50 years ago, is still a favorite in
Arizona border towns.
No longer a match race, the event is open to horses from both sides of the border. Mexican horses train
in the United States to satisfy border-crossing regulations. Trials have been held at the fairgrounds in
Safford and Douglas, with the top finishers competing in the El Moro de Cumpas Stakes.
Source: Nogales International, April 7, 2009