'Cowboy Cartel' Reviews: "Directors Dan Johnstone and Castor Fernandez do a terrific job of weaving straw into narrative gold"

         On August 1, 2024, Apple TV+ premiered 'Cowboy Cartel', which has received predominantly positive reviews from critics, holding at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the series, the discovery of a money laundering operation connected to American horse racing by a young FBI agent results in his mission to destroy a Mexican cartel. A great example of the truth being stranger than fiction, the series has also become a fan favorite as well. But what did the critics say?

       Jack Seale of Guardian writes, "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." Adding, "It’s about two-and-a-half episodes’ worth of story, presented as a four-episode series: at the halfway point all we’ve learned is the basic fact that Mexican wrong’uns were laundering money through their brother’s horse business. A lot of it is FBI agents explaining, in quite similar terms to the other interviewee we just heard from, why something or someone was so important, without this providing jeopardy or drama. In racing terms, it’s less a quarter horse dashing down 400 yards of dirt at Ruidoso Downs to win $2m, and more a dour stayer clumping around Plumpton on a wet Tuesday afternoon for a third-place finish that just about covers that month’s stable fees. Even in the final episode, when various cartel premises are raided and arrests are made, the process is so uneventful, one of the agents who was there actually describes it as “anti-climactic”. Worst of all, quarter horse racing – with its promise of shady deals, ratty glamour and salty characters – barely features. Apart from a fascinating but frustratingly brief explanation of how the no-hoper Mr Piloto might have won, and an amusing moment where nervous FBI guys with no horse expertise realise that the tattooed serial number identifying a horse’s owner is inside the animal’s mouth, horses hardly come into it. The laundering operation might as well have involved grape nuts or ball bearings."

       John Anderson of Wall Street Journal says, "Directors Dan Johnstone and Castor Fernandez do a terrific job of weaving straw into narrative gold, but when it came to getting the principals to talk, time was on everyone’s side."

Photo by Michael Balog on Unsplash

        Peter Martin of DallasFilmNow.com notes, "Impressive in scope and in the depth of the details presented, Cowboy Cartel is instantly absorbing and quickly transforms into an urgent and gripping true story. It feels like a campfire tale  told at dusk, gaining power as the darkness falls and the fire burns brighter."

       Nick Schager of The Daily Beast praises the series, stating, "Premiering on Apple TV+ Friday, Aug. 2, this sharply directed four-part docuseries from Dan Johnstone and Castor Fernandez is an intricate and gripping tale of criminal enterprise machinations, investigative strategies, and immense danger, and it’s augmented by the participation of virtually every law enforcement agent involved—not to mention aesthetics that are a cut above the usual non-fiction TV pack."