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A few years ago, the Italian police in Sicily arrested several members of the mafia who used illegal horse racing to send coded messages and resolve internal disputes over bets and territories. The researchers discovered that some animals were better known in certain neighborhoods than many local politicians. Sicily and another postcard. When you think of Sicily, beaches, baroque towns, volcanoes or tourists visiting Palermo and Catania usually appear. But on some secondary roads on the island it is still there being another Sicily much darker and difficult to eradicate: one with illegal horse racing organized by mafia networks where dozens of motorcycles escort the animals while armed men shoot pistols and Kalashnikov rifles in the air in broad daylight. He last recorded video recently near Palagonia has once again shown the extent to which these clandestine races are not simply an illegal business or a case of animal abuse. They function primarily as public displays of power. The message transmitted by those who participate is deliberately evident: we are in charge here. Racing as a spectacle of control. The recorded scene on the outskirts of Catania it seems almost an absurd mix between rural tradition, organized crime and narco aesthetics. Two horses pulling carts at high speed on open roads, dozens of scooters surrounding them and men firing automatic weapons while recording videos for social networks. It happens that behind the show there is a mafia logic very clear. According to researchers and animal organizations Italian, these races they have been decades being used by Cosa Nostra, the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta as a way to symbolically occupy territory, block public streets and demonstrate that they can act in plain sight without real fear of the authorities. They are not clandestine events hidden in the countryside. Many times they occur directly in front of everyone precisely because impunity is part of the message. A lot of money and few consequences. The business moves huge amounts of black money through illegal bets that can reach thousands of euros per race. Police investigations take years discovering clandestine stablesdoped horses and networks linked to organized crime, but the phenomenon continues to grow because the judicial consequences remain relatively limited. To give us an idea, only in 2024 were 70 people investigated and dozens of animals were intervened, but the activists themselves denounce that Italian legislation continues making it difficult to infiltrate these networks or detain participants during the races. Many organizers receive only minor sanctions and quickly return to activity. That’s why the images are constantly repeated in Sicily, Calabria or Campania despite periodic police raids. The horses are the least important thing. Although animal abuse is brutal (local media reported that horses are doped, beaten and forced to run in extreme conditions), the real objective of these races is not the animals. They are the people who observe them. The mafia uses these events as a ritual display of authority in marginal neighborhoods and areas where the State appears weak or absent. The videos broadcast on social networks fulfill exactly that function: glorify the challenge open to the police, reinforce criminal prestige and build a kind of mafia popular culture around racing. Many horses are even named after historical mafia bosses, notorious criminals, or violent figures who have become symbols within certain local environments. Between tradition and modern crime. Perhaps the most disturbing thing is how these races combine elements extremely ancient with others completely contemporary. The horse-drawn carts refer to a rural Sicily that seems straight out of a century ago, but around them appear motorcycles without license plates, viral videos, automatic weapons and neomelodic music spread through social networks. The mafia has turned a local tradition into a modern tool intimidation and propaganda. And that explains why the problem continues to persist despite decades of operations police. For many criminal groups, these races are not simply illegal entertainment. They are a way of publicly remembering who still has the ability to close roads, mobilize armed people and act as if certain parts of Sicily were still under their own control. Image | x In Xataka | The restaurant chain ‘La Mafia’ promised them happiness with its brand. Until he came across the Republic of Italy In Xataka | In 2024, Venice invented an entrance fee for tourists: it has turned out so well that it has doubled and expanded it