Judith Martínez Gámez, the Commercial Director of Madrid’s Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, submitted her resignation on Thursday following reports that connected her to meetings between former PSOE Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán and several business figures. Her resignation was confirmed this morning, as first reported by The Objective and later verified by El Debate. As of today, Martínez is no longer part of the staff at the public company, which is managed by SEPI under the Spanish Ministry of Finance.
The resignation comes amid revelations that Santos Cerdán—currently in pre-trial detention for his alleged role in a major corruption case involving the PSOE—used a private dining room at the La Cantina restaurant inside the Hipódromo to host discreet meetings with businessmen. One of the last such meetings took place with Ernesto Gasco, a former senior official in Moncloa and a close associate of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Both Gasco and Martínez had previously worked at the High Commissioner’s Office for the Fight Against Child Poverty.
Based on reports from insiders at the Hipódromo, this exclusive venue was frequently chosen by Cerdán as a gathering spot for its confidentiality, providing a setting free from political oversight—though it remained under the eye of investigators. The deep-seated connections both personally and professionally between Cerdán, Judith Martínez, and her partner, entrepreneur Óscar Arizcuren (formerly a UPN leader), have sparked concerns regarding possible conflicts of interest and leveraging public establishments for personal networking.
Cerdán and Arizcuren first met over a decade ago while serving in the regional Parliament of Navarra and have maintained a close relationship since. In 2023, both Ernesto Gasco and Judith Martínez transitioned from the High Commissioner’s Office to the leadership of the Hipódromo—Gasco as president, Martínez as commercial director. Martínez also brought in a close friend from Navarra to serve as her personal secretary.
At the same time, Arizcuren, who works as a public servant for AENA, seemingly gained from Cerdán’s political clout, enabling him to steer clear of distant postings and keep a lucrative job in Madrid. In 2021, claims suggest that Cerdán was instrumental in Arizcuren’s elevation to the role of Director of Institutional Relations and European Public Affairs at AENA, a position offering a salary over €120,000 annually. During this period, Arizcuren and Martínez relocated to a luxury apartment close to El Retiro Park, which is also the listed address for several private enterprises.
The situation has ignited anger among rival political parties. The Partido Popular (PP) has urged the immediate halt of any severance packages or compensation to Cerdán after his incarceration and has requested complete openness about the utilization of public facilities and appointments driven by political motives.
The ongoing scandal keeps revealing a web of personal favors, institutional influence, and the inappropriate use of public resources, which is overshadowing the close associates of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.