Read it and weep

[EarlySpeed]

Wed, June 25, 2003


Trainer: I helped fix races

He tells Sun he was in on 400 rigged heats

By ALAN CAIRNS, TORONTO SUN



A horse trainer who claimed to police he did cocaine with five Toronto officers and made cops money in fixed horse races told The Toronto Sun in an exclusive interview that he took part in 400 fixed races. The man said the races were fixed through payoffs to grooms and trainers to hold their horses back, while the chosen winners would secretly be given cocaine before the race to enhance their performance.

"By the time they reached the three-quarters mark they would feel they didn't have legs ... wings," the horse trainer said.

He said the cocaine was put into tongue ties that keep horses tongues from going over the bit during the heat of the race. The drug acted as a performance enhancer.

"When it goes in, the horse licks the tie ... they are constantly ingesting the drug," he said.

The 31-year-old trainer is the star prosecution witness in the case against 14-year veteran and drug cop Robert Kelly. The trainer, who has a criminal record and knows key underworld figures, is lying low while he reassures mobsters he did not fink anyone out.

Police officers on the case have told The Toronto Sun they believe his concerns are legitimate and ask that his name not be used to ensure his safety.

"It was between me and Rob. I had no beef with the others," he said. "If Rob Kelly didn't threaten me I wouldn't be here."

Kelly, 36, a well-liked and dedicated cop with an exemplary police record, pleaded guilty to two counts of cocaine possession on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to two trafficking counts and they will be withdrawn.

SUSPENDED WITH PAY

The trainer has said in police statements that he did cocaine with five different officers. He said in the statements that Kelly and a former drug-squad officer provided the drugs.

Kelly has been suspended with pay since his arrest 19 months ago. The other cops are still on the job. Toronto Police brass have confirmed they face neither criminal nor Police Services Act charges. He said about half a dozen cops on the drug squad and another elite unit placed bets on 20 fixed races.

"I made thousands of dollars for the cops. They knew it was fixed," he said.

An agreed statement of facts submitted to Justice Ian Cowan in Brampton Monday said the agent provided Kelly with "tips on horse races ... The agent claimed to have 'inside information' that certain horse races were likely fixed and Kelly was aware that the tips were the result of 'inside information' the agent had received."

"The way it looks, he was supplying me coke for my tips, but I never, ever said he supplied coke for my tips ... but that's the way it played out."

The trainer was introduced to Kelly by another undercover drug cop three years ago. He had set up bit dealers for the drug cop and in return got protection from other cops and criminals. "(The officer) knew of my connection to the track," he said.

'FIVE OR SIX BETS'

After the officer moved to another unit, some cops from that unit "really pressured" him to place bets. The officer told him Kelly was "solid ... a buddy of his."

"I did five or six bets with Rob Kelly," he said. And the pair did cocaine as many times, he said.

On one occasion, he and Kelly were doing cocaine in Kelly's car when undercover Peel cops interrupted them.

"He showed his badge and said 'I'm on the job too.'"

Kelly, a congenial man who is described as a proud and brave cop who became addicted to cocaine on the job, tried three times to leave the drug squad but was denied.

Kelly once told the horse trainer: "I trust you more than I trust anyone in my own unit."

Kelly will be sentenced in the fall. His lawyer Peter Brauti has reserved four days for sentencing evidence he says will show Kelly's sterling service.

-----------------------------------------------


Please post horror stories of crooked bastards here

It will not deter me from betting,but at the track it is nice to know who the crooks are!

Big Ragu is looking into it tonite when he heads to Woodbine.

 

[EarlySpeed]

Heres another heart warming story
-----------------------------------
Friday, December 12, 1997

COLUMN: Jay Richards
Convicted fixer Sklar says he'll talk





Convicted horse race fixer Richard Sklar, who has admitted fixing over 1,000 thoroughbred, quarter horse, Arabian and harness races at virtually every California track between 1983-95, said he will soon be going public with the entire story.
He said he would give detailed accounts of many of the fixed races and identify nearly 100 jockeys and harness drivers whom he said were his partners in the widespread scandal.
Sklar, 44, is looking to strike a deal with the highest bidder for the rights to his story, and said the TV tabloid program Hard Copy had expressed considerable interest in it, asking for the right of first refusal if and when other offers were made.
Along with jockey Richard Pfau, Sklar was convicted earlier of fixing a race at Los Alamitos in September 1995.
Pfau was sentenced to three years' probation and had his license suspended indefinitely.
On Monday, Sklar was sentenced to six months in federal prison beginning Jan. 21, fined $5,000, given three years' probation and 100 hours of community service.
He also must pay $6,600 in restitution to owners whose horses he paid to have held back in the race, the amount the owners would have received if their horses had won.
Sklar said two of the biggest players of what he called "my team" were the late Ron Hansen, a Northern California jockey who died under mysterious circumstances four years ago, and a high roller at Caesars Palace whom Sklar declined to identify.
He offered as a textbook example of his illegal trade a race that was run on Feb. 3, 1989, at Golden Gate Fields.
Many horse players will recall that race because of its unique finish that was photographed in newspapers and replayed on TV news programs nationwide.
In that race, jockey Nate Hubbard, riding the runner-up, Sweetwater Oak, clipped the heels of the eventual winner, Current Lady, in the final sixteenth-mile.
Sweetwater Lady stumbled badly and nearly fell, jerking Hubbard out of the stirrup irons. In desperation, the falling jockey managed to throw his arms around the horse's neck and was holding on for dear life as the horse completed the course with Hubbard dangling alongside.
"That race was fixed," Sklar said, although neither Hubbard nor winning jockey Tom Chapman were aware of it.
"We never told them, we just bet on them. There was no need for them to know," Sklar said.
"The key to it was Ronnie (Hansen) going dead (holding back his mount) on the even-money favorite (Boss' Bid) in a seven-horse race.
"With him and one other rider out (who was also paid to hold his mount), it was a piece of cake to box Chapman, Hubbard and one other horse."
Sklar said he contacted his man at Caesars Palace, "a high roller who was allowed to bet as much as he wanted.
"We bet Hubbard's horse separately, 10-and-10 (thousand to win and place), most of it at Caesars. We also made an $8,000 quinella box (a $24,000 investment).
"Hubbard's horse ran second and paid $6.20 to place, so we made $11,000 profit on the win and place. The (house) quinella paid $14.85. We cleared another $35,200 on that (deducting the $24,000 bet from the $59,200 payoff)," he said.
How much did Hansen profit?
"Ronnie never took his money up front, like a lot of other riders did. He always wanted me to bet for him instead," Sklar said.
"On that race, as I recall, I bet a thousand to win for him on Hubbard's horse, which lost, and bet a $200 quinella box, which returned him $1,485."
The $1,485 Hansen allegedly was paid was nearly three times the amount ($522) Chapman received for the winning jockey's share of the purse.
"Hansen was a character. I loved the guy. He had so many great one-liners. We made so much money together, he used to tell me, `When I win, I low-five. When I lose, I high-five,' " Sklar said.
The California Horse Racing Board has downplayed the race-fixing claims, to which Sklar replied:
"You tell the CHRB, `Fasten your seat belts. What you're going to find out will make your heads spin.' "

 

[JackDee]

i ve spent some time of my life on the race track, and while i am no authority or insider, it's very very hard to believe that there is a single race that is NOT fixed in one way or the other.

 

[JackDee]

"On Monday, Sklar was sentenced to six months in federal prison beginning Jan. 21, fined $5,000, given three years' probation and 100 hours of community service.
He also must pay $6,600 in restitution to owners whose horses he paid to have held back in the race, the amount the owners would have received if their horses had won. "

btw, over 1000 races and just a 5,000 fine plus 6,600 restitution and only six months in prison, were these guys betting peanuts or something, the weight of peanuts in dollars for the same amount of races would by far outnumber these fines...

 

[Skyweasel]

I'm not much of a horseplayer but I think EVERYTHING at River Downs is fixed. Nothing that happens there makes sense to me.

 

[escrow]

Interesting you mention River Downs. I only went there once while on a business trip. It left me with a lasting impression that it was crooked. I also recall that the place was crawling with Touts, trying to get their hands in your pockets.

"If I only had a brain"