Cal case set for June

Ten months after the incident, on Monday, March 12, Cal Expo driver Jason Maier was cleared of all charges involving an alleged bad race at the Sacramento harness track. But Jason's younger brother Daniel and fellow driver Todd Ratchford will face trial, scheduled to start June 12 in Sacramento Superior Court.

Ratchford, perennially among Cal Expo's leading drivers, and Daniel Maier pleaded not guilty. Both face charges of grand theft and conspiracy. In addition, Daniel Maier, 22, will be tried for bribery to affect the outcome of a horse race. Ratchford faces a charge of accepting a bribe to not use his best effort in a horse race.

Jason Maier, 24, had been charged with grand theft and conspiracy.

Also testifying Monday was longtime Cal Expo driver Tim Maier, the father of Jason and Daniel and a close friend of Ratchford. The senior Maier was granted immunity for his testimony, but he has not been implicated in the case. SHA general manager Chris Schick and Scientific Game Racing technician Michele Jenkins also appeared before the judge.

The March 12 ruling that Daniel Maier and Ratchford will stand trial follows a seven-month investigation into the outcome of the first race May 5, 2006. In a day-long preliminary hearing before Judge Talmadge R. Jones, four witnesses testified about the $3,000 claiming event, won by Jason Maier -- a provisional driver at that time -- behind Green Fields, a horse he also owned. The state alleges Burt and Ratchford intentionally finished out of the money to ensure a winning trifecta keyed by Green Fields, who won by nine lengths at odds of 6-1. Green Fields, usually a late closer, had one win in 17 prior starts at the meet with average odds of 28.5-1.

After watching Green Fields' runaway victory, track officials became immediately alarmed by what appeared to be a low trifecta payout. At odds of 6-to-5, favorite Wovoca finished second and Mow Em Down -- the longest shot in the seven-horse field at 28-1 -- third. The $1 trifecta paid $79.50.

On May 12, the SHA suspended four drivers in connection with the case. Those suspensions were lifted in September, but the state's investigation continued.

Driver Raymond Burt, who pleaded guilty in December of accepting a bribe in relation to the race, testified that Daniel Maier approached him before the race and offered him $1,200 -- equal to the winner's purse money -- to finish out of the trifecta. Burt finished fourth with Omen, the second choice. He is now on probation and has been indefinitely suspended from racing.

Burt agreed to cooperate with authorities in return for his testimony. Monday's court date was his first public airing of the incident and subsequent actions. Burt said he cashed about $1,500 himself on the race, which in itself is a violation of California horse racing law.

Daniel Maier, who did not drive in the race, cashed one voucher, representing winning bets worth about $6,900, and attempted to cash additional vouchers for $1,867.40 and $3,311.80. But by that time, Sacramento Harness Association officials had frozen all payouts. Tote computers showed about three-quarters of the winning trifecta tickets on the race were bet on track at one machine in one sequence.

The younger Maier had been extradicted from New York, where he was driving at Monticello Raceway.
"This case is pretty small potatoes for people to put their whole careers on the line, but it doesn't mean it didn't happen," Jones said. "The case against Daniel is extremely strong; against Jason, it's nonexistent. The case against Mr. Ratchford falls somewhere in between."

Geoffrey Goodman, Ratchford's attorney, said his client will be cleared too. "The only evidence against my client is the testimony of Raymond Burt," Goodman said. "And Mr. Burt doesn't have any reason to be believed." (By Debbie Arrington)

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