Harness trainer Rick Dane Jr. became the latest of the indicted trainers, veterinarians and others in the federal investigation into racehorse doping to enter a guilty plea in federal court on Thursday, and has been ordered to pay a monetary judgement of $33,912.
Dane accepted a government plea deal on Friday, Feb. 11, and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.
The agreement was made between Dane, his attorney, U. S. Attorney Damian Williams, and U. S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
Several of the defendants who originally pled not guilty and who were awaiting trial have changed their plea to guilty, including Jorge Navarro, Kristian Rhein, Jordan Fishman, Marcos Zulueta, and Christopher Oakes, who, like Dane, was a harness racing trainer. Dane's New Jersey Horse Racing license was revoked in March, 2020, two days after the indictments were announced.
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