The State of Texas' criminal case against jockey Roman Chapa for unlawful influence on racing has been reset to Mar. 18.
Chapa, 43, appeared in Harris County District Court in Houston on Friday to face charges that he illegally used an electrical device on a horse in a race on Jan. 17 at Sam Houston Race Park. Judge Stacey W. Bond set the March date to give prosecutors and Chapa and his attorney time to prepare for the case. Chapa is free on $10,000 bail.
On Feb. 9, the stewards at Sam Houston will hear Chapa's appeal of the immediate suspension they imposed on Jan. 19. The stewards acted after accusations surfaced that a photograph appeared to show that Chapa had a buzzer in his left hand near the end of Quiet Acceleration's victory in the $50,000 Richard King Handicap. The suspension was handed down while the Texas Racing Commission investigates the allegations. Robert Elrod, a spokesman for the racing commission, said Friday that a hearing on the matter will likely take place within the next month.
Chapa has twice been punished for similar incidents involving devices to shock a horse, often called buzzers or machines. He was suspended for 19 months in 1993 and served four years of a five-year suspension for a 2007 violation before being granted a probationary license in New Mexico.
In the probable cause statement, Jeffrey Green of the Texas Department of Public Safety said that track photographer Jack Coady told him he contacted by Chapa the day after the race and asked to take the photograph off the track's website. Green said in his statement that Chapa told him he had never seen the photograph or had reached out to Coady. However Green said that when Chapa allowed him to look at his phone he could see that a call had been made and a text sent to Coady. Green said that a copy of the photograph was in recently deleted file on Chapa's phone.
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