By T. D. Thornton
When jockey Roman Chapa was photographed winning a Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP) stakes race on Jan. 17, 2015, holding a tan, palm-sized device with protruding prongs in his left hand, the enlarged version of that digital image was considered one of the strongest pieces of evidence ever documented showing in-race possession of an alleged electrical horse shocking device.
The Texas Racing Commission certainly thought so. Within six weeks of the infraction, it swiftly ruled against Chapa for carrying the illegal “buzzer.” His license was suspended for five years and Chapa was walloped with a $100,000 fine, believed to be the largest monetary sanction against a jockey in United States racing history.
Within 36 hours of Chapa's allegedly plugged-in winning ride, the State of Texas began its own criminal investigation that resulted in dual felony charges of “unlawful influence on racing” and making “false statements” to the officer investigating the case.
In addition to the allegedly incriminating photo, court documents explained how a panicked Chapa had deepened his own trouble by being the first to alert track officials to the image by demanding its removal from the SHRP website the day after the race. A day later, the now-45-year-old jockey claimed he was being “framed” when the investigating officer found a copy of the controversial image on Chapa's own cell phone.
So in light of all this seemingly daunting evidence against Chapa, what's happened since then in terms of court action? In essence, a whole lot of nothing.
In nearly the exact same time frame that the racing world has witnessed a horse win the Triple Crown, then retire, breed mares, and have his first foals born, court records show there have been a total of 24 different delays in Chapa's two separate cases that have prevented them from going to trial.
Arraignments, dispositions, pre-trial conferences, and trial dates have all been postponed or delayed for various reasons dating to March 2015. According to records posted online by the Harris County District Court, 12 of those “resets” were sought by the defense; 12 others were caused by “operations of law.”
In August 2016, Chapa's “false statements” trial was listed to commence on the 176th Criminal Court docket. But that listing was determined to have been posted in error and the case got pushed off for two additional months, when the court deemed it was to be combined with the “unlawful influence” trial. That rescheduled October court date never resulted in a trial either. It was “reset by operation of law” to Feb. 24, 2017.
With Friday's trial date looming, TDN attempted to get in touch with the prosecutor to get an idea of what to expect. But a Tuesday email from Dane Schiller, the director of communications in the Harris County District Attorney's Office, carried only the news that another delay would likely derail the start of Chapa's trial.
“I'm under the impression that this will be re-set, which would mean the smart money says a trial would not start on 2-24,” Schiller wrote. “I think this is due to an administrative matter.”
Schiller did not address follow-up questions about the specific nature of the administrative matter, nor would he facilitate an interview request for TDN to speak with the prosecuting attorney, who he wrote was “not available for comment.”
Asked if a two-plus-year time frame for felony cases to clear court was common in Harris County, Schiller wrote, “It is my experience that plenty of cases take such time to reach trial.”
Chapa remains free from jail on a $10,000 bond while his court case languishes. TDN has been unable to locate a working phone number for him to get his side of the story. He has twice previously been suspended in Texas (1993) and New Mexico (2007) for attempting to frighten a racehorse into running faster with an illicit object.
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