Posted at 11:04 a.m., Friday, December 21, 2007
Horses: Driver convicted of fixing harness race
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — A harness-racing driver faces up to three years in prison and a lifetime ban from horse racing after his conviction for trying to fix a race at Cal Expo last year.Driver Daniel Maier, 23, is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
A second driver was acquitted by a Sacramento County jury. A third driver was cleared, while a fourth previously pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe.
Maier was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and grand theft. He did not drive in the May 2006 race but made more than $3,000 in bets, mostly in trifecta combinations.
Winning the trifecta requires betters to correctly pick the first three finishers of a race in the proper order.
Maier was convicted of bribing other drivers to arrange how the horses would finish the race.
