Jockey Chapa Charged with Felony - Used Shock Buzzer on Horse

Sickening. Sam Houston Texas Race Park Horse jockey Roman Chapa allegedly used an electronic device to shock a horse to win a race ... caught on photo. The TV news is reporting that this jockey got in trouble once before - for using a NAIL on a horse during a race. Chapa says the photo is photoshopped and that someone is out to discredit him. Take a look at the photos and the story. What do you think? Is he holding something or was it photoshopped? Could someone be trying to discredit him? Horse racing does have some shady aspects ...

UK Mail - Photos Here

People Magazine - Jockey Accused of Electrocuting Horse

Police are on the lookout for veteran jockey Roman Chapa, who faces felony charges after allegedly using a battery shock to spur his horse to victory at a Texas race.

Chap and his horse Quiet Acceleration were locked in fifth place at the Richard King Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park on Jan. 17, when the horse suddenly kicked into gear and ended up winning the $50,000 first place prize by half a length. The odds against Quient Acceleration were 10-1. But photographs taken at the finish line show Chapa hiding what officials say is a small electric device in the palm of his hand, according to the Daily Racing Forum

Jockey Chapa Charged With Felony over Alleged Buzzer Use

Chapa, 43, was charged with one count of unlawful influence on racing by the Harris County District Attorney. Texas statutes provide that the charge is a Class A misdemeanor unless “the actor possessed the device or substance with the intent to influence or affect the outcome of a horse or greyhound race,” in which case it is a “state jail felony.”...

Chapa was charged after an investigation into the incident conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety. In a report on the investigation prepared by Jeffrey Green of the Texas DPS, Chapa was said to have contacted Sam Houston’s track photographer, Jack Coady, seeking to get a finish-line photo of the race in question removed from the track’s website. The photo, taken from the rail side of the track rather than the grandstand side, shows what appears to be the bottom of the device in Chapa’s left hand.

Cheating/abuse is suprisingly and sadly common in the horse world.

Drugs and physical abuse, cheating by violation of weight, etc are all things you can still find. There was some uproar a few years ago about a jockey using a taser on his horse to win one of the more famous races. Heck, it may have been him. Looks like he has an extensive history of it.

It's sick if it's real (and I assume it is) but it really could just be his riding crop that someone edited out. It'd take as little as 5 min depending on the angle it was pointed when the photo was taken. He IS holding something though, you can tell from the way the reins are held.