Pfau Pleads Guilty to Fixing a Race

For $2,100, Richard Pfau held back a horse in an Arabian race at Los Alamitos two years ago, and the 35-year-old jockey could be facing a five-year prison sentence.

In an emotional hearing before a federal judge Monday in Los Angeles, Pfau pleaded guilty to taking a bribe to fix a race. His wife sobbed for the 45 minutes that Pfau faced Judge William J. Rea. Pfau will be sentenced by Rea on Oct. 20. In addition to the possible prison term, he can be fined up to $250,000.

Pfau said he had pleaded guilty partly because he fears for himself and his family, and he declined Rea’s offer to change the plea.

“I’m pleading guilty because I got involved with an unsavory person,” he said. “That’s the bottom line. If I went to trial, that would give somebody more of a reason to do something to me.”

Pfau said he took the bribe--which was $700 less than the total purse for the race--from Richard Sklar, a self-described professional gambler who pleaded guilty to race-fixing earlier this year. Sklar is facing the same penalties as Pfau and probably will be sentenced in September.

In outlining the Sept. 28, 1995, scheme before Rea, Edward J. Weiss, an assistant U.S. attorney, said that besides giving Pfau $2,100, Sklar promised the jockey a percentage of the pick-six payoff if he had a winning ticket. No bettor held a ticket with all six winners. Four tickets with five winners were worth $5,271 apiece.

In a recent interview with The Times, Sklar said he bought $6,000 worth of pick-six tickets but didn’t cash them.

Weiss said Sklar traveled to Caliente to bet exactas on the fixed race. Picking the 1-2 finish was worth $49.80 for a $2 bet.

Pfau was not charged with helping fix two other races that Sklar is believed to have manipulated on Sept. 28. Pfau rode in one of them, an Arabian race, but he sat out the other, which was for quarter horses. It is likely, then, that other jockeys at Los Alamitos could be involved, but Weiss declined to comment about the scope of the FBI’s investigation.

Pfau and Sklar are free on $5,000 bond. Pfau hasn’t ridden at Los Alamitos in several weeks. He finished fourth nationally last year in the standings for Arabian jockeys and in 1994 became the first Los Alamitos rider to win 100 races on Arabians.

The horse Pfau rode in the six-furlong fixed race was Expresss, a 4-year-old colt who was the even-money favorite. He and Pfau dropped 10 lengths behind, in last place, then made a late run to finish fourth, beaten by 6 1/2 lengths. The first two finishers went off at odds of 3-1 and 6-1.

Expresss was winless going into the fixed race. Nancy Gjerset, who bred and raced Expresss, said her colt ran three more times before the end of the year, winning twice with other jockeys.

Regarding the safety of the Pfau family, the jockey’s attorney, William Watson, said they have received no threats.

Indirectly, Pfau referred to Ron Hansen, a top Northern California thoroughbred jockey found dead on a levee near the San Mateo Bridge three years ago. Traveling at 100 mph, Hansen rear-ended another car on the bridge and apparently fled the scene of the accident.

“A jockey was associated [with Sklar],” Pfau said. “Then they found him in the San Francisco Bay. That’s been on my mind. Thinking about that scares the heck out of me.”

Weiss would not comment on whether the FBI has reopened the investigation into Hansen’s death.

Sklar recently told The Times he was a friend of Hansen’s, but believes the jockey’s death was accidental.

Pfau’s plea agreement with the government is under a court seal.

“I was told what possibly might happen, but were were no promises,” Pfau said.

It is expected that Pfau’s state riding license will be revoked, but officials for the California Horse Racing Board said they would review the case before taking action.

Pfau wasn’t specific about how he slowed Expresss.

“I didn’t let my horse run to his potential and his ability,” he said.

“You didn’t go all out?” the judge asked.

“No,” Pfau said.

“Did you hold back your horse freely and voluntarily?”

“To a certain degree, yes. I altered the outcome of the race.”