Harness trainer Dane asks to change not-guilty plea

Rick Dane Jr., a harness trainer who was one of 27 individuals connected to horse racing to be indicted in 2020, has told a federal court he intends to change his plea of not guilty, according to court documents.

Dane’s attorneys sent the letter to U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on Friday, nine days after a jury returned a guilty verdict against a veterinarian and animal-products supplier, Seth Fishman, who faces 15-20 years in prison on two counts of conspiracy to adulterate or misbrand drugs. The jury deliberated for only four hours.

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Dane’s change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Dane was scheduled to go to trial in late March. The Fishman trial included testimony from a harness trainer, Adrienne Hall, who said that Fishman had wide contacts in the Standardbred racing world. Hall testified that Fishman provided her with free samples of substances he marketed as blood builders.

The most prominent defendant remaining in the case is the Thoroughbred trainer Jason Servis, who is scheduled to go to trial in late spring, though a trial date has not yet been set.