(Reuters) – Former Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis has pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in doping racehorses under his care in order to win more prize money, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said.
Prosecutors said Servis doped nearly all of the horses under his care including Maximum Security, who appeared to have won the 2019 Kentucky Derby before being disqualified for interference. The colt went on to win the $20 million Saudi Cup, the world’s richest horse race, the following year.
Servis ordered hundreds of bottles of SGF-1000, an illegal drug that he believed to be undetectable through regular drug screenings, prosecutors said.
He also regularly administered the drug Clenbuterol, which he obtained from co-defendant Jorge Navarro, who pleaded guilty to administering performance-enhancing drugs to horses last year.
An attorney for Servis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Servis’ conduct represents corruption at the highest levels of the racehorse industry,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release on Friday.
“As a licensed racehorse trainer, Servis was bound to protect the horses under his care and to comply with racing rules designed to ensure the safety and well-being of horses and protect the integrity of the sport.
“Servis abdicated his responsibilities to the animals, to regulators, and to the public.”
The charges against Servis are part of a broader investigation of widespread schemes by trainers, veterinarians, performance enhancing drug distributors, and others to secretly administer illegal performance-enhancing drugs to racehorses.
At least 31 trainers, veterinarians, drug distributors and others have been charged since March 2020 over alleged doping affecting races in New York, Kentucky, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and the United Arab Emirates.
“This latest conviction demonstrates the commitment of this Office and of our partners at the FBI to the prosecution and investigation of corruption, fraud, deceit, and endangerment in the racehorse industry,” Williams said.
Marty Irby, the executive director of Animal Wellness Action, called Servis’ actions “the worst disgrace American horse racing has ever seen.”
“We applaud The Jockey Club, president Jim Gagliano, chairman Stuart Janney and everyone at the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s office who worked diligently for years to bring down this kingpin of organized crime and abuse.”
Servis will be sentenced on May 18.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
