dr. seth fishman | Horse Racing Free Tips

Giannelli Trial Continues

Lisa Giannelli testified at her horse doping trial May 4 that she had a good reason for wanting to testify in her own defense.

“To tell my story,” she told the jury in U.S. District Court in New York.

She is on trial on a conspiracy charge, accused of assisting veterinarian Seth Fishman in the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs that prosecutors say were used by corrupt trainers to dope racehorses in violation of racing regulations.

During three hours of questioning by her attorney Louis Fasulo, Giannelli, who admitted being nervous when her testimony began, told the jury that it was never her intention to defraud any racing commissions.

She also testified that she never benefited financially when trainers decided to break the rules to win races.

And she testified that she never agreed with Fishman to engage in fraud.

“It was never my intention,” Giannelli testified.

The testimony came on the trial's sixth day in front of Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.

The trial resumes May 5 with closing arguments and then possibly jury deliberations.

Prosecutors say Fishman, who was convicted in February and faces 20 years in prison, manufactured PEDs that Giannelli sold out of her home as an employee of Fishman's company Equestology.

Giannelli testified it was her understanding she could sell whatever products Fishman created because he was a licensed veterinarian.

“I was just to take orders,” she told the jury. “I was not to give medical advice or offer a medical opinion or act as a veterinarian.”

Giannelli testified drugs she kept in her home that the FBI seized when she was arrested in 2020 were “items of Dr. Fishman that clients called in for as needed.”

She said Fishman manufactured his products without her help and that she knew little about them.

Gianelli also testified that she wasn't involved in designing labels for those products.

Asked then by Fasulo why another Equestolgoy employee sought her input on the color of a new drug bottle's cap, she replied, “Dr. Fishman was color blind.”

She also said that in conversations with Fishman it was hard to know what he was talking about.

Giannelli told the jury she didn't know what he meant when he told her about “stem cells” in a 2019 call that was wiretapped by the FBI.

“He is rambling and I was just like 'yeah,'” Gianelli testified. “Dr. Fishman rambled a lot.”

When asked why she sold drugs without any label on the bottle, she said, “That was a decision by my boss. It was what it was.”

On cross examination, prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi asked Giannelli if she knew the difference between prescription and non-prescription drugs.

“My employer did,” the witness testified, adding that she knows the difference now.

“But you didn't at the time?” Mortazavi asked.

“I know only know what Dr. Fishman told me,” Giannelli replied.

At another point, Mortazavi asked Giannelli if she had suggested new products for Fishman to make a Equestology.

“Yes,” the witness said.

“So now you are clarifying your testimony on direct in which you testified that you didn't suggest new products for Seth Fishman to make?” the prosecutor asked.

“Correct,” Giannelli testified.

At the start of the cross-examination, Mortazavi asked Giannelli about her days working as a groom and a trainer at harness tracks decades ago, before she began working for Fishman. Giannelli acknowledged her license was suspended when a horse tested positive for TCO2.

“It was a bicarbonate,” the witness testified.

“Is that baking soda?” Mortazavi asked.

“Bicarbonate is whatever bicarbonate is,” Giannelli told the jury.

The Thoroughbred industry's leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

The post Giannelli Trial Continues appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Lisa Giannelli Trial Begins

Jury selection kicked off April 27 in the trial of a Delaware woman who prosecutors say helped veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman supply illegal performance-enhancing drugs to trainers who used them to secretly dope horses to win races.

By day's end, a jury of eight men and four women was sworn in to hear the case against Lisa Giannelli in U.S. District Court in New York.

Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil scheduled opening statements for Apr. 28. The government has two FBI agents lined up to testify as their first witnesses.

Giannelli was in court for the jury selection.

One of the jurors chosen is a 60-year-old woman who said during voir dire that she has attended the GI Kentucky Derby “numerous times.”

Giannelli, of Felton, worked for Fishman and his Florida company Equestology as a sales representative. They were arrested two years ago following a lengthy FBI investigation into suspected backstretch horse doping that nabbed more than two dozen others.

Those charged included prominent Thoroughbred trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Navarro pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to five years in prison. Servis is awaiting a trial that has been pushed back to early 2023.

Giannelli's case is being heard in the same courthouse where Fishman was convicted Feb. 2 on two counts of conspiracy to violate adulteration or misbranding laws after an 11-day trial. She is charged with one of those crimes.

Fishman and Giannelli have been the only ones in the case to take their chances at trial. There have been nine other guilty pleas since the arrests, including Navarro's.

Giannelli was to be tried with Fishman, but after opening statements and testimony from the government's first witness, a mistrial was declared in her case after her lawyer Louis Fasulo tested positive for COVID-19, preventing him from proceeding.

She faces five years in prison if convicted. She is free on $100,000 bond.

At a conference Apr. 25, Fasulo said his client would be testifying in her own defense. He also said she would be his only witness. Fishman didn't testify, and his lawyers called no other witnesses.

Fasulo told Vyskocil that he was “100% certain” Gianelli would take the stand.

“I never make that commitment, but we know it's going to happen,” he said.

In court papers last month, prosecutors spelled out their case against Giannelli.

They said she had traveled to racehorse training facilities in the northeast U.S., offering to sell Fishman's drugs “on demand, without regard to the existence of any prescription, the medical need for such drugs or the legality (or propriety) of selling such drugs directly to racehorse trainers.”

In court papers, Fasulo has signaled his intent to put on a “good faith” defense.

“A person acts in good faith when he or she has an honestly held belief, opinion, or understanding that as part of her experience in the horse racing industry veterinarians were allowed to sell drugs they compounded or manufactured and it was the trainer's responsibility to follow withdrawal times, even though the belief, opinion or understanding turns out to be inaccurate or incorrect,” Fasulo wrote in a proposed instruction that he wants the jury to hear before it begins deliberations.

At the previous trial, Fasulo sought to distance his client from Fishman, a tactic he is expected to take this time around.

“We sit here today after hearing the government's opening statement that Lisa Giannelli is a lone wolf in a herd of sheep,” he said as he began his opening remarks to the prior jury. “This case will prove that Lisa was a sheep herded by the sheep master.”

Fasulo said then that Giannelli had been a groom and a trainer before she went to work for Fishman. He said they had worked together for 18 years.

Fasulo said his client had no ability to create the products that Fishman manufactured and had no ability to label them.

“She took no responsibility as to the products as they were presented to her, other than they were presented by a veterinarian who was licensed in the states in which she was dealing,” he said.

At the end of his remarks, he said they don't hide from the fact that Giannelli worked for Fishman.

“What the government found in her home were products given to her by Seth Fishman, the veterinarian, and you will hear that she believed those products to be okay to transport to others,” he said.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

The Thoroughbred industry's leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

The post Lisa Giannelli Trial Begins appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Chris Oakes Sentenced to Three Years

NEW YORK–Standardbred trainer Chris Oakes, who has admitted to supplying Jorge Navarro with performance- enhancing drugs as well as using illegal drugs with his own horses, was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday. In October, Oakes, 57, pled guilty to one count of misbranding and drug adulteration with intent to defraud or deceive.

The decision was handed down by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before a small audience that included Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural. Under the sentencing guidelines, three years was the maximum allowable sentence.

“I believe this offense is serious,” Vyskocil said. “I have taken that into account as well as the characterizations of Mr. Oakes as a human being and a person. But I do not see any compelling reason to go below the sentencing guideline.”

While the case against Oakes involved his pattern of doping his own horses, it also focused on his relationship with Navarro and the doping of Navarro's XY Jet (Kantharos). Oakes supplied Navarro with PEDs that were given to X Y Jet, including a “blocker” PED. On Feb. 13, 2019, the same day X Y Jet won an allowance race at Gulfstream, Navarro instructed Oakes to enter the Gulfstream backstretch to administer PEDs to the sprinter.

“Mr. Oakes shared misbranded and adulterated drugs with others, including, and most particularly Mr. Navarro,” Vyskocil noted. “Specifically, he helped Mr. Navarro dope XY Jet.”

While still in training, XY Jet died in early 2020. Navarro said at the time that the cause of death was a heart attack.

Addressing the court, government lawyer Sarah Mortazavi lashed into Oakes, saying that he had failed to realize the severity of his actions.

“The defendant has not grappled with the seriousness of his crimes,” she said, “Instead of remorse, we have gotten from him self-serving excuses meant to minimize his conduct. He has said that the government can't prove that I killed any horses or did something to improve their performances, so what I did was not detrimental to these horses. But he injected these horses with drugs up to and including the day of their race, putting their health at risk.”

Oakes' attorney Page Pate did not deny that his client used PEDs and broke laws but asked the court to consider that trainer had many good qualities. That, he argued, was justification for leniency.

“The offenses committed, while clearly wrong, are inconsistent with who he was as a person and as a trainer who cared for his horses,” Pate said. “It's true that he tried to win purses by using PEDs he got from Dr. [Seth] Fishman and PEDs he created on his own and that that gave him an unfair competitive advantage in his races. But the narrative became Mr. Oakes abused his horses. Looking back over his 40-year career that is not consistent with what so many people who knew him and worked with him have told the court. The things he has done for his community, his random acts of kindness, they show that he is not a criminal.”

When addressing the court, Oakes, who began to choke up, brought up what he said was a long-running battle with alcoholism.

“I drank when I succeeded and I drank when I failed and I failed a lot,” he said. “I did not ask for help because I thought that would show a sign of weakness.”

Vyskocil said Oakes would have to enter a drug and alcohol treatment program once in prison.

Oakes said he was remorseful and blamed his decisions on stress and the pressure he felt to succeed.

“I was constantly unhappy, irritated and depressed,” he said. “I wanted everything to be perfect and I demanded that of my wife, my kids and my employees. I regret the path that I followed. I allowed stress and the pressure I was under to dictate my decisions. I have no one to blame but myself. I am aware of the crimes that I have committed, and I have learned from them. I humbly ask for leniency.”

Gural, who had banned Oakes at his tracks well before he was indicted, sat quietly and listened to the testimony. Gural was instrumental in putting together the investigation that led to Oakes and more than two dozen others being indicted on charges related to doping.

“I am glad I came, if for no other reason than to see how justice works,” he said. “I thought everybody did a good job and the judge understood the severity of the situation. It is a tragedy. These horses can't talk for themselves. When I started this, I had friends who told me it was a waste of time, that it was impossible to catch these guys. Getting 5 Stones involved and the fact that so many horses died in California, that got the attention of the U.S. Attorney, and they were willing to prosecute. I spent a great deal of time talking to the U.S. Attorney and convincing them that there were people out there using drugs.”

Oakes owned a handful of Thoroughbreds before his arrest and won 14 races. His horses were trained by Navarro. Oakes was a prominent harness trainer with 1,875 career wins and $29,631,843 in career earnings.

The post Chris Oakes Sentenced to Three Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Caught Up In Fishman Scandal, Hall Tells Her Story

It was back in October of 2018 that a small-time harness racing owner and trainer named Adrienne Hall reached out to veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman. She was new to the Florida harness circuit and says she simply was looking for a vet to help her with her horses. What she did not know at the time was that she had just made one of the worst mistakes of her life.

Hall's relationship with Fishman evolved and became complicated. It led to Hall, 42, testifying earlier this year in court against Fishman in his trial for selling performance-enhancing drugs to, among others, disgraced Thoroughbred trainer Jorge Navarro. It was during that trial that Hall admitted Fishman also supplied her with illegal drugs that she used to improve the performance of her horses.

Unlike Fishman, who was found guilty by a jury, Hall will not be going to prison. But her career in harness racing may be over, she faces a likely suspension from the New Jersey Racing Commission and she says she is not holding up well in the aftermath of her testimony. She says she is “in bad shape” and on medications to get through the day.

While she understands that she brought this upon herself, Hall maintains that she has been unfairly portrayed in press reports covering the Fishman trial and that she testified against him not to avoid prosecution but because she wanted to help clean up the sports of Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing. With that in mind and in hopes that she could at least somewhat change the narrative, Hall agreed to what became a lengthy interview with the TDN last week.

Below are the subjects that were covered. They include Hall's take on her own situation, what she says she did and did not do wrong and her insights into Seth Fishman and his operation and the culture of doping she believes permeated the Standardbred game.

“It appeared to me that it was chemical warfare out there,” she said. “How was I supposed to compete against horses that don't get tired?”

(*) Hall said originally she had no idea that Fishman sold illegal drugs. She was looking for veterinary help after moving from Ohio to Florida and said that Fishman came highly recommended.

“I had horses who were tying up,” she said. “I had questions about how to raise red blood cell counts because my horses were borderline anemic. I really wanted help and I trusted him. I had heard really good things about him and how smart he was and that's why I wanted to utilize him. I did not specifically reach out to Dr. Fishman for performance-enhancing drugs.”

(*) Fishman, Hall said, seemed particularly eager to work with her. She believes she now knows why. She had worked in an office job for Todd Pletcher and says she also had some connections with top harness trainer Tony Alagna. Fishman asked her to approach both trainers to see if they were interested in buying his drugs. She says she never contacted either one.

“It was my understanding that Navarro was not paying his bills and he was getting really fed up with him,” she said. “He wanted a big stable to come in and take his place. That's the only reason why I can think of he would give me any attention.”

In June of 2019, Hall said she spoke to Fishman for the last time.

“He said, 'I really regret trying to help you because you did nothing but waste my time,'” she said.

(*) During her testimony, Hall admitted using PEDs on a horse and excitedly told Fishman after she won a race that the drug appeared to have made a major difference. While admitting she used the drug, Hall said she resisted temptation to use concoctions that are even more powerful.

“I told him that I didn't want to use Epogen and I didn't want to use baking soda,” she said. “I didn't want to use anything that would tear up my horses. I just wanted something that would give my horses an edge.”

She said she was motivated to use an illegal substance because she was frustrated that she had been beaten so often by trainers she suspected of using drugs, calling harness racing a game of “chemical warfare.”

“It was a stupid thing to do,” she said of using PEDs. “I was not having a lot of luck. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. How do I compete? How do I get better? But, I knew it was wrong and I was breaking the rules.”

(*) News reports during Fishman's trial suggested that the only reason Hall testified against Fishman was that she was granted immunity. She says that is not the case.

“Misinformation came out, that I was there under some deferred prosecution agreement, or I was subpoenaed or in fear of being arrested or indicted. That was never the case,” Hall said. “I wanted to help them. They said they were going to clean up the sport and that this would be good for the horses. They told me that I was doing a really good thing. Yeah, I messed up and I made a mistake, but I didn't realize [Fishman] was as bad as he is. The more I heard about horses dying and XY Jet dying, I started to understand, I started to realize how bad he was.

“Everyone says you shouldn't have talked to them from the beginning, you should have kept your mouth shut. I look at it differently. Someone has to do something. The harness industry is in really bad shape. I wanted to be a part of making things change.”

(*) After the trial, Hall was permitted to racehorses at the Meadowlands by track owner Jeff Gural, who said that banning her would discourage future whistleblowers from coming forward. Gural, however, won't have the last say. Hall said she has met with the New Jersey racing Commission, which told her she is under investigation. She expects she will be sanctioned by the commission and if her license is suspended, she would not be able to race at any track. A lifetime ban is not out of the question.

The potential racing commission ban is one of many problems she has faced since testifying. Her license issued by the United States Trotting Association (USTA) has been revoked and she said she has been the target of several nasty postings on social media calling her, among other things, a “rat.” She says she was not prepared for what was to come and the stress she has been under. She says she would not recommend to anyone in a similar situation that they come forward.

“I don't think I would recommend anyone come forward after what the USTA and the public did to me,” Hall said. “The USTA stripped me of my membership and they didn't want to hear my side. I would definitely think twice about helping if I ever had a chance to do this again.”

(*) Hall got close enough to Fishman that he would tell her some of the details of his operation and the sale of illegal drugs. While Fishman was selling things like vitamins that are legal, he told Hall that many of his clients were buying PEDs.

“He confided in me about some really high-profile people in harness racing who were, let's put in this way, not buying vitamins. He told me what their drug of choice was and it was not a supplement, if you know what I mean.”

Hall declined to disclose the name of the drug or any trainers she believed were buying it from Fishman.

(*) Despite her problems with Fishman, she has never stopped respecting his intellect.

“I think he is absolutely brilliant, but he used his brilliance for bad reasons,” she said. “I don't know why. Maybe he got greedy or he thought he could outsmart people or he was that egotistical and thought that he would never get caught. He used his brilliance to do the wrong things.”

The post Caught Up In Fishman Scandal, Hall Tells Her Story appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post