The Paulick Report, along with other industry publications, has acquired copies of two documents presented during the recently-concluded trial of former veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman which prosecutors say contain lists of clients from Fishman's Equestology business.
Fishman was convicted this week of two counts of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws and the manufacture of performance-enhancing drugs intended for use in racehorses.
The documents list clients by last name. One is limited to those with New York addresses. (Fishman's trial was held in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.) The other is alphabetized by last name and includes zip codes from a variety of states and a few Canadian postal codes. Street addresses and cities have been redacted, with zip code and state data remaining.
The list includes a number of people who were also indicted in March 2020 for their roles in what prosecutors say was a widespread network of drug suppliers, distributors and end users using adulterated and misbranded products to dope Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses. Thomas Guido/Guido Stable, Ross Cohen, Carl Garofalo, Tony Poliseno, Rene Allard, and Richard Banca are all on the list.
Garofalo entered a guilty plea in June 2021 to one count of adulteration and misbranding and was ordered to forfeit $6.7 million. He has yet to be sentenced. The other defendants have pleaded not guilty.
A number of harness trainers and stable names appear on the list, as do the names of several veterinarians, and a few Thoroughbred racing connections.
Jeff Gural, owner of the Meadowlands, indicated to the Paulick Report he is making inquiries with each harness trainer on the list to find out what specifically they were purchasing from Fishman and when.
“Everyone told me I was wasting my time and money trying to clean [racing] up so I just assume everyone thought it was business as usual and there was no risk,” Gural wrote in an email. “Obviously, they were wrong.”
The dates on the lists indicate they were pulled in February 2020, but it's not clear whether they are limited to client accounts that were active or contained historical data. The lists also do not indicate what the clients were purchasing or whether they were the end users of the products. While prosecutors say Fishman was not actively practicing veterinary medicine, he was licensed as a vet and could have provided legitimate, legal treatments in addition to or instead of the illegal products he was found guilty of making and distributing.
See the general list here.
See the New York-specific list here.
