Jason Servis | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Who’s Really Training That Horse?

Regulators and racetrack officials often shrug and say it's hard to prove when a horse is entered in the name of a trainer who, in fact, has not been supervising the conditioning of a racehorse. These so-called “program trainers” or “paper trainers” may be doing a favor for someone who, for a variety of reasons, is not at a licensed track but is training the horse at a private training facility not under the auspices of regulators.

This past week, however, the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) told trainer Wayne Potts to vacate his 30 stalls at Laurel Park within seven days after concluding he was fronting for trainer Marcus Vitali, who was coming off a one-year suspension and unable to race horses at Laurel. Potts entered some horses in his own name that MJC officials were convinced Vitali was training at a private training center in New Jersey.

In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Ray Paulick and editor-in-chief Natalie Voss discuss a story they co-bylined that included details about Potts and Vitali, how the trainers' alleged actions were uncovered and the role that unregulated private training centers can play when it comes to efforts by horsemen to deceive racing officials.

Also discussed this week is the warning made at last week's Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing by Stuart Janney, chairman of The Jockey Club, that more federal indictments are likely in the FBI's anti-doping probe and why there has been a delay since the arrests of trainers Jorge Navarro, Jason Servis and more than two dozen others in March.

Watch the Friday Show below.

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West Calls Out Saudi Cup Officials For ‘Shrouding This Investigation In A Cloak Of Secrecy’

Maximum Security's co-owner Gary West released the following statement on Wednesday, following Tuesday's announcement by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia that purse money from the inaugural running of the $20 million Saudi Cup would be paid out to all except the winner, due to the sealed federal indictment of then-trainer Jason Servis.

On Feb. 29, 2020, Maximum Security, owned by Gary and Mary West and the Coolmore partners, was the impressive winner of the inaugural running of the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the world's richest race. Now, five and one half months later, the winner still hasn't been declared official and no information has been made public regarding this matter. In the annals of international racing, this is unprecedented.

It is standard operating procedure in the Americas, Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, and Dubai to test horses for the presence of prohibited or illegal substances and to disqualify horses if the presence of such substances is found in post-race laboratory results. This internationally accepted level of transparency is both fair and vital to the integrity of the sport. However, it's just as important and fair to declare a race official in a timely manner and to release purses if horses test negative. Those are the rules by which all major racing centers operate, but this is apparently not how racing is conducted by the Saudi Arabia Jockey Club (SAJC), which developed the Saudi Cup as an entrée into the big leagues of international racing. Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of horse racing.

Following Maximum Security's victory in the Saudi Cup, which reinforced his position as one of the best racehorses in the world, the colt's then-trainer, Jason Servis, was indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in early March on one count of “misbranding conspiracy,” the details of which are in the public record. Subsequently, a decision was made by the representatives of the Saudi Cup to conduct an “investigation” into Maximum Security, even though the SDNY indictment of Servis was limited to his conduct between February and October of 2019. After that time frame, Maximum Security won the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 7 before the Saudi Cup on February 29, 2020, and he has never once tested positive for an illegal or prohibited substance during his career.

NOTE: Under the direct supervision of The Saudi Jockey Club, Maximum Security was tested before he left the states, when he arrived in Saudi Arabia and post-race by two of the best testing labs in the world in Paris and Hong Kong. If any of those tests would have been positive, Maximum Security would have been disqualified long ago.

We understood, once the Servis indictment was announced, that the original test results, which were extensive, including blood, urine, and DNA hair testing, needed to be re-examined post-race by the top drug-testing laboratories in the world. Thereafter, we received two requests from the Saudis for bank wiring instructions, leading us to believe that all test results had been negative (as we believe they were) and funds would be forthcoming. Instead of receiving the purse monies, we received a letter dated April 29 from a 'Private Investigator' who had been hired by the JCSA to conduct an 'investigation' of Maximum Security's entitlement to the purse. If this race is decided by a 'Private Investigator', it will be the first time in the history of horse racing that a 'Private Investigator' will decide the outcome of a horse race. Winning horses are always decided on the racetrack and backed up by post-race testing. If a horse wins the race to the satisfaction of the stewards and passes post-race testing, it is universally accepted that the horse is the winner of the race, with the possible exception of the SAJC.

We have repeatedly asked through our counsel to have the Saudi Cup officials publicly announce whether Maximum Security's test results revealed performance enhancing or illegal medications of any kind and they have refused to provide that information. We have also requested a split sample so that we may have tests performed, but that request has also been denied, which is something that would never happen in the U.S.

We can only assume if Maximum Security tested positive for any illegal or prohibited substance, the news would be out, the horse would have already been disqualified, and any 'investigation' would be irrelevant. We have cooperated and intend to continue to cooperate with the 'investigation', but we call on H.R.H. Prince Bandar and the representatives of the Saudi Cup to make this process transparent and swift to the international racing community. Transparency serves the integrity of racing and the reputations of the Saudi Cup and Maximum Security, both of which have been badly tarnished by these unheard of delays and bizarre circumstances. The entire process has been unfair and the international racing community deserved to know the outcome months ago.

If the SAJC wants to compete on the big stage of international racing, they need to let everyone know what they are investigating and what their plan is. If there was a bad test, that was known long ago and the results should be made publicly available immediately. If Maximum Security tested positive for any illegal substance he should be disqualified. Shrouding this investigation in a cloak of secrecy is not how to gain the respect of and faith in the international racing community.

For the purpose of analyzing the fairness of this decision by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia let's assume that any horse tested positive for cocaine, cobra venom, frog juice and 10 other PED's in previous races. Prior positive test results would not disqualify that horse from running in the Saudi Cup or any other race. And, if the horse won and tested negative by testing labs chosen by the racing authorities, that horse would be officially declared the winner of the race. That is the way things work everywhere in the world with Saudi Arabia Jockey Club being the only known exception.

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Saudi Cup Purse Money To Be Paid Out To All But Maximum Security

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced Monday its decision to award prize money to the connections of horses placed second to tenth in the 2020 Saudi Cup, a race held at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh on Saturday, Feb. 29.

Prize money will be withheld from the winning horse, Maximum Security (USA) trained by Jason Servis, until the JCSA is able to satisfactorily complete its investigation and any inquiry.

This decision has been taken in the interests of safeguarding the integrity of racing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is based on the following considerations:

Following the running of the 2020 Saudi Cup Jason Servis and others were indicted on charges in the USA. The sealed indictment, which covers a period of time between 2018 up to February 2020, alleges that Jason Servis administered performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to horses in his care, including Maximum Security.

The administration of PEDs is prohibited under the JCSA Rules and the Horseman's Guide to the Saudi Cup, to secure the integrity of racing and the welfare of racehorses. Prior to the race the JCSA received no allegation and no indication that Maximum Security had ever been administered PEDs.

However, as a result of the USA indictment the JCSA received an objection to the participation of Maximum Security in the race. As a result of that objection and the indictment, the JCSA commenced its own investigation into the allegations which was notified to all connections of runners in the race, and to the wider public.

That investigation remains ongoing but has been hampered by the Covid-19 crisis and the fact that the JCSA is not a party to the ongoing legal proceedings in the USA. Therefore, unless and until the evidence that supports the sealed indictment in the US Proceedings is placed in the public domain, that evidence is unavailable to the JCSA's investigation and to any JCSA inquiry.

The JCSA is bound to reach a fair and reasonable decision on the objection and circumstances of Maximum Security's running in the race and it cannot do so without the consideration of relevant evidence that has been gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US Proceedings in respect of the sealed indictment.

Therefore, the JCSA cannot properly conclude its investigation and any inquiry by its Stewards' Committee cannot be commenced without consideration of all relevant evidence including that gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US.

The JCSA will make no further comment until the conclusion of the investigation.

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JCSA Withholding Saudi Cup Earnings from Maximum Security

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced Monday that it will continue to withhold payment from the $20-million Saudi Cup to the connections of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) as it continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the horse and former trainer Jason Servis. While that money is being withheld, a decision has been made to go ahead and pay the owners who had horses finish second through 10th in the Feb. 29 race.

Shortly after Saudi Cup, Servis was among 27 people indicted on federal charges involving the doping of race horses. In April, Saudi authorities announced they would withhold paying out the purse to all connections while an investigation was ongoing. The Saudi Cup winner is due to collect $10 million.

Monday’s announcement revealed for the first time that there was an “objection to the participation” of Maximum Security after the race. It did not spell out who lodged the objection and when. The JCSA said the objection and the indictments were what led to the investigation.

It also appears that no final decision will be reached until the case against Servis is adjudicated in the U.S. courts, as the JCSA said their investigation has been hampered by not being a party to the legal proceedings that are ongoing.

The statement read: “That investigation remains ongoing but has been hampered by the Covid-19 crisis and the fact that the JCSA is not a party to the ongoing legal proceedings in the USA. Therefore, unless and until the evidence that supports the sealed indictment in the US Proceedings is placed in the public domain, that evidence is unavailable to the JCSA’s investigation and to any JCSA inquiry. The JCSA is bound to reach a fair and reasonable decision on the objection and circumstances of MAXIMUM SECURITY’s running in the race and it cannot do so without the consideration of relevant evidence that has been gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US Proceedings in respect of the sealed indictment. Therefore, the JCSA cannot properly conclude its investigation and any inquiry by its Stewards’ Committee cannot be commenced without consideration of all relevant evidence including that gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US.”

That could mean that the payment of the purse will be withheld until Servis’s case has made its way through the courts, something that could stretch on for a couple of years.

The JCSA said it would make no further comment until the conclusion of the investigation, which leaves a handful of questions unanswered, including the results of drug tests performed on Maximum Security before the race.

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