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More Trainers Testify Against Fishman As Trial Continues

Two current trainers testified Jan. 27 at Dr. Seth Fishman's horse doping trial that they raced horses on illegal performance-enhancing drugs that came from the accused veterinarian.

The testimony from Adrienne Hall and Jamen Davidovich highlighted the seventh day of Fishman's trial on adulteration and misbranding conspiracy charges. Fishman was one of 27 individuals charged in the case and is the first on trial. Those charged include two prominent trainers–Jason Servis, who is awaiting trial, and Jorge Navarro, who pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Hall, of Monroe, New Jersey, trains horses at the Sunshine Meadows harness track in Florida and last raced a Standardbred last month in New Jersey. Davidovich, also an owner, raced primarily in the Mid-Atlantic in 2020-21. He has starts this year in New York and Ohio and says he approaches the sport now more as a hobby.

Both told the jury of eight women and four men how they went about getting in touch with Fishman in 2017 and 2018 with the sole intention of obtaining from PEDs that wouldn't show up in post-race testing.

“His reputation preceded him,” Davidovich, 31, of Pennsylvania said.

Hall testified Fishman gave her a PED called VO2 Max, which she used to dope a horse and win a harness race in March 2019. Prosecutors have elicited testimony that VO2 Max increases horses' oxygen levels that enable them to run faster and longer but at risk to their safety and well-being.

The jury heard a portion of an FBI wiretap that captured Hall excitedly telling Fishman about the first-place finish.

“I wish you could have seen the race,” Hall says to the veterinarian. “He was so fantastic. He dominated. He was a completely different animal. I was so happy.”

Hall added the horse's final quarter time was 27 seconds.

“What is it usually?” Fishman asks.

“Usually it's :28 or :29 and struggling,” she responds.

Hall testified that the PEDs were a gift from Fishman. She said she believed that was the case because Fishman wanted her to connect him to two trainers she knew.

One of those trainers was Todd Pletcher, the Hall of Famer who runs a large stable.

His name was revealed under cross-examination by Fishman attorney Maurice Sercarz.

Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi, who initially questioned Hall, never asked Hall to reveal the names during her direct examination.

At the start of her direct testimony, Hall had said that before she got her trainer's license, she worked at two Thoroughbred farms and for Pletcher's stable in an administrative position, not with horses.

Hall told Sercarz that even though she told Fishman she would contact Pletcher, she never did.

Mortazavi then asked why that was when she questioned the witness again.

“He would never take my advice or opinion,” Hall testified, referring to Pletcher. “I would never approach him about something like that.”

Hall was on the witness stand, testifying against Fishman as part of a non-prosecution agreement with prosecutors. They agreed not to prosecute her for doping horses.

Davidovich was testifying without any such agreement. Instead, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify and then was compelled to testify by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil under a grant of immunity. Under a grant of immunity, a witness can't be charged with any crimes he or she admits to.

Hall and Davidovich could, however, potentially face sanctions from regulators after their testimony. Servis and Navarro have been suspended from racing, as have other indicted individuals.

Davidovich told the jury Fishman began supplying him with PEDs after a meeting at a sushi bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He said there was a third person at the meeting, a person he described as “my owner.”

Asked by prosecutor Anden Chow how the subject of PEDs came up, Davidovich responded, “We were talking about different things to make the horse run better.”

Davidovich said that as they got to know each other, Fishman complained to him about Navarro. Prosecutors say Fishman was one of Navarro's suppliers of banned PEDs.

“He said Navarro owed him a lot of money, and he was going to cut him off if he didn't pay,” the witness testified. “He also said he didn't want [Navarro] taking down the whole ship because he had a loud mouth.”

Davidovich said Fishman was referring to a video shot at Monmouth Park in which Navarro and one of his owners bragged after winning a race that Navarro was the “Juice Man.”

Davidovich said he stopped doping horses in 2018 after meeting Dr. Steve Allday, a well-known Thoroughbred veterinarian.

“He was the first person in the business who took me under his wing and taught me a different way of being involved in horse racing,” he testified.

He added: “I know what I did was wrong, and I wanted to move forward in a different way.”

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

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Former Harness Trainer Cohen Testifies in Fishman Trial

It was nearly two years ago when former Standarbred trainer Ross Cohen was among 27 trainers, veterinarians and others snared in the largest horse doping prosecution in U.S. history.

In a New York courtroom Jan. 26, Cohen surfaced on the stand as a key government witness against Dr. Seth Fishman–the first of those arrested in the case in Mar. 2020 to go to trial on charges of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws.

As Fishman observed from the defense table, Cohen testified that when he was training horses at Yonkers Raceway years ago, he purchased performance enhancing drugs years ago from Lisa Giannelli, who worked as a distributor for Fishman and the veterinarian's Florida-based drug manufacturing business Equestology.

Cohen, 50, of upstate New York, testified he discussed with Fishman a product called “Frozen Pain.”

“He said it takes away pain and stops horses from getting tired in race,” Cohen said. “It had a performance-enhancing effect.”

Cohen testified about another conversation with Fishman in which he complained that Frozen Pain worked great for some horses when they were racing in his stable, but not so much other horses.

Cohen said the drug's inconsistency upset Fishman.

“He said it was hard to keep it stable and to get good employees to make it,” the witness testified, referring to Fishman. “He said he was going to stop making it.”

During his testimony, Cohen said he agreed flip in June of 2020. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and agreed to testify on behalf of the government in exchange for leniency at sentencing. Prosecutors kept the plea deal under wraps until Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Fishman produced performance drugs that trainers administered to horses to boost their chances of winning races. They said the doping put racehorses at risk of breakdowns and death. They said Fishman sought to created drugs that couldn't be detected in post-race testing.

As he was questioning Cohen, prosecutor Andrew Adams introduced photos of six of those charged in the case and had the witness identify them. One of the photos was that of former top Thoroughbred trainer Jorge Navarro, who has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He was sentenced in December to five years in prison.

After Cohen identified Navarro, Adams played for the jury a video of the Navarro-trained sprinter X Y Jet winning the $2.5-million G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2019. The video shows an exuberant Navarro celebrating the victory in the paddock.

Adams next had the jury read a text Fishman sent to Navarro and the response he got.

“Congratulation, just saw the race,” Fishman's text read.

“Thank you, boss. You're a big part of it,” Navarro replied.

Cohen admitted to a checkered past when he was a harness trainer. He served suspensions for drugs and had been barred from racing at Monticello Race Track and Yonkers. He was eventually allowed to return to Yonkers.

In the plea agreement, Cohen admitted to fixing races.

“I paid drivers for somebody to hold their horses back in races,” he testified.

Maurice Sercarz on cross-examination sought to suggest that Cohen had turned on Fishman to save his own skin.

“Who decides if you're telling the truth?” the lawyer asked.

“I assume the government,” Cohen responded.

The trial's sixth day in U.S. District Court in Manhattan also featured testimony from Dr. Cynthia Cole, director of the racing lab at the University of Florida, where she oversaw drug testing of horses competing at Florida tracks.

Cole was called as expert witness to identify the drugs Fishman was peddling and if they would be performance enhancers if administered to horses when they raced. In her opinion, Fishman's products were PEDs.

During her time on the stand, Cole was asked to comment on a Fishman product called Serenity. She said it appeared to be a sedative.

It was her testimony that it may seem counterintuitive to administer a sedative to a horse before a race, but she explained that some horses, especially young horses, can be high-strung.

“The ability to produce a mild sedative that could take the edge off, if you will; could help a horse perform better in a race,” she told the jury.

The trial resumes Jan. 27.

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

The post Former Harness Trainer Cohen Testifies in Fishman Trial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Jury Hears Wiretaps in Fishman Trial

The jury in the federal horse-doping trial of Seth Fishman heard Jan. 25 a portion of a Federal Bureau of Investigation wiretap in which the veterinarian discusses whether the drugs he sold to horse trainers involved doping.

“Any time you give something to a horse, that's doping,” Fishman says in the conversation recorded by the FBI Apr. 5, 2019. “Whether or not they test for it is another story.”

On the call with Fishman was an unidentified individual who had wanted to know more about the drugs.

“But it's not doping, yeah?” that person asks.

“Don't kid yourself,” Fishman also tells him. “If you're giving something to a horse to make it better, and you're not supposed to do that, that's doping. You know, whether or not it's testable that's another story.”

The wiretap was played in court on the fifth day of the trial as testimony resumed after a day's interruption. On Jan. 24, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil declared a mistrial in the case of Fishman co-defendant Lisa Giannelli. Giannelli's attorney tested positive for COVID-19 before court on Monday, warranting the mistrial.

As the day began Tuesday, Vyskocil announced a ruling rejecting a motion for a mistrial by Fishman's attorneys. They moved for a mistrial because of the positive COVID-19 test they believed upset the flow of the trial and because of remarks the attorney for Giannelli made during openings statements last week that they said could prejudice the jury against their client.

That attorney, Louis Fasulo, had described his client as the “proverbial sheep” to Fishman's “sheep master.”

Vyskocil countered that Fishman had not been prejudiced.

“Dr. Fishman has received a fair trial so far and will continue to receive a fair trial,” Vyskocil said.

Fishman was one of more than two dozen members of the horse racing community charged in sweeping indictments in March 2020 with conspiring to dope horses at race tracks across the country with illicit performance-enhancing drugs that wouldn't show up in post-race testing. Those charged included top trainers Jason Servis, who awaits trial, and Jorge Navarro, who pled guilty to conspiring with others to dope horses and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Fishman is charged with two counts of conspiring to violate drug adulteration and misbranding laws. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.

As part of their case, prosecutors allege Fishman accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Navarro in exchange for untestable drugs.

On Tuesday, prosecutors called Dr. Jean Bowman, veterinary medical officer in the division of surveillance for the FDA, as a government expert witness.

During her testimony, prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi introduced into evidence photos taken on the day of Navarro's arrest in 2020 that showed him in possession at his Florida home of four alleged PEDS that came from Fishman.

Mortazavi drilled down on those drugs, named BB3. The indictment described BB3 as a customized “blood building” PED that when combined with intense physical exertion thicken a horse's blood. A horse doped with BB3 ran the risk of a heart attack, the indictment said.

The photo of BB3 seized by the FBI from the Navarro residence shows only the product's name on the bottle.

Bowman testified that BB3 had not been approved by the FDA and that she could find no studies in an FDA database about BB3 and its effectiveness and safety to horses.

Bowman also told the jury that the label on the BB3 bottle should have contained more information to pass muster with the FDA. She said the label should have contained the name of the prescribing veterinarian, how and when it should be administered, the identity of the manufacturer, and what precautions should be taken before administering it.

The doctor testified that BB3 and the other drugs Fishman sold should only be prescribed after a physical examination of the animal.

Prosecutors contend Fishman never did that before shipping his PEDs to buyers.

At one point during questioning, Mortazavi had Bowman read from an email Fishman sent to Giannelli on Jan. 5, 2019, that contained a list of drugs available from Fishman's South Florida business Equestology.

“BB3: would only let trusted clients have this,” Bowman quoted the email as saying.

Fishman's lawyers Maurice Sercarz and Marc Fernich will have an opportunity to cross-examine the FDA expert when the trial resumes Jan. 26.

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

The post Jury Hears Wiretaps in Fishman Trial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mistrial Declared in Giannelli Case Due to Covid

Covid-19 temporarily upended Jan. 24 the horse doping trial of Dr. Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli–who are among the 27 horse racing professionals, including prominent trainers, charged in the case.

As the trial's second week began, testimony was delayed after it was revealed that Giannelli's trial attorney had tested positive for the disease before the trial was to resume Monday.

Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil then declared a mistrial on Giannelli's behalf because her attorney Louis Fasulo wouldn't be able to return to court for at least 10 days.

“I can't have a jury on ice for 10 days,” she said.

The jury never heard any witnesses Monday and Vyskocil sent them home after lunch with the resumption of the trial in doubt.

In the courtroom and without the jury present Fishman's attorneys also moved for a mistrial. Vyskocil reserved decision on the motion until Jan. 25 in the morning but during back and forth with the Fishman defense team she hinted she was considering having the trial resume with only Fishman. The trial continues Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

The trial opened Jan. 19 with jury selection followed by two days of opening statements and testimony from three witnesses.

Prosecutor Anden Chow told the jury Fishman and Giannelli had for two decades operated a “black-market drug business” that peddled to horse trainers around the country performance enhancing drugs that were administered to horses on race days and that couldn't be detected by horse racing commissions in post-race testing.

Most of the testimony the jury has heard came from the government's first witness, a 34-year-old woman, Courtney Adams, who worked at Fishman's South Florida business for five years until 2017. She said Fishman was fixated on creating drugs that were untestable.

FIshman attorney Maurice Sercarz told the jury his client's actions were in accordance with his veterinary oath to protect the safety and welfare of animals. Fasulo said Giannelli didn't believe she was doing anything wrong while working for Fishman.

They are charged with conspiracy to violate drug adulteration and misbranding laws in the doping horses. Prosecutors say the 11 trainers charged in the case acted to win lucrative purses without regard to the health of their horses.

Both Fishman and Giannelli are out on bail and were in court Monday.

The U.S. District Court in New York has implemented numerous Covid protocols to avoid outbreaks. The witness stand has been outfitted with a HEPA-filtered plexiglass box. There's also a HEPA-filtered plexiglass box for lawyers to use when they question witnesses. Masks are required of everyone in the courtroom, including the judge, but witnesses and lawyers can remove them if they are using those boxes.

Over the weekend courthouse officials implemented a new protocol. It required that lawyers and witnesses needed to take a rapid PCR test if they intended to remove their masks while using the boxes.

It was when Fasulo took the test in accordance with the new protocol that he learned of the positive result.

He showed up the courtroom briefly and then left. He spoke to the judge via an audio hookup.

His symptoms appeared mild. He told Vyskocil he had a “tickle in his throat.”

“I don't know what we're going to do. I feel terrible,” Fasulo said before consenting to the mistrial.

Giannelli's new trial date hasn't been set.

Fishman's other attorney Marc Furnich argued a mistrial was warranted given the positive Covid test. He also said it was warranted given that the trial's beginnings had exposed a conflict in defense strategy with Fasulo.

As proof Fernich and Sercarz pointed to Fasulo'a opening statement.

“Mr. Fasulo's second line was'we sit here after hearing the government say Lisa Giannelli was a lone wolf in a herd of sheep. What she was was more the proverbial sheep herded by the sheep master' a clear reference to Dr. Fishman,” Sercarz said.

He and Fernich argued that it would be difficult to convince the jury otherwise after they heard that and Giannelli was no longer part of the case.

Vyskocil said she didn't see what the problem was.

“Opening statements are not evidence and the jury has been told that,” she said.

Still awaiting trial is Jason Servis whose horse Maximum Security finished first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby only to be taken down for interfering with another horse. Prosecutors have accused Servis of doping dozens of horses in his barn, including Maximum Security.

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