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‘A Small Pharmacy’s Worth of Drugs’: Harness Trainer Allard Gets 27 Months

The former Standardbred trainer Rene Allard, 35, who was third in North America in both wins and purse earnings in the year before he was arrested and indicted in the March 2020 international doping conspiracy investigation, on Tuesday got sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison after having previously pleaded guilty to one felony count of misbranding and altering drugs.

Allard's sentence was handed down Nov. 15, shortly after the same judge in United States District Court (Southern District of New York) sent the racetrack veterinarian Louis Grasso to prison for 50 months for his role in the doping ring.

Prosecutors had been prepared to go to trial with evidence proving that Allard and Grasso conspired in tandem to drug harness horses.

“Allard, for years, trained and raced horses through use of a covert 'doping' scheme intended to corruptly gain a competitive advantage in races through the administration of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs),” the feds wrote in a sentencing submission. “Allard obtained from co-defendant Louis Grasso and others unapproved, untested, novel PEDs that he caused to be administered to his horses, despite the inherent risks of administering unnecessary medications to the animals under his control. Allard was motivated by greed, fraudulently earning tens of millions of dollars in purse winnings through his craven efforts to manipulate races.

“As a reflection of Allard's commitment to his doping regimen, Allard maintained in his barn a small pharmacy's worth of drugs, including the ingredients he used to mix his own 'drenches,' and a 'shockwave' machine, which only licensed veterinarians may own. Many of Allard's drugs were stored in a room that had been misleadingly marked as if it belonged to Grasso, in a calculated effort by Allard to divert scrutiny if Allard's barn was ever inspected, by making it appear that the drugs and veterinary equipment belonged to, and were used by, a licensed veterinarian, rather than by Allard,” the sentencing submission stated.

As part of his plea agreement back on June 2, Allard had agreed to pay a $628,553 money judgment, which represents the value of the forfeited drugs. Grasso, by contrast, was ordered to pay a forfeiture totaling $412,442.62 and restitution in the amount of $47,656,576.

Allard faced up to five years in prison. The government had argued for a sentence of 30 months, based on the term that another Standardbred trainer in the same conspiracy, Richard Banca, received back on Sept. 20. Allard's own attorney had lobbied for an 18-month term.

“For most of his adult life, Mr. Allard has made a living training horses to compete in harness races. Part of his job was to treat horses with vitamins, drugs, or other substances to ensure that they recovered from injuries and remained in good health,” Allard's lawyer wrote in the defendant's sentencing submission.

The defense filing continued: “During the period of time charged in the Superseding Information, in order to maintain a competitive edge, [Allard] did something that was wrong and that he never should have done: he obtained prescription drugs for horses in bulk, rather than on an individually prescribed basis, with the understanding that the way he was obtaining the drugs would mislead regulators.

“Although Mr. Allard always purchased drugs from licensed veterinarians, he knew that what he was doing was wrong, and he was motivated in part by a desire to improve the performance of the horses he was training and thus to win more races. By engaging in this conduct, he compromised the…potential well-being of the animals that he loves and around whom he has lived his entire life. He is deeply sorry for what he has done [and] bears total responsibility,” his lawyer wrote.

During its investigation of Allard prior to the nationwide sweep 2 1/2 years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation intercepted a phone conversation in which two other alleged conspirators in the harness industry discussed the deaths of horses trained by Allard after they had been given illegal drugs. One reference caught on wiretap callously described the trainer's operation as the “Allard death camp.”

Allard, a citizen of Canada, may face immigration issues that affect his sentence. His lawyer wrote that Allard could be precluded from serving his sentence at a minimum-security prison, and that he will likely be ineligible for “earned-time credits” that would reduce the practical length of time he must serve.

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Veterinarian Grasso Sentenced to 50 Months

Louis Grasso, a veterinarian who worked in the harness racing industry and was one of more than two dozen individuals indicted in 2020 for their role in a horse doping ring, has been sentenced to 50 months in prison and two years of supervised release. The sentence was handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in a lower Manhattan courtroom.

Grasso was also ordered to pay a forfeiture totaling $412,442.62 and restitution in the amount of $47,656,576. He must surrender to authorities on January 24, 2023, at which time he will enter prison.

Grasso was charged with one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy, a felony. He faced a maximum sentence of five years. Several other defendants in the doping case that have pled guilty received sentences in the neighborhood of three years. That Castel gave Grasso more than four years seems to reflect the severity of the charges against him.

The prosecution had maintained that Grasso's doping led to corrupt trainers collecting over $47 million in ill-gotten purse winnings.

In May, when Grasso entered a guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District Court issued a press release in which U.S. Attorney Damian Williams commented on the Grasso plea as well as the guilty plea entered by harness trainer Richard Banca. Banca was sentenced to 30 months.

“Grasso and Banca represent the corruption and greed of those in the racehorse industry looking to win at any cost,” Williams said. “In peddling illegal drugs and selling prescriptions to corrupt trainers, Louis Grasso abdicated his responsibilities as a medical professional to ensure the safety and health of the racehorses he 'treated.' By injecting horses with unnecessary and, at times, unknown drugs, Grasso risked the lives and welfare of the animals under his care, all in service of helping corrupt racehorse trainers like Banca line their pockets through fraud. These latest convictions demonstrate the commitment of this Office and of our partners at the FBI to hold accountable individuals seeking to profit from animal abuse and deceit.”

In the indictment of Grasso, the government portrayed him as a central figure in a scheme to manufacture, distribute and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs which were administered to horses. The government charged that Grasso and others delivered and received “at least thousands” of units of PEDs issued by pharmacies pursuant to invalid prescriptions. Banca was among his customers.

According to the indictment, Grasso was also manufacturing and/or selling “epogen,” pain shots of joint blocks, bronchodilators and a substance called “red acid.” Red acid is believed to reduce inflammation in joints.

It appears that Grasso's doping may have been restricted to harness racing as the indictment does not mention any illegal activities that involved Thoroughbred racing.

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Fishman Has Been Sentenced. Is That the End of This Story?

Having been convicted of two counts of drug adulteration and misbranding, with intent to defraud and mislead, Dr. Seth Fishman was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison, by far the longest sentence handed down to anyone among the many people tied up in a far-reaching doping scandal that has shaken the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries. He will soon call a federal penitentiary home, and for a long time. Good. He got what he deserved.

But is this the end of his story or a precursor to what's to come? Are the arrests of Fishman, Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro and some 25 others just the first chapter in scandal that will bring down dozens, maybe even hundreds, of others? Some say that is inevitable.

“I have no doubt there are many arrests pending,” Jockey Club Chairman Stuart Janney III said at the 2020 Jockey Club Round Table. “Fortunately they will happen, just not as soon as we would like.”

Despite Janney's assurances, nothing is certain here. Nothing is clear cut.

Fishman is a key figure. Surely, he was dealing performance-enhancing drugs to far more people than those who were targeted, indicted and convicted of doping horses by the federal government. It can't just be Servis, Navarro and a handful of others.

In February, a list of Fishman's clients was released. But that raised more questions than it answered. There were more than 2,000 individuals on the list, and virtually all of them were from the Standardbred industry. The list included hundreds of people whose integrity has never been questioned and who have spotless records. That may be because some of those whose names were on the list purchased legal medications from Fishman. We just don't know.

So the list did not answer the key question: who was buying performance-enhancing drugs from Dr. Fishman? Fishman may decide to answer that question, to tell all. Maybe he already has. Then again, maybe that's not necessary. Is there a paper trail of not only who he sold drugs to but which drugs? One would think that would be the case. There's also the case of Louis Grasso. Another veterinarian who dealt primarily with Standardbreds, he entered a guilty plea in May on the charges of one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy. What does he know? Who, beyond those already caught up in the scandal, was he dealing his drugs to? Will we ever find out? Nailing a bunch of other cheats would seem to be a case of low-hanging fruit.

“I hope there will be more arrests and indictments,” said Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural, who has played a large part in the effort to catch the worst of the worst when it came to racing's cheats. “I would hope we will be able to find out who bought what from Fishman and Grasso. Because, clearly, they know who bought what. I am sure people bought legitimate medications, but I'm also sure others bought performance-enhancing drugs. I don't think this is the end of it at all.”

One school of thought is that the government is waiting, that it wants to first resolve all the cases against all the alleged cheaters from the original March, 2020 indictments. That includes Servis, who is set to go on trial in January. After Servis' trial is over and, if he is found guilty, and his sentence has been announced, maybe that's when there will be a fresh and lengthy list of additional horsemen, trainers and vets that have been indicted.

But here's another scenario, one that I believe is most likely.

The government probably already has a laundry list of people who bought PEDs from Fishman and Grasso. It wouldn't be hard to come up with one. And maybe Fishman and Grasso, in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, have cooperated with the authorities and named names. That's entirely possible, if not plausible. But that doesn't mean that the government has to act on that.

Does the government really want to use up even more resources on something, that in the grand scheme of things, isn't that big of a deal? Every minute they spend trying going after people who may have cheated in what is not a major sport is one less minute they can devote to going after drug dealers, money launderers, gang leaders and the likes of Ghislaine Maxwell. As much as we care about our sport and as much as we want to rid ourselves of the cheats, we really are small potatoes.

The hope is that there are a bunch more bad guys out there who are going to face the consequences for doping horses. I just don't think that's going to happen. Sure hope I am wrong.

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Veterinarian Louis Grasso Enters Guilty Plea in Doping Case

Louis Grasso, a veterinarian who served the harness racing industry and who was one of 29 individuals indicted in March of 2020 for his role in a racehorse doping ring, entered a guilty plea in federal court Wednesday before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel. He was charged with one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy, a felony, and could face as much as five years in prison.

The prosecution charged that Grasso's doping led to corrupt trainers collecting over $47 million in “ill-gotten purse winnings.”
He will be sentenced Sept. 6.

The plea was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District Court, which, in a press release, took the occasion to also comment on a guilty plea entered last month from harness trainer Richard Banca.

“Grasso and Banca represent the corruption and greed of those in the racehorse industry looking to win at any cost,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “In peddling illegal drugs and selling prescriptions to corrupt trainers, Louis Grasso abdicated his responsibilities as a medical professional to ensure the safety and health of the racehorses he 'treated.' By injecting horses with unnecessary and, at times, unknown drugs, Grasso risked the lives and welfare of the animals under his care, all in service of helping corrupt racehorse trainers like Banca line their pockets through fraud. These latest convictions demonstrate the commitment of this Office and of our partners at the FBI to hold accountable individuals seeking to profit from animal abuse and deceit.”

According to the indictment, Grasso was manufacturing and/or selling “epogen,” pain shots of joint blocks, bronchodilators and a substance called “red acid.” Red acid is believed to reduce inflammation in joints.

It appears that Grasso's doping may have been restricted to harness racing as the indictment does not mention any illegal activities that involved Thoroughbred racing.

Grasso was among four individuals involved with harness racing included in an indictment that also listed trainers Conor Flynn, Donato Poliseno and Thomas Guido III. Poliseno and Guido are scheduled to be tried June 27. Flynn has cooperated with the government and recently testified against Lisa Gianelli, who was convicted of misbranding and drug adulteration.

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