Culled from a trove of wiretapped surveillance (that would have been used against him at trial had he not pleaded guilty last December as part of a plea bargain) was a newly released transcript used by prosecutors as part of their July 20 sentencing submission to underscore that Servis even “lied to Maximum Security's owner prior to the Saudi Cup” by falsely claiming the colt had never been administered any purportedly performance-enhancing substances.

Just nine days after winning that $20 million Saudi Cup in 2020, Servis was one of 31 horsemen, veterinarians, and pharmaceutical suppliers arrested and charged in a series of coordinated law enforcement sweeps. Most of them have long since pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial and are now serving their sentences.

Prosecutors had alleged (and other convicted conspirators had admitted their roles in)  Servis's administration of the substance SGF-1000 to Maximum Security during the first half of 2019, when the colt improbably rose from being a $16,000 maiden-claimer to a multiple Grade I winner and the 3-year-old champion colt.

The feds cited a series of emails from December 2019 that juxtaposed how Maximum Security's owner/breeder partnership of Gary and Mary West wanted to exercise the utmost of veterinary caution two months prior to running in the Saudi Cup, while Servis had apparently not disclosed to them that he and Maximum Security had already been the targets of investigations initiated by gaming commission regulators and the state police in New York.

The exact name of the person who sent a Dec. 17, 2019, email to Servis is redacted in the exhibit documentation, but the July 20 sentencing submission identifies the sender as Maximum Security's “owner” without specifying which of the Wests it was.

The email chain started with the owner cautioning Servis that “over there” [in Saudi Arabia] “they might consider a sugar cube illegal.” The owner then stated that “if you need any help figuring out their rules I will gladly pay for you to get whatever advice you need.”

Servis then replied, “Sounds good…just an FYI Max has never been on anything out of the ordinary.”

The owner then wrote back, “Jason, consult whoever you need to consult to be 100% certain we don't have any kind of accidental drug violation. If you have to feed Max just hay and organic carrots for a month before the race, do that too!!! I would feel horrible to win a life changing race like this for everyone only to find out we didn't do something right because we didn't know. I will gladly pay for any reasonable consulting work we need to have done to be sure we are 'squeaky clean' for the race.”

Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup. But after Servis's drug conspiracy arrest, the $10-million winning share was withheld.

The Wests initially disputed the purse hold-up, but after Servis pleaded guilty in December 2022, they released a joint statement that said, “Now that Jason Servis has entered a guilty plea, we want to make it clear that if the Saudi Cup decides to redistribute the purse, we would support that decision. Hopefully, that action will prevent future conduct of this nature. We believe the decision to take the Saudi Cup purse from Maximum Security and redistribute it is the correct one.” (As of Thursday, Maximum Security's race record on Equibase still lists him as the 2020 Saudi Cup winner.)

The prosecution's pre-sentence report stated that Maximum Security “was among the many horses in Servis's barn to receive SGF-1000: an unapproved, untested, misbranded and adulterated drug that Servis and his co-conspirators covertly used on racehorses believing it would improve their performance.”

In his own pre-sentencing submission filed with the court July 13, Servis attempted to explain away his use of SGF-1000 and other drugs by claiming he was misled by his veterinarians, a point that the government rebutted in its own court submission.

“He was under no illusions that his conduct was permissible. He was neither deceived nor manipulated,” the feds wrote.

The prosecution continued, at a different point in the submission: “The quality of Servis's acceptance of responsibility is a factor that this Court should consider in weighing the appropriate sentence. While Servis states that he accepts responsibility for his crimes and claims to display remorse, significant aspects of his submission appear aimed at contesting facts related to his guilt, casting doubt on the extent and sincerity of his contrition….

“Licensed trainers are accountable under state racing rules for the illicit doping of racehorses specifically to ensure that trainers are vigilant and liable for illicit conduct,” the feds sated. “That rule also ensures that trainers are responsible for the well-being of the horses they are meant to protect. Servis abdicated that responsibility again and again.

“Servis sought to hide his actions. And Servis enabled others who sought to hide those crimes as well. Servis ignored clear evidence of the criminality of what he was doing and continued his illicit use of adulterated and misbranded drugs up until his arrest.

“Between 2016 and March 2020, Servis abused approved and unapproved bronchodilators, namely, Clenbuterol and an unapproved, compounded version of Clenbuterol sourced from fellow [now-imprisoned] trainer Jorge Navarro.

“The abuse of those drugs for purposes of enhancing his horses' race performance was illicit and risked the health of the horses under his care. Servis' actions and words–when he did not think he was being watched and overheard–demonstrate his knowledge that his conduct was wrong.”

Prior to his plea deal, Servis had been scheduled to go to trial on two felony counts: Conspiracy to misbrand and adulterate performance-enhancing drugs, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He would have faced 25 years in prison on those two counts if convicted.

As part of a negotiated plea deal with the government eight months ago, he instead pleaded guilty to a felony charge of misbranding and adulterating a chemical substance (described by prosecutors as similar to the bronchodilator clenbuterol, but stronger), and to a misdemeanor of misbranding and adulterating (for the SGF-1000).

Servis, 66, now faces four years in prison when he is sentenced next Wednesday by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of United States District Court (Southern District of New York).

Servis's sentencing submission asked for a sentence “significantly below” those federal guidelines.

Prosecutors, by contrast, requested a sentence “greater than” the three years imposed on convicted veterinarian and SGF-1000 supplier Kristian Rhein, “though below the Guidelines Sentence of 48 months' imprisonment.”

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Among the many defendants in the doping case that have come before Vyskocil, it was one of the longest sentences handed out and two months longer than the 60 months she gave Navarro. Navarro has been called Surick's “doping mentor.” The longest sentence she has handed down was the 11 years she gave veterinarian and drug supplier Dr. Seth Fishman.

“I consider your conduct to be very serious,” Vyskocil told Surick at the sentencing. “By giving horses performance-enhancing drugs, you endangered the horses, and the other horses they raced against, as well as the jockeys and drivers. You're supposed to be caring for horses that you trained, yet you risked their lives and impugned the integrity of the sport in which you made your livelihood.”

Surick had pled guilty to two counts of drug adulteration and misbranding and one count of obstruction

The sentence came despite Surick's efforts to cooperate with the government. In hopes of a lighter sentence, the trainer had given the government information on others who were indicted as well as individuals who had not been indicted. But the government felt it could not use the information because Surick had incorrectly maintained that co-defendant Dr. Rebecca Linke had injected a horse he trained named Northern Virgin with EPO. Linke was able to prove that she did not inject the horse.

Surick's credibility came into question because of the false accusations against Linke and prosecutors decided they could not use his testimony against others. Surick said he did not lie about Linke and rather had problems remembering all the details of the incident. The government accepted that Surick may have been telling the truth about Linke and simply mixed up some details.

The government was willing to accept a lighter sentence because the trainer had attempted to assist prosecutors in his case. In a pre-sentencing submission, the government said Surick's sentence should be less than the 72 months recommended by the U.S. Probation Parole Office, but did not specify what length of suspension it felt was appropriate.

While showing a willingness to sign off on a sentence of less than 72 months, Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Mortazavi asked the court not to go too easy on the defendant.

“We do believe that a significant term of imprisonment is warranted here,” she said. “That he attempted to assist us must be weighed against the seriousness of his crimes and that he stood at the top of a conspiracy.”

Citing Surick's efforts to cooperate, his attorney, Timothy Donohue, asked for no prison time and for his client to receive only 12 months of home confinement.

Vyskocil wasn't having any of it.

“Home confinement is not realistic and I hope you did not give Mr. Surick false and unrealistic hopes considering how serious this offense is,” the judge said, chastising Donohue.

Vyskocil said she took Surick's attempts to cooperate into account, but it wasn't enough for her to show him much leniency.

“I have considered your efforts to cooperate and whether or not they warrant a variance in your sentence,” Vyskockil said. “But you provided information that turned out to be misleading. Having weighed your cooperation, the sentence will be well below the sentencing guidelines, but I cannot and will not impose a non-custodial sentence.”

Surick addressed the court and apologized for his actions and said he was working on “turning the page.”

“I am truly sorry for the crimes that I have committed,” he said. “I can't blame anybody but myself. I hurt the sport I love. I owe an apology to the public. They were misled and betting on a product that was not true. I can honestly say that this arrest changed my life. I only knew one thing in life–training horses. I backed myself into a corner and got caught up in the crazy competition to be the best.”

The incidents involving Northern Virgin came up frequently during the sentencing hearing. After the horse was doped, Surick became aware that investigators from the New Jersey Racing Commission were attempting to test the horse. Knowing that if they did test the horse he would be subject to severe penalties, Surick went to great lengths to hide the Standardbred and shipped him out of state. The way he handled Northern Virgin is what led to the obstruction charge.

“Only Mr. Surick was charged with obstruction,” Vyskocil said. “Mr. Navarro was not. It was Mr. Surick's horse and his terrible decision to do what he did with the horse. He moved the horse to other states and went to lengths to hide him.”

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Originally indicted in March of 2020, Servis represents the last domino to fall in the doping scandal that also involved trainer Jorge Navarro and more than two dozen others and sent shockwaves through the industry. Servis had appeared ready to fight the charges in court and had hired a high-profile attorney in Rita Glavin, who represented former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo when he faced allegations of sexual harassment. Servis's trial had been set to begin Jan. 9.

It was revealed last week that Servis and his attorney had begun the process of negotiating with prosecutors when a request was filed to the court asking for additional time to file motions prior to Servis's scheduled court date.

“The Government and counsel for defendant Jason Servis are currently in discussions regarding a potential pre-trial disposition, which may obviate the need for trial,” wrote United States Attorney Damian Williams in his letter to the court.

Servis was originally charged with three counts of felony drug misbranding. Some eight months after the original indictment was released, the charge of mail and wire fraud conspiracy was added in a superceding indictment. The maximum sentence under federal guidelines for that charge is 20 years.

It won't be known until Friday's hearing what charges Servis will plead guilty to. Like Servis, Navarro entered into a plea agreement with the government, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit drug adulteration or misbranding. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Unlike Servis, Navarro was never charged with conspiracy, which could mean that Servis will face more than five years.

In a related development, Alexander Chan, a veterinarian who had worked for Servis and was scheduled to be tried alongside the barred trainer in January, also changed his plea and plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit drug misbranding or adulteration. He will be sentenced April 13. Chan had also been facing three felony charges related to drug adulteration, misbranding, along with wire fraud conspiracies.

That Servis might be acquitted at trail always seemed like a longshot. The federal government had compiled numerous intercepted phone conversations between Servis and others in which he discussed his doping routines with Chan, Navarro and another vet, Kristian Rhein. When Rhein pled guilty in August of 2020 he implicated Servis. Rhein was sentenced to three years.

Servis's performance-enhancing drug of choice was allegedly SGF-1000, purported to be a performance-enhancing drug intended to promote tissue repair and increase a racehorse's stamina and endurance beyond its natural capability. The government charged that Servis administered SGF-1000 to “virtually all of the racehorses under his control.” The list includes Maximum Security (New Year's Day), who was first under the wire in the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby before being disqualified for interference.

The evidence included a conversation between Servis and Navarro in which Servis recommended SGF-1000 to his fellow trainer and said, “I've been using it on almost everything.”

In the original indictment it was charged that Servis and his co-conspirators “concealed the administration of PEDs from federal and state government agencies, racing officials, and the betting public by, among other things, concealing and covertly transporting PEDs between barns where Servis's racehorse were stabled, falsifying veterinary bills to conceal the administration of SGF-1000, and using fake prescriptions.”

Servis's sentencing may be the final chapter in a scandal that has hovered over the industry for nearly three years. With Chan having changed his plea and Servis about to do the same, the cases covering all the individuals originally indicted will have been adjudicated. Every person involved will have either pled guilty or been convicted in court.

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The sentence is the longest meted out in the case that led to charges against 31 individuals, including prominent trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Fishman is the 11th to be sentenced, which includes Navarro. Most of the others have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Servis faces trial next year.

Fishman, who has been behind bars since his conviction five months ago on two counts of conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding, appeared in court in prison garb and addressed the court before being sentenced. Prosecutors say that over 20 years, Fishman supplied illegal performance-enhancing drugs to hundreds of trainers, including Navarro, who pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to five years in prison.

“I really have to apologize for what I did,” the 51-year veterinarian said. “There's no excuse for my behavior.”

In a rare admission, Fishman conceded violating the law and conspiring with others.

“I should have never pushed the envelope and helped trainers,” he said.

He told Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil he now lacked any desire to “practice medicine” on animals.

“I have no desire to make another substance for a racehorse again,” Fishman said as his family looked on from the gallery.

Fishman concluded his brief remarks by telling the judge that whatever sentence she imposed, “10, 15, or 20 years, I just want to be a better person.”

He showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.

In addition to his prison time, the veterinarian will be held jointly responsible for $25 million in restitution along with Navarro and other co-conspirators.

The restitution represents Navarro's total purse winnings during from 2016 to 2020.

In addition, Fishman must forfeit $13.5 million, which is what he earned from his business of manufacturing and distributing his performance-enhancing substances which prosecutors say were designed to evade detection in post-race testing.

His sentence also includes a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors introduced evidence showing that Fishman's business earned millions of dollars a year.

Vyskocil told Fishman his actions misled racing regulators and drug regulators, as well as others.

“You misled competitors of your clients and the betting public,” she said.

She told him that as a veterinarian, “you enjoyed a special position of trust and you abused that trust.”

The judge said the PEDs Fishman manufactured were harmful to racehorses because they were designed to push them beyond their natural abilities.

She said that in addition to putting at risk horses that were doped with his PEDs, Fishman put at risk the other horses who ran in the race and jockeys who rode those horses and could have been hurt if a horse broke down.

She noted that Navarro paid Fishman credit in a text after winning the 2019 $2-million G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse with X Y Jet and that the horse died less than a year later.

“To say there was no risk to horses is just not accurate,” she said.

Vyskocil told Fishman that his motive was greed and that, up until the sentencing, there had been a complete lack of remorse on his part.

Vyskocil said an 11-year sentence was warranted given the sentences of other defendants.

She also said she hoped it would act as a general deterrence.

“I know this case has been followed extensively in the racing industry. It is my hope that the sentence acts as a general deterrent to those who might be engaging in the same scourge of criminality.”

Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 10 to 17 1/2 years. Fishman faced a maximum of 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi told Vyskocil that a significant sentence was warranted given that Fishman had shipped his illegal PEDs all over the country to hundreds of trainers.

“It was all designed to help a competitor get an illegal edge,” she said.

During her remarks, Mortazavi said Fishman's claims at trial that as a veterinarian he cared about animals was a “self-serving myth.”
Fishman attorney Maurice Sercarz appealed to the judge for a sentence of less than 10 years.

He said Fishman should be given leniency because of his client's psychiatric disabilities, which he said were “substantial.” He added that Fishman suffers from acute anxiety, depression and had been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.

Fishman missed the last two days of his trial after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The proceeding ended with Vyskocil telling Fishman that she heard what he said about wanting to be a better person.

“Hopefully you'll be getting well,” she said. “You do have some demons.”

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The most prominent name among the indicted individuals is the barred trainer Jason Servis, whose case will be tried alongside that of New York-based veterinarian Alexander Chan on Jan. 9, 2023.

Servis amassed gaudily high win percentages during the 2010s decade prior to getting arrested on three felony drug misbranding and conspiracy to commit fraud charges in March 2020.

According a trove of wiretaps the government has produced as evidence against him–plus implicating testimony from plea-bargaining defendants who are already imprisoned–Servis allegedly doped almost all the horses under his control in early 2019, including MGISW Maximum Security, who crossed the wire first in the GI Kentucky Derby, but was DQ'd for in-race interference. Chan is alleged to have assisted with the alleged conspiracy.

Another trial grouping set for Sept. 12, 2022, will decide felony charges against former trainer Michael Tannuzzo and Florida-based veterinarian Erica Garcia, both of whom are alleged accomplices of the now-imprisoned former trainer Jorge Navarro.

Alluding to previous setbacks that have caused complications in the court calendar, United States District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in her May 6 scheduling order, “These are firm trial dates. The Court will not accept delays.”

Previous reasons for pushing back the trials have included conflicts on the calendars of defense attorneys, delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the massive volume of evidence against the defendants that has been introduced.

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Back in October, Fishman, 64, had pleaded guilty to one count of adulteration and misbranding of purportedly performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). He faced a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Instead, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of United States District Court (Southern District of New York) incarcerated Fishman for a time frame squarely in the middle of the prosecution's advised range of 12 to 18 months. Fishman's legal team had argued for a sentence of probation only.

Beyond a $100 court assessment, Fishman was not fined or ordered to pay restitution to victims. He must report to a to-be-determined prison May 9. The court has recommended Devens, the federal correctional facility that is closest to his home.

Jordan Fishman—described by his legal team in a Jan. 24 sentencing document as “a brilliant scientist who went to college at age 16 and holds PhDs in Biochemistry and Carcinogenesis/Toxicology”— is not related to the veterinarian Seth Fishman, who faces 20 years in prison after being found guilty Feb. 2 on two counts of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws.

But the black-market scientist had previously admitted in court that he was an integral part of the convicted drug-dealing veterinarian's conspiracy.

“Seth Fishman provided the materials and formula requests,” Jordan Fishman told the judge when he pleaded guilty Oct. 6, 2021. “And then I made the solutions consistent with those formulas.”

Jordan Fishman said that between 2017 and his arrest in March 2020, the various substances he created contained vitamins, amino acids, nutraceuticals, and, at times, steroids.

Here's how the feds summed up Jordan Fishman's involvement in their own sentencing submission Feb. 1:

“As with other defendants in this matter, it is not the case that the defendant's crime was the result of a single lapse in judgment. Jordan Fishman brought to bear his specialized training, experience, and his access to a laboratory capable of manufacturing drugs at a large scale.

“His contributions to the conspiracy were crucial for the time period in which Jordan Fishman joined in the conspiracy. The defendant may have taken false comfort in holding the end user at arm's length as justification for continuing his crimes. But Jordan Fishman was under no illusions as to the intent of the conspiracy, or his role within it.”

The alleged international “corrupt scheme” to manufacture, mislabel, rebrand, distribute, and administer PEDs to racehorses all across America and in international races began with a blitz of coordinated Federal Bureau of Investigation arrests nationwide on Mar. 9, 2020.

In March 2021, the guilty-pleading Scott Robinson, a former veterinarian, was the first to be sentenced. Her got 18 months in prison and had to forfeit $3.8 million in profits.

In June, Sarah Izhaki was sentenced to time already served plus three years of supervised release for selling misbranded versions of Epogen.

In September, Scott Mangini, a former pharmacist who had pleaded guilty to one felony count related to creating custom drugs for racehorses, got sentenced to 18 months in prison. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors demanded a forfeiture of $8.1 million.

In December, the barred trainer Jorge Navarro wept in court after Vyskocil handed down a maximum-allowable sentence of five years imprisonment. Navarro had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with others to administer non-FDA-approved, misbranded and adulterated drugs, including PEDs that Navarro believed would be untestable and undetectable. Navarro was also ordered to pay $25.8 million in restitution and could face deportation to Panama.

On Jan. 5, 2022, Kristian Rhein, a veterinarian formerly based at Belmont Park who was caught on a wiretap bragging about selling alleged PEDs, got sentenced to a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to one felony charge in the conspiracy to dope racehorses. Rhein also must forfeit to the U.S. the criminally gained proceeds that are directly traceable to his offense, which totaled $1.02 million, plus pay $729,716 in victims' restitution.

The following day, Rhein's brother-in-law, Michael Kegley Jr., the former sales director for a Kentucky-based company that marketed and sold the alleged PED known as SGF-1000, got sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding. He also got hit with a $3.3 million forfeiture (but will be exempt from that full amount of he pays $192,615 within two years of his release from prison).

Seth Fishman, his crimes detailed above, is scheduled to be sentenced May 5, barring an appeal.

Lisa Giannelli, an assistant to Seth Fishman, was supposed to go on trial at the same time as Seth Fishman, but she had her case declared a mistrial in January after her attorney tested positive for COVID-19. Federal prosecutors are in the process of trying to assign Giannelli to one of the two remaining trial groupings of alleged doping conspirators.

Jordan Fishman had already once squared off against Seth Fishman in court prior to his implicating the veterinarian in open court and the two later being found guilty for their crimes.

In May 2020, just weeks after the two were arrested in the federal doping sweep, Seth Fishman filed a federal lawsuit against Jordan Fishman and his Massachusetts-based company, 21^st Century Biochemicals, Inc.

That suit alleged that Seth Fishman had made $1 million in loans to Jordan Fishman's company over a period of years, and that in addition to allegedly not getting paid back, “Jordan, acting as the [president and majority shareholder of the firm] has also engaged in a scheme to defraud Plaintiff of his money.”

That case never went to trial. Both parties agreed to have it dismissed after reaching a settlement that involved the company paying $275,000 to Seth Fishman.

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“While preparing for his impending incarceration, Mr. Navarro had an eye examination which revealed a condition that requires a surgical procedure,” the convicted felon's attorney wrote in a Feb. 3 letter to in United States District Court (Southern District of New York).

“The earliest date that his ophthalmologist could schedule the surgery is Feb. 16, 2022. Mr. Navarro is respectfully requesting a 30-day extension of his surrender date to have the needed surgical procedure and aftercare with his ophthalmologist,” the letter stated.

The letter also stated that federal prosecutors had been advised of the request and did not oppose it.

Navarro's request was granted by the same judge who sentenced him, Mary Kay Vyskocil.

Navarro got the maximum allowable sentence under federal guidelines after pleading guilty to one count in a years-long Thoroughbred drugging conspiracy.

Navarro had admitted that between 2016 and his arrest on Mar. 9, 2020, that “I administered, and, at times, directed [others] working under my direction to administer… drugs to increase performance of racehorses under my custody and care… The drugs [were] blood-building substances, vasodilators, and imported, misbranded bronchodilators, 'bleeder' pills, and SGF-1000,” which is purported to be a customized PED intended to promote tissue repair and increase a horse's endurance.

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A jury of eight women and four men in U.S. District Court in Manhattan found Fishman, 50, guilty of two counts of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws and the manufacture of PEDS administered to racehorses by corrupt trainers for money and fame.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil will sentence Fishman May 5.

Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi told the judge prosecutors would be seeking to detain Fishman pending sentencing.

The verdict came swiftly. Jurors got the case late Feb. 1 and deliberated for about three hours Tuesday and Wednesday. The trial began with jury selection Jan. 19 and lasted 11 days.

The jury rejected Fishman's defense that his actions were in keeping with his oath as a licensed veterinarian to protect the health and welfare of animals.

“I understand the jury has reached a verdict,” Vyskocil said after the jury filed in the wood-paneled courtroom on the 26th floor of the courthouse.

The jury's foreperson then announced Fishman's guilt on each of the counts.

“I love animals. I love horses,” one of the jurors, Victoria Lopez, a 61-year-old woman from The Bronx, said in an interview following the verdict. “What they were doing wasn't right.”

“The jury's swift conviction of Seth Fishman reflects the overwhelming evidence of his guilt as displayed through this trial,” New York U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release issued from his office. “As an ostensible veterinarian–sworn to the care and protection of animals–Fishman cynically violated his oath in service of corrupt trainers and in the pursuit of profits.”

Williams added, “Through the sale of untested, unsafe, and unstable drugs, Fishman's illegal drug business was a platform for both fraud and animal abuse. Today's conviction appropriately condemns the danger inherent in Fishman's crimes and underscores the seriousness with which this office takes the kind of abuse that Fishman practiced.”

Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club, also reacted to the verdict.

“I am pleased to see all of the effort and time spent by federal agents, prosecutors, and others who have worked so hard on this case be rewarded with a guilty verdict, and I thank them for their commitment,” Janney said in a statement distributed by TJC. “It is highly encouraging to know that those who cheat and endanger our sport's athletes, both equine and human, face meaningful and life-changing punishments. Clearly, this verdict will serve as a deterrent to others, and it also provides hope for those who want to see true change in the racing industry. This step forward, one of many recently, reflects our steadfast determination towards maintaining the highest levels of integrity and safety for racing's athletes and customers.”

Fishman wasn't in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Vyskocil hasn't said in open court where he is. A cryptic comment from Fishman's attorney to the judge led to speculation Fishman may be in a hospital.

Fishman had a co-defendant Lisa Giannelli, at the start of the trial. She worked with Fishman for 18 years, and prosecutors accused her of being Fishman's drug distributor. On Jan. 24, Vyskocil declared a mistrial in her case after her attorney tested positive for COVID-19.

Nearly two years ago, Williams' office charged Fishman, six other veterinarians, 11 trainers, and nine others, identified as PED distributors, with conspiring dope horses in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and the United Arab Emirates.

The investigation began in 2018 and was headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and criminal investigators with the Food and Drug Administration.

At the time of the indictment, then-New York U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said the case was “the most far-reaching prosecution of racehorse doping in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice.”

At a March 2020 press conference announcing the indictments, FBI New York assistant director in charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said the doping conspiracy risked the health of horses administered PEDs.

“What happened to these horses amounted to nothing less than abuse,” Sweeney said.

Those charged included top trainer Jason Servis, who federal prosecutors say juiced multi-millionaire Maximum Security, the first-place finisher in the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, who was demoted to 17th by stewards for interference with another horse in the race.

The accused also included Jorge Navarro, who was sentenced to five years in prison last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy. Prosecutors presented evidence at Fishman's trial showing that the trainer paid Fishman tens of thousands of dollars for PEDs, including a substance called BB3 that prosecutors say thickens a horse's blood to make it run faster and farther.

Navarro is one of nine charged individuals who have pled guilty. Two others who were arrested entered into non-prosecution agreements with prosecutors.

The Fishman trial revealed that another of those accused, former harness trainer Ross Cohen, struck a deal with prosecutors to become a cooperating witness.

Servis and several others have pled not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Prosecutors have said in court papers that they are in plea discussions with several defendants without naming them.

The Fishman verdict could have an impact on cases going forward.

The evidence against Fishman included witness testimony, emails and texts, and wiretap recordings that captured Fishman talking about doping horses, and bragging that his drugs wouldn't appear in post-race testing.

Prosecutors also showed the jury thousands of vials of drugs seized from Fishman's Florida company Equestology.

Two of those witnesses were harness trainer Adrienne Hall and Thoroughbred trainer Jamen Davidovich. They testified they administered PEDs to their horses obtained from Fishman. Hall testified under deferred prosecution agreement with the government. Davidovich's testimony came after he was granted immunity.

As part of their case, prosecutors also played for the jury video of Navarro's X Y Jet winning the $2.5 million G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored By Gulf News in Dubai in 2019. X Y Jet died of a heart attack a year later, Navarro said in a statement shortly after the incident.

“Thank you boss, [you're] a big part of it,” Navarro said in a text exchange with Fishman just after the 2019 Golden Shaheen.

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

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The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about 30 minutes before retiring for the night without reaching a verdict. They resume deliberations the morning of Feb. 2.

The charges against Fishman, a 50-year-old Florida veterinarian, stem from a federal government crackdown on horse doping at tracks across the country in which more than two dozen individuals were indicted. Those charged include top trainer Jason Servis, who is awaiting trial, and Jorge Navarro, who was sentenced to five years in the case after pleading guilty.

Prosecutors say racehorse trainers at Thoroughbred and harness tracks juiced their horses with performance-enhancing drugs manufactured by Fishman and designed to elude post-race testing. They say Navarro was one of Fishman's clients.

At the start of the trial's 10th day Tuesday, jurors noted Fishman's absence in the courtroom for a second straight day. They weren't told where he was, and Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil advised them not to speculate on his absence.

“Please don't draw any inference as to why he may be absent,” she said.

The panel spent most of the day listening to prosecutors and defense attorney Maurice Sercarz clash over evidence in the case during closing arguments.

Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi addressed the jury first and began by saying that Fishman built “a multi-million drug business through deceit.”

“You know what the defendant Seth Fishman is all about,” she said. “His business was to peddle adulterated and misbranded drugs, performance-enhancing drugs designed by him to cheat horse racing.”

Re-emphasizing evidence submitted during the trial, she paused to play a 2019 Federal Bureau of Investigation wiretap. In that recording, Fishman says that anytime you give something to a horse you are not supposed to, that's doping.

Mortazavi said another wiretap quoted Fishman as saying he was cheating the system.

“If someone says they are trying to cheat the system, that's what they are doing,” the prosecutor said.

A few minutes later, Mortazavi held a drug vial that had been seized from Fishman's business in 2018 and showed it to the jury.

“We're not talking about hay, oats, and apples,” she said.

Mortazavi said there was overwhelming evidence of Fishman's guilt. The prosecution's case included witness testimony, emails, text messages, and dozens of wiretap recordings. Three of the witnesses were trainers who said Fishman supplied them with PEDs.

To prove its case, the prosecution must show that Fishman defrauded or misled others over the course of the alleged conspiracy.

Mortazavi said the evidence showed Fishman tried to defraud and misled the Food and Drug Administration by registering his corporation in Panama.

She said the evidence also shows how Fishman tried to avoid scrutiny by racing regulators.

She reviewed a text quoting Fishman saying “absolutely not” when asked if an order of PEDs should be sent to an address at a track.

“Why not send it to the racing office,” Fishman wrote, apparently in jest.

“LOL,” was the response from Fishman's business associate Lisa Giannelli.

Giannelli was being tried with Fishman, but a mistrial was declared in her case last week after her attorney tested positive for COVID-19.

Sercarz argued to the jury that there was insufficient proof from the government that his client defrauded or misled.

“Did he do something to violate racing regulations? Yes, but intent to defraud or mislead?” Sercarz said.

He contended Fishman's actions were those of someone acting in good faith and who, as a licensed vet, had the horses' best interests in mind.

“Seth Fishman improvidently chose to live in a rough neighborhood among racehorse owners and trainers bent on cheating,” Sercarz said.

“I submit it was Dr. Fishman who was trying to wean horses off much more dangerous stuff and provide a safer alternative while adhering to his oath as a licensed vet to protect the welfare and safety of animals.”

After Sercarz finished, prosecutors had the final say. Prosecutor Andrew Adams stood up and asked the jury to reject his adversary's argument.

“He doesn't have much to work with,” Adams said. “He's not a magician. He can't make the evidence disappear.”

The prosecutor told the jury that Fishman's actions weren't about helping racehorses but about helping his clients make money and cheat race regulators.

“He was a drug dealer, not a veterinarian,” Adams said.

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

The post Jury Deliberations Begin In Horse Doping Trial Of Seth Fishman appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about 30 minutes before retiring for the night without reaching a verdict. They resume deliberations the morning of Feb. 2.

The charges against Fishman, a 50-year-old Florida veterinarian, stem from a federal government crackdown on horse doping at tracks across the country in which more than two dozen individuals were indicted. Those charged include top trainer Jason Servis, who is awaiting trial, and Jorge Navarro, who was sentenced to five years in the case after pleading guilty.

Prosecutors say racehorse trainers at Thoroughbred and harness tracks juiced their horses with performance-enhancing drugs manufactured by Fishman and designed to elude post-race testing. They say Navarro was one of Fishman's clients.

At the start of the trial's 10th day Tuesday, jurors noted Fishman's absence in the courtroom for a second straight day. They weren't told where he was, and Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil advised them not to speculate on his absence.

“Please don't draw any inference as to why he may be absent,” she said.

The panel spent most of the day listening to prosecutors and defense attorney Maurice Sercarz clash over the evidence in the case.

Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi addressed the jury first and began by saying that Fishman built “a multi-million drug business through deceit.”

“You know what the defendant Seth Fishman is all about,” she said. “His business was to peddle adulterated and misbranded drugs, performance-enhancing drugs designed by him to cheat horse racing.”

Re-emphasizing evidence submitted during the trial, she paused to play a 2019 Federal Bureau of Investigation wiretap. In that recording, Fishman says that anytime you give something to a horse you are not supposed to, that's doping.

Mortazavi said another wiretap quoted Fishman as saying he was cheating the system.

“If someone says they are trying to cheat the system, that's what they are doing,” the prosecutor said.

A few minutes later, Mortazavi held a drug vial that had been seized from Fishman's business in 2018 and showed it to the jury.

“We're not talking about hay, oats, and apples,” she said.

Mortazavi said there was overwhelming evidence of Fishman's guilt. The prosecution's case included witness testimony, emails, text messages, and dozens of wiretap recordings. Three of the witnesses were trainers who said Fishman supplied them with PEDs.

To prove its case, the prosecution must prove that Fishman defrauded or misled others over the course of the alleged conspiracy.

Mortazavi said the evidence showed Fishman tried to defraud and mislead the Food and Drug Administration by registering his corporation in Panama.

She said the evidence also shows how Fishman tried to avoid scrutiny by racing regulators.

She reviewed a text quoting Fishman saying “absolutely not” when asked if an order of PEDs should be sent to an address at a track.

“Why not send it to the racing office,” Fishman wrote, apparently in jest.

“LOL,” was the response from Fishman's business associate Lisa Gianelli.

She was being tried with Fishman, but a mistrial was declared in her case last week after her attorney tested positive for COVID-19.

Sercarz argued to the jury that there was insufficient proof from the government that his client defrauded or misled.

“Did he do something to violate racing regulations? Yes, but intent to defraud or mislead?” Sercarz said.

He contended Fishman's actions were those of someone acting in good faith and who, as a licensed vet, had the horses' best interests in mind.

“Seth Fishman improvidently chose to live in a rough neighborhood among racehorse owners and trainers bent on cheating,” Sercarz said.

“I submit it was Dr. Fishman who was trying to wean horses off much more dangerous stuff and provide a safer alternative while adhering to his oath as a licensed vet to protect the welfare and safety of animals.”

After Sercarz finished, prosecutors had the final say.    Prosecutor Andrew Adams stood up and asked the jury to reject his adversary's argument.

“He doesn't have much to work with,” Adams said. “He's not a magician. He can't make the evidence disappear.”

The prosecutor told the jury that Fishman's actions weren't about helping racehorses but about helping his clients make money and cheat race regulators.

“He was a drug dealer, not a veterinarian,” Adams said.

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

The post Fishman Case Heads to Jury appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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