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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.

The post More Trainers Testify Against Fishman As Trial Continues appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Indicted Harness Trainer Who ‘Flipped’ Says He Bought PEDs From Fishman Employee

It was nearly two years ago when former harness horse 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 on Wednesday, 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 March 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 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,” he 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 him.

“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 to 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-enhancing 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 create 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 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 Golden Shaheen (G1) in Dubai 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 raceway 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 Indicted Harness Trainer Who ‘Flipped’ Says He Bought PEDs From Fishman Employee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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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.

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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‘Of Course, It’s Doping’: Fishman Trials Focuses On Wiretaps, FDA Expert

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

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

“But it's not doping, yeah?” that person asks, according to a transcript of the April 5, 2019, intercepted call.

“Of course, it's doping. The question is, is it testable doping?” Fishman responds according to a transcript.

“Ah test,” says the individual.

“No, no, no, what I'm trying to say is, any time you give something to a horse, that's doping,” Fishman responds. “Whether or not they test for it is another story. This is stuff people are using all the time, so no, they're not testing for it. You know, but don't kid yourself. If you're giving something to a horse to make it better and you're not supposed to do that.”

“Yeah sure,” the individual says.

“That's doping,” Fishman says in response. “You know, whether or not it's testable, that's a different story.”

The conversation began with Fishman asking the caller about his plans to purchase more “stuff.”

Fishman then says, “You know, I have people that set world records using stuff, and then their competition uses the same stuff and the horse doesn't even show up to the track.”

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 pleaded 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 ‘Of Course, It’s Doping’: Fishman Trials Focuses On Wiretaps, FDA Expert appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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