Trainer Jamen Davidovich, who admitted Thursday during the trial of Seth Fishman that he bought and used performance-enhancing drugs supplied by the veterinarian, has been suspended by the Ohio Racing Commission, a first step in what could lead to a permanent revocation of his license.
Davidovich testified that Fishman, one of 27 individuals originally indicted in the doping probe that includes high-profile trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis, began supplying him with drugs after the two met at a Ft. Lauderdale restaurant. 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, 31, races primarily in Ohio and the commission in that state wasted little time taking action Friday. According to Ohio State Racing Commission executive director Chris Dragone, Davidovich's license has been suspended pending a hearing. The news that the Ohio commission had taken action against Davidovich was first reported by the Blood-Horse.
“He's entitled to a hearing and we'll see what he has to say,” Dragone said.
Dragone said that if the evidence shows that Davidovich doped horses his license could be permanently suspended.
“We haven't seen the transcripts (from the Fishman trial) yet,” Dragone said. “But from everything I have heard and from what he said, this was blatant. This is very serious. This came out of the blue and we had no notice so far as what he was going to say in court. But when he said in court that he drugged horses we had to take action. And it's possible that he may have his license revoked and that he will be ruled off for life.”
Reached by the TDN, Davidovich said he had no comment.
After winning just five races in 2014, Davidovich's career took off in 2015 when he went 25-for-99 (25%). He was 21-for-81 in 2016 and 9-for-59 in 2017. He said during the trial that he stopped doping in 2018, which is when his fortunes changed. Since 2018, he has won just six races from 51 starters.
Thursday's court room proceedings also included testimony from harness trainer Adrienne Hall, who also admitted she used PEDs supplied by Fishman. She last started a horse in December at the Meadowlands. Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural said he has not yet decided if he will ban Hall from his tracks.
The post Trainer Who Testified Against Fishman Faces Lifetime Ban appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
