Last Tuesday (March 9) was the first anniversary of the arrest and indictment of 27 individuals, including high-profile trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, for their alleged roles in a misbranding conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and administer illegal substances to racehorses. Senior executives from the Jockey Club and the New York Racing Association took the opportunity to speak out forcefully against alleged illegal activities that they maintain are damaging the integrity of Thoroughbred racing.
Blood-Horse writer Bob Ehalt said in this article, “To them [the racing executives] the cheating and incredibly high win percentages that were at the heart of the indictments continue to be a blight on racing’s landscape, even though the March indictments illustrated how a guilty plea could amount to five years in federal prison, bankruptcy in the face of staggering legal bills, and a lifetime ban from the sport.”
The chart below shows the winning percentages for the top trainers in 2019 and in 2020.
U.S. trainers with highest 2019 win percentages 
As you can see, the two highest-winning trainers for 2019 were Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro. Here is a similar chart for the calendar year 2020.
U.S. trainers with highest 2020 win percentages 
“I would have gotten the message a year ago if I was the trainer, but I don’t know if some people did,” said Jockey Club chairman Stuart Janney.
“It’s great when they are caught in the regulatory framework and penalties become severe, but people need to go to jail. It’s not fun and games. Unfortunately, we continue to see things that look suspicious to us.
“We have been communicating with 5 Stones intelligence (5Si) [a leading private investigation firm retained by the Jockey Club] and they are not indicating that we’ve gotten to the bottom of the bucket. To the extent that we have knowledge, we believe there is a long tail to this. Maybe people are more careful of how they are cheating, but I don’t see a lot of evidence that people have stopped cheating.”
It is important to note here that the Jockey Club and Jeff Gural retained 5Si in 2015. Gural is committed to cleaning up the harness racing industry. All horses that run on his tracks in New York and New Jersey are subject to blood and urine samples to test for illicit drugs and the training centers or farms can be inspected at any time by his investigators.
Take a moment to check out the 5Si website and you will see the many resources that are available for this important assignment. I have no first-hand knowledge of work that 5Si does for the racing industry, but their available services include forensic technical intelligence, in-depth background investigations, fraud and theft investigations, forensic accounting and intelligence collection, as well as many others.
Clearly there are skills and experience that go far beyond the scope and ability of any state racing/gaming commission and would be credible in dealing with federal law enforcement officials.
Jim Gagliano, President and COO of the Jockey Club, said, “We have not seen the correction we were hoping for after the indictments. Covid did interrupt the momentum, but I am kind of amazed at how some massive form reversals happen. People with certain (winning) records have to be prepared to be asked questions by skeptical people and the media.”
According to Gagliano, the FBI received early help from 5Si in the gathering of evidence and its ability to request wire taps, which built cases against Servis, Navarro and the other defendants for alleged misbranding and use of performance enhancing drugs.
Major positive
As noted by Ehalt, a major positive effect of the indictments was that it opened eyes throughout the industry to the serious threat presented by illegal medications and sparked increased support for the passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.
David O’Rourke, NYRA President and CEO, said, “The passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which enjoyed universal support by every major racing entity, arrives at a critical time for the sport … The federal indictments unsealed last year allege a sickening pattern of conduct engaged by the trainers, veterinarians, and others who are accused of widespread cheating and fraud while callously disregarding the health and safety of the horse in their care.”
The planning for the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is in the very early stages and it will not commence oversight and control of its statutory authority until July 1, 2022, over 15 months from now.
It is essential that the track operators and regulatory authorities work together to move this important work forward in the meantime.
Gagliano summed this up perfectly. “We will continue to seek partners in those efforts, such as tracks and regulators,” he said. “Inexplicably, some track operators have not welcomed those resources.”
New indictments
For this reason, I was disappointed to read that the respected industry executive Craig Fravel, CEO of Racing Operations for The Stronach Group, declined an interview for this article.
It is interesting to note that Ehalt wrote, “According to sources close to the case, last year’s indictments will not be the last. Another round is in the pipeline and has been delayed only because of the pandemic, which has caused federal law enforcement to focus on violent crimes and made the convening of a grand jury extremely problematic.”
I must say I was pleased but not surprised to read this.
Here are some closing remarks that Janney made at the virtual Jockey Club Round Table meeting last August.
“This is an appropriate moment to thank the FBI and the federal prosecutors who have worked tirelessly on this investigation. Sadly, their plate is full with many other criminal activities, some violent.
“Despite scarce resources, the FBI allocated those resources to racing because they were shown how deep and widespread the problem was. The indictments show, as the stewards of the Jockey Club believe, that industry participants, as well as our fans, are being victimized by this cheating.
“Racing owes a tremendous debt to the FBI and the Department of Justice. As all of you know, or should know, on March 6, 2020, 27 arrests were made of trainers, vets, and compounders. It’s reasonable to assume that more arrests are coming.
“Covid-19 has affected every part of our lives, and this investigation is no different. The criminal justice system’s capacity is severely limited from investigations to convening grand juries, to arresting and arraigning criminals.
“But I have no doubt that there are many arrests pending. Fortunately, they will happen, but just not as soon as we would like.”
“More arrests are coming … no doubt that there are many arrests pending” - Stay tuned!
Finally, on the first anniversary of the indictment last Tuesday, Scott Robinson, one of two individuals who pled guilty on September 16, was sentenced to 18 months in jail and will have another three years of supervised release after serving his time.
According to the document filed by Audrey Strauss, the Acting Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Robinson led a scheme to profit from the creation, marketing, sale, and distribution of illegal adulterated and misbranded drugs across the country, including anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) marketed to racehorse trainers, veterinarians and others. Robinson - with full knowledge of the FDA’s requirements - nonetheless advertised and sold these illegal drugs online through various business entities and direct to consumer websites, specifically targeting those in the racehorse industry seeking a competitive advantage.
In addition to the jail term, Robinson agreed to give up $3,832,318.90 in forfeitable property as part of his plea agreement with prosecutors. The figure represents the value of adulterated or misbranded drugs that Robinson was indicted for putting into interstate commerce. The drugs themselves could not be located.
Critically important
Sarah Izhaki, the second person who had pled guilty in September on the same charges, will be sentenced on a later date. Robinson is required to surrender himself on September 7 to begin his sentence.
Since Robertson and Izhaki have been the only individuals to plead guilty thus far, there has been some suggestion and speculation in the press that they may have been given some consideration by the court, but that remains to be seen.
This case remains critically important to the racing industry. Perhaps more important, however, is for the racing industry to remain diligent and forceful to remove cheaters from the sport. We launched TRC in January 2014. Less than two months later, I wrote my first article on cheating. I wrote another in February 2015, and I have written at least 15-20 more over the six years since.
Sadly, only a small minority seem to understand the threat cheating poses for the future of racing. The impact of the magnitude of cheating alleged in the Servis/Navarro et al indictments, combined by the complete failure of our state-by-state regulatory bodies, has forced people to confront cheating or lose complete control of racing. However, we need to remain diligent in pursuing these indictments and do whatever is humanly possible to get USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) going on enforcing the strict rules that will be developed by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
This is truly, in my opinion, our last chance to save our industry.