By Bill Finley
Trainer Jason Servis has been granted a change-of-plea hearing, which will be held Friday at 11 a.m. before Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of United States District Court (Southern District of New York)., in which he is expected to plead guilty for his role in the highly publicized racehorse doping scandal.
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.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
