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In March 2020 the FBI swooped and arrested a network of 31 horsemen, veterinarians, and equine pharmaceutical suppliers on charges of using illegal and mis-branded substances on horses.

Most of those who were accused are already behind bars. The last of these, Jason Servis, has just been sentenced to four years gaol by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in the Southern District Court of New York.  She has not been sparing of her criticism of all the accused of whom she said had put the lives of horses and jockeys in danger and the sport of racing in disrepute.

"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" the Feds reported.

Servis was the trainer of Maximum Security. There 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(s) prior to the Saudi Cup" by falsely claiming the colt had never been administered any purportedly performance-enhancing substances. 

Servis's administration of the substance SGF-1000 to Maximum Security occurred 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 showing how Maximum Security's owners Gary and Mary West wanted to exercise caution two months prior to running in the Saudi Cup, while Servis had apparently not disclosed to them that he had already been the target of investigations initiated by gaming commission regulators and the state police in New York.

 "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. Nine days later the FBI swooped. After Servis's drug conspiracy arrest, the $10-million winning share was withheld.

"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" the prosecution stated.

Judge Vsykocil told Servis  "You deliberately engaged in illegal conduct for years. This was not a one-time offense or an aberration. Your doing so put the lives of the horses and the jockeys who rode them at risk. You caused staggering losses to multiple competitors, making more than 25 million in purses. You reaped huge financial rewards because of your criminal conduct."

Before entering into a plea agreement with the government, Servis faced up to 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Those charges were dropped when Servis pleaded guilty to the lesser charges. Four years was the maximum sentence that Vyskocil could levy against Servis for the guilty pleas on the two lesser counts.

Judge Vyskocil stated that "You cheated, you lied and you broke the law. You did endanger the horses in your care. Luckily, they didn't break down. You tried to gain an unfair advantage. I hope you accept that but I don't think that you do. At the end of the day, unquestionably, you undermined the integrity of horse racing."

"Your counsel served you very well. She got an outstanding plea deal for you. As a result, the maximum sentence you face is 48 months. I see no reason to go below it. In my judgment, more than 48 months might have been appropriate… You turned out to be one of the most notorious drug abusers in the industry."

Servis must report for sentencing on November 1. In addition to the prison sentence, he has had to make a payment of $311,760 in forfeiture and was ordered to pay $163,932 in

restitution and a $30,000 fine.