The charges, detailed in four separate indictments, reveal an elaborate effort to pump horses full of steroids while avoiding detection of race regulators. The horses ran on racetracks in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio and the United Arab Emirates, prosecutors say.

More than 25 veterinarians, trainers and performance-enhancing drug distributors have been busted in a massive racehorse doping scheme, Manhattan federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Among those charged was Jason Servis, trainer of Maximum Security, the horse that crossed the finish line first at the Kentucky Derby last year only to be disqualified for blocking other horses.

Prosecutors said Servis gave performance-enhancing drugs to “virtually all of the racehorses under his control.” From 2018 to February 2020, Servis entered horses in 1,082 races.

Trainer Jorge Navarro “orchestrated a widespread scheme of covertly obtaining and administering various adulterated and misbranded PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs) to the racehorses under his control,” prosecutors said. Navarro has been a controversial figure in the horse racing world for years. One of his horses tested positive for cocaine in 2017.

The charges, detailed in four separate indictments, reveal an elaborate effort to pump horses full of steroids while avoiding detection from race regulators.

The horses ran on racetracks in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio and the United Arab Emirates, prosecutors say.

Among those charged was Scott Mangini a pharmacist in Florida with a suspended license and his partner, Scott Robinson. They operated online marketplaces between 2011 and 2016 selling “misbranded and adulterated PEDs" for racehorses, according to the indictment.

Manhattan Federal prosecutors have announced a takedown of a massive racehorse doping scheme.(Court documents)

Drugs allegedly for sale included “blood builders” used to stimulate equine endurance, “pain shots” and “nerve blocks” used to deaden a horse’s nerves, and “red acid” used to reduce inflammation in joints.

Indictments in horse doping case

Link to Indictments