New Jersey Suspends Servis, Six Others

Two days after 27 people were indicted in a federal court on charges related to administering performance-enhancing drugs to horses, as well as supplying, distributing, and mislabeling those substances, the New Jersey Racing Commission summarily suspended the licenses of seven individuals, including prominent trainer Jason Servis.

For at least one Monmouth Park horseman, though, the license suspensions amounted to closing the barn door after the horse had bolted.

The suspensions were announced March 11 by the state's attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, and NJRC executive director Judith Nason. In addition to Servis of Jupiter, Fla., those suspended were Nicholas Surick of Jackson, N.J.; Dr. Rebecca Linke of Farmingdale, N.J.; Scott Mangini of Boca Raton, Fla.; Scott Robinson of Wesley Chapel, Fla.; Christopher Marino of Howell, N.J.; and Rick Dane Jr. of Port Jervis, N.Y.

Leland Moore of the New Jersey attorney general's office said prominent trainer Jorge Navarro did not yet have a license to train in the state for 2020. Servis, who saddled Maximum Security to victory in last year's TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at New Jersey's Monmouth Park, and Navarro were the two most prominent trainers indicted Monday in United States District Court, Southern District of New York.

A news release from the New Jersey attorney general noted that each of the seven allegedly played a role in a doping ring that involved the manufacture, adulteration, and misbranding of PEDs, as well as administering those illegal drugs to horses.

"PEDs cheat the wagering public and harm horses, and our highest priority is to keep them out of New Jersey's racing industry," Nason said. "The attorney general and the racing commission have no tolerance for those who would seek to profit through the use of chemical advantage, especially when doing so might endanger equine welfare." 

Racing regulators hold license holders to a higher standard. They have used the summary suspension option to protect the integrity of the sport from the potential scandal of an indicted person participating in racing while a trial proceeds. In New Jersey, an indictment alleging criminal activity directly related to the racing industry—in New Jersey or another jurisdiction—is grounds for immediate license suspension.

Such license suspensions typically are recognized in other states. On Tuesday, the New York State Gaming Commission suspended the licenses of Servis, Navarro, and nine others who were indicted Monday.

In recent years, Monmouth Park served as the summer base for Servis and Navarro. In 2019, they finished first and second, respectively, at the meet by wins with a combined 108 victories and a 30% win rate. Their horses earned $4,359,488—16% of the purses awarded last year at Monmouth.

If the allegations are true, it could suggest major shortcomings by the New Jersey regulator, which, according to a database maintained at Ownerview.com, has not sanctioned Servis for a medication violation since 2015. The indictment alleges that Servis routinely gave performance-enhancing drugs to his horses from 2018-20.

Navarro was fined $2,500 in October 2017 by the NJRC after the regulator determined that one of his horses, George Cross, tested positive for benzoylecgonine, cocaine, and morphine after winning a June 17, 2017, race at Monmouth. Citing "mitigating circumstances," the NJRC did not suspend Navarro for the positive. The decision followed a formal hearing by the state's Office of Administrative Law.

In September 2017, the NJRC fined Navarro $10,000 for conduct "extremely detrimental to racing" after a video surfaced of the trainer with owner Randal Gindi, who was fined $5,000, at Monmouth watching a simulcast race in which a horse trained by Navarro's brother, Marcial, won a race at Gulfstream Park. Gindi yells, "The Juice Man" and later says, "That's the way we do it. We (expletive) everyone."

Though the state took action Wednesday, trainer Glenn Thompson, who conditions a small stable of horses at Monmouth, feels let down by state regulators.

"That video showed them everything they need to know," Thompson said. "Once you have something like that, I don't understand how you don't put cameras on every one of his horses and surveillance on his barns."

Thompson had never been sanctioned for a drug violation in his career (based on Ownerview.com records) until last July when he was fined $500 for a methocarbamol overage in a horse who raced a Monmouth. Former Association of Racing Commissioners International chairman Joe Gorajec has cited the case in a number of columns on his blog as well as Paulick Report in writing that New Jersey has an unfair split sample rule.

Thompson, who self-published a book raising concerns about medication violations a number of years ago, did say he's seen a significant reduction in the past decade in what he contends was once widespread race-day misuse of drugs aimed to reduce incidents of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage and reduce pain. But he's concerned that while important progress has been made in these areas, regulators may have failed to halt a bigger concern: horsemen trying to gain an advantage with performance-enhancing drugs.

Thompson said if the trainers are found to be guilty, they essentially stole from every other horseman at Monmouth. He thinks maybe there will be a class-action lawsuit down the line. He noted the allegations suggest the two trainers abused everyone's trust at the Oceanport, N.J., track.

"I talked with Jason Servis a few times and even asked him about his high win percentage. He said he had owners who didn't want him to start their horses unless they were 3-1 or lower odds, and he did put his horses in good spots," Thompson said. "That made sense to me—he looked me in the eye and told me that. Now this all comes out."

Thompson hopes this is rock bottom for racing, and the indictments lead to real change in the industry.

According to the federal indictments, Servis allegedly administered a variety of PEDs to "virtually all horses under his control" and that between 2018 and 2020, he entered horses in more than 1,000 races at tracks around the world. Surick, another New Jersey-licensed trainer, allegedly obtained and administered illegal PEDs—including one "customized" PED known as "red acid"—to horses under his control. Veterinarian Linke allegedly supplied misbranded and adulterated PEDs to Surick and created false medical and pharmaceutical records to conceal the illegal activity.

Indicted New Jersey licensee Mangini, a pharmacist, allegedly worked with defendant and New Jersey licensee Robinson to manufacture and distribute misbranded and adulterated PEDs. New Jersey-licensed horse trainer Dane allegedly purchased and helped distribute PEDs, and assistant trainer Marino allegedly received and administered PEDs.

From 2018-20, the time period cited in the federal indictment for Servis, the trainer had 75 wins, including seven stakes, from 222 starts at Monmouth. His runners earned $3.12 million. From 2017-20, the time period cited in the indictment for Navarro, he had 218 wins from 567 Monmouth starts, earning purses of $4.8 million and nine stakes wins.

Asked whether there will be an examination or investigation into why the NJRC did not pick up on the PEDs that federal prosecutors say were administered to horses by the trainers, Moore did not immediately respond, but the release did defend the regulator's performance. It also noted that the individuals eventually were caught, even though the NJRC was not involved.

"Here in New Jersey, we are committed to ensuring the integrity of horse racing, and we have a robust system in place to ensure the fairness of races, the legitimacy of the outcomes, and the safety of the participants," Grewal said. "However, there are sometimes unfortunate instances in which individuals choose to break the rules and try to game the system—in the racing industry generally and in New Jersey. Fortunately, these alleged unethical and deceitful practices did not go undetected, and the perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions."

In announcing the immediate license suspensions, Grewal noted that the action is consistent with the state's ongoing commitment to ensuring the integrity of horse racing in New Jersey and the well-being of its participants.

Despite its tests not picking up the alleged substances, Grewal and Nason maintain that New Jersey has in place "stringent blood and urine testing protocols, strong regulatory oversight mechanisms, and a comprehensive licensing scheme" as well as "a variety of investigative tools at our disposal to detect and rectify instances where rules are violated, animals are abused, or laws are broken." 

In other news following Monday's indictments:

•    Michelle Shane, the executive director of the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners, was not prepared to say whether those indicted on federal charges who carried veterinary licenses in the Bluegrass State would face sanctions or loss of license. She said the KBVE cannot comment on what might happen in a potential investigation scenario.

The two people indicted with Kentucky veterinary licenses are Kristian Rhein and Erica Garcia. As of March 10, both were listed as having active licenses with no disciplinary actions on the KBVE website.

Rhein and Garcia each face one count of "misbranding conspiracy," which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

•    At Gulfstream, track officials said they will not accept for entry any horse previously trained by Navarro or Servis until a stand-down occurs and protocols are finalized. The South Florida track had announced that all the horses who had been entered by the two trainers—ahead of Monday's indictments—would be scratched.