Superseding Indictment Filed Against Servis, Others

A group that includes trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis that was previously indicted in four separate cases of conspiracies to manufacture, distribute, and administer adulterated or misbranded performance-enhancing drugs administered to racehorses has been hit with a superseding indictment handed down by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The superseding indictment, filed Nov. 5 and first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, includes the original charges, plus additional charges of mail and wire fraud conspiracy against three defendants—Servis and veterinarians Alexander Chan and Kristian Rhein.

Among those named in the original indictment but not in the superseding indictment are Gregory Skelton, Ross Cohen, Nick Surick, Chris Marino, and Henry Argueta.

Argueta is the former assistant to Servis, whose most prominent trainee was Maximum Security , the 2019 champion 3-year-old male who is scheduled to run in the Nov. 7 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) under the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who took over the training of the colt after Servis' indictment in March.

Navarro and Servis were among 19 individuals indicted March 9. The two trainers entered not guilty pleas during an April 2 teleconference arraignment before United States District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.

At the time of the original indictment, Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Adams said it was a case that has "focused on doping and the use of performance-enhancing drugs to win professional horse races in the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries. It has involved a number of different forms of information-collecting that would include in-person meetings and covertly recorded meetings by confidential sources. It cites a number of wiretaps over a series of phones and in a total span of one year of time."

The original indictment claims Navarro "executed this scheme by using PEDs designed to evade drug tests, physically concealing containers of PEDs and drug paraphernalia from state regulators and racing officials, administering and directing others to covertly administer PEDs, and shipping certain products designed to mask the presence of PEDs through a straw purchaser."

It also charged that Servis "orchestrated a widespread scheme of covertly obtaining and administering adulterated and misbranded PEDs, including a PED called SGF-1000, to virtually all of the racehorses under his control."

The superseding indictment alleges Servis, Chan, and Rhein, along with others "known and unknown, willfully and knowingly did combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other commit mail fraud and wire fraud," including the billing of clients for the "undisclosed use of adulterated and misbranded drugs on the owners' horses."

While trained by Servis, Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup, but The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia will not finalize payment of the winner's share of the $20 million purse until there is resolution of criminal charges in the United States against Servis.