Former Trainer Tannuzzo Pleads Guilty in Doping Case

Former Thoroughbred trainer Michael Tannuzzo entered a plea of guilty July 7 to one count of adulteration and misbranding of drugs in federal court.

Tannuzzo is among more than two dozen persons indicted in New York in early 2020 on charges related to the doping of racehorses. A revised charge known in legal circles as "an information," a charge that bypasses the sitting grand jury, superseded the original indictment. Tannuzzo admitted his guilt.

In a consent preliminary order issued Thursday as a result of Tannuzzo pleading guilty, a money judgment of $15,893, representing the value of the forfeitable property, was entered against Tannuzzo.

Among other defendants named in the original indictment charging Tannuzzo are former trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Navarro was sentenced to five years imprisonment in December 2021 and is currently serving time. Servis is scheduled to face a trial by jury on Jan. 9, 2023, along with veterinarian Dr. Alexander Chan.

According to previous reporting at BloodHorse, shortly after the indictments against Tannuzzo and others were unsealed, 12 horses under Tannuzzo's care in New York were transferred to other trainers. The New York Racing Association swiftly barred Tannuzzo and 11 others who were similarly charged from all its properties. Tannuzzo at the time denied wrongdoing in a March, 10, 2020, Daily Racing Form story.

"I didn't give the horses anything," Tannuzzo told the publication. "I saw the photos of the drugs (in the indictment). I've never seen that stuff in my life. It's guilt by association. (Navarro) was my best friend. We talked about horses a million times on the phone. He never said, 'I got this secret magic potion I could give you.'"

By entering the plea, Tannuzzo avoided facing a jury trial set to start Sept. 12 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was to be tried jointly with Florida-based veterinarian Erica Garcia, whose case remains on track. Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in a May 6 scheduling order, "The Court will not accept delays" and has since denied a request to continue the trial filed by Garcia's attorney.

Tannuzzo's sentencing is scheduled Nov. 21 before Vyskocil.

Equibase statistics show Tannuzzo compiled career earnings of $1,582,967 from 309 starters. His best statistics by far came in 2019, the year before he was indicted, when horses in his care earned $628,954. In 2018, his starters banked $191,634. Horses from Tannuzzo's barn competed mainly in the claiming and allowance ranks, and he has not trained a graded stakes winner. However, a few days before Tannuzzo's arrest, Bon Raison  ran for him to a third-place finish in the Tom Fool Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi, who has played a key role in many of the doping cases, appeared for the government. Attorney Donald Rollock appeared for Tannuzzo.