In a Manhattan federal courtroom July 26, United States District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil sentenced embattled Thoroughbred trainer Jason Servis to four years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and administer adulterated or misbranded performance-enhancing drugs to racehorses. The sentence was the maximum allowed per his charges and guilty pleas, reflecting three years for a felony and one year for a misdemeanor.
He is to serve one year of supervised release after he leaves prison. His surrender date is Nov. 1.
In court Wednesday, Servis made a payment of $311,760 in forfeiture and was ordered to pay $163,932 in restitution and a $30,000 fine.
Along with trainer Jorge Navarro, who received a five-year sentence last year, Servis was the most high-profile of more than two dozen people indicted on horse doping charges in March 2020. He was the final one of the group to be sentenced, not having pled guilty until Dec. 9. He and other defendants, which also included individuals involved in Standardbred racing, were suspended by racing regulators after the indictments.
Among the horses Servis trained was Maximum Security , who crossed the wire first in the $20 million Saudi Cup in February 2020, a month before the trainer was charged. Saudi Cup officials have never released the winner’s share of the purse.
According to previous BloodHorse reporting, the original indictment says that a performance-enhancing substance was administered to Maximum Security in 2019, the year he reached the wire first in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs but was disqualified for interference.
Servis was accused of administering adulterated and misbranded PEDs, including one called SGF-1000, to “virtually all of the racehorses under his control.”
Some of the PEDs used, manufactured or distributed by the defendants were alleged to be undetectable in post-race drug tests.
Invited on Wednesday to address the court, Servis, 66, broke down in tears, before later saying, “No words can express how remorseful and sorry I am for the decisions I’ve made and the hurt I caused my wife and others.”
Vyskocil indicated she would have imposed a harsher penalty had she been able to do so.
“In my judgment, more than a 48-month sentence might be more appropriate,” she stated.
“I do accept your expression of remorse,” she added. “Relatively speaking, you’re not an old man. You will have a life after you get out of prison.”
Equibase records indicate Servis won 1,306 races from 5,281 starts over a career that began in 2001. His stable earned a then-best $4.9 million in 2017 before growing in subsequent years and exploding to $11 million in 2019.
This story will be updated.
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