The owner of Maximum Security has fired the racehorse’s trainer after he was charged in a wide-ranging doping scandal.
Indictments in federal court in New York allege that Jason Servis was among 27 individuals, including trainers and vets, who doped racehorses. Those horses include Maximum Security, who won last month’s $10m Saudi Cup, the richest horse race in the world. Maximum Security also crossed the line first in last year’s Kentucky Derby but was disqualified after stewards ruled the colt had impeded the path of two other horses in the final turn. According to Monday’s charges, Servis doped “virtually all the racehorses under his control”.
Gary West, the owner of Maximum Security, released a statement on Tuesday saying he had terminated Servis’s employment. “Yesterday, Jason Servis, a trainer we have used for 5 years, was indicted on multiple charges regarding using an illegal substance in horses. This news is extremely disturbing and disappointing. Therefore we will be moving all our horses from Jason Servis as soon as arrangements can be made with other trainers. Maximum Security will be sent to Bob Baffert.”
According to the charges, Servis administered a drug called SGF-1000 to Maximum Security and other horses and then conspired with a vet to cover up the doping. Authorities say such acts of doping can cause horses to over-exert themselves, potentially leading to their deaths.
The welfare of racehorses has been under the microscope in the US over the last year after a spike in deaths. More than 30 horses died last year at Santa Anita, one of the most famous tracks in America. A California Horse Racing Board report released on Tuesday found that no illegal medications were used on the horses that died at Santa Anita and 39% percent of the 23 fatalities occurred on surfaces affected by wet weather.
