More than two dozen trainers, veterinarians and others in horse racing were charged in connection with an alleged widespread doping scheme, court papers revealed on Monday.
The defendants ran horses at tracks in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and the United Arab Emirates, according to federal prosecutors based in New York City.
“Over the course of the scheme, participants manufactured, purchased, sold, shipped, delivered, received and administered thousands of units” of performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs, for use on racehorses, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman wrote in charging documents against 19 of 27 defendants.
Federal prosecutors said trainer Jorge Navarro “orchestrated” this “widespread scheme” by “using PEDs designed to evade drug tests, physically concealing containers of PEDs and drug paraphernalia from state regulators and racing officials.”
One of Navarro’s most prized thoroughbreds, X Y Jet, died earlier this year after receiving a significant amount of PEDs, in one instance 50 injections, according to the indictment.
X Y Jet won the prestigious Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on March 30, 2019, highlighting a career of 12 victories and more than $3 million in earnings. The horse won that race, and another contest in February of last year in Florida — having receiving adulterated and misbranded PEDs prior to both races, according to the indictment.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
