Shocking Dope Ring Wiretap Has Racing Community Shaking To It’s Core

The things that one particular federal wiretap caught leaders of a dope ring talking about were so shocking it left the international horse racing community shaking to it’s core. When organizers of the world’s richest horse race learned that the Saudi Cup winner, Maximum Security, was high as a kite, they held back their $20 million prize purse. An internal investigation is sorting it all out.

Wiretap reveals disturbingly shocking evidence

Two of thoroughbred racing’s top trainers, Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro were among the 27 “trainers, veterinarians, drug distributors and others” charged last month in a cruel and hideous scheme to drug horses and cheat bettors for fun and profit. Maximum Security almost won the Kentucky Derby. He was disqualified for “aggression.” Now, everybody knows it was steroid rage. The horse did win the Saudi cup and a $10 million first prize. The owner isn’t going to get the check now.

Tape recordings of the shocking things caught by the wiretap are hard evidence backing up the charges. Jorge Navarro, trainer of prize winning XY Jet, hired a man to “quietly dispose of the bodies of dead horses.” During one conversation, the henchman bragged, do “you know how many f**king horses he (Navarro) f**king killed and broke down that I made disappear… You know how much trouble he could get in… if they found out… [about] the six horses we killed?” They got killed either by the dope directly or because it allowed the animals to be pushed far beyond their natural limits.

Pro-trainer Navarro was taped detailing the way he doped XY Jet with illegal “blood building” drugs. He had just received word from his co-conspirator, Jason Servis, that racing officials were getting nosy. Maximum Security’s trainer was relieved they had a warning because “[The track official] would’ve caught our asses f**king pumping and pumping and fuming every f**king horse [that] runs today.”

It’s still not known how many of the carefully bred and pampered animals were “dosed with a cocktail of drugs designed to ‘increase their performance beyond their natural abilities’ but many have died.” The indictment explains, the drugs “could increase red blood cell count, increase stamina and endurance, relieve pain and reduce joint inflammation.” The horrible end result was “cardiac issues, overexertion leading to leg fractures, increased risk of injury and, in some cases, death.”

Thoroughbred racing industry shaken by the shocking news

Whenever there is money at stake, it tends to get peoples attention. When the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, organizers of the Saudi Cup, announced the shocking news that they aren’t paying out a single dime of the $20 million prize purse until they figure out what happened, everyone in the industry was instantly riveted. Maximum Security edged out Midnight Bisou, with Benbatl finishing third. The top prize was $10 million, with $3.5 million for second and $2 million for third.

Not long after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first in February, his owner, Gary West, fired Servis as his trainer. That was when the indictment became public. Maximum Security has a new trainer, Bob Baffert. The investigation started right away but has been delayed by the coronavirus epidemic.

“The JCSA is aware that Jason Servis has been indicted in the US on charges relating to the administration of prohibited substances to horses under his care and control,” the JCSA said in a statement. “The JCSA is conducting its own investigation into the allegations and until that is concluded, will withhold payment of prize money to all connections of horses placed in prize-winning positions.”