Servis’ actions came to light during a lengthy operation that saw 30 people charged in 2020 for their parts in a wide-ranging scheme to evade racing’s drug rules. Servis and another trainer, Jorge Navarro, were the most prominent people charged; Navarro was sentenced in 2021 to a five-year prison term.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Today’s sentence sends a clear signal to those in the racehorse industry that no one is above the law.  Endangering the welfare of animals for profit will not be tolerated.  Illegally doping racehorses is a serious crime that will be met with a serious sentence.”

In addition to the prison term, Servis was slapped with nearly $500,000 in forfeiture, restitution, and fines.

Servis, who toiled with modest training success for a number of years, saw his career begin to take off in 2012. His earnings nearly doubled that year, to over $2.4 million. In 2018, his barn’s purse earnings jumped again, to $7.5 million, and the following year, with Maximum Security leading the way, they exceeded $11 million, with the barn winning at a 30 percent clip those years.

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At the same time, Servis had attracted scrutiny, with his relatively fast rise from obscurity, high win percentage, and success with Maximum Security, a horse who started his career in $16,000 maiden claiming company and went on to earn more than $12 million in his career.

“By evading PED prohibitions and deceiving regulators and horse racing officials, participants in these schemes sought to improve race performance and obtain prize money from racetracks throughout the United States and other countries, including in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Kentucky, and Saudi Arabia, all to the detriment and risk of the health and well-being of the racehorses,” the Department of Justice release explained. “Trainers who participated in the schemes, like SERVIS, stood to profit from the success of racehorses under their control by earning a share of their horses’ winnings and by improving their horses’ racing records, thereby yielding higher trainer fees and increasing the number of racehorses under their control.”

Among the Servis horses mentioned in the original indictment were Maximum Security and another Grade 1 winner, World of Trouble. Maximum Security, the indictment alleged, had been administered SGF-100, which is thought to increase a horse’s stamina. World of Trouble had also received a performance-enhancing drug, and Servis and his assistant “discussed the concealment from racing officials” of the drug, according to the indictment.

The specific charges Servis faced included: obtaining hundreds of bottles of SGF-100, which was compounded and manufactured in unregistered facilities; approving veterinary bills that concealed the use of SGF-100; regularly administering clenbuterol to horses without a valid prescription; and obtaining and transporting a misbranded version of clenbuterol.