Thoroughbred racehorse trainer Jason Servis was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison for his part in a long-running horse doping scheme. Mr. Servis, 66, is known for being the trainer of Maximum Security, the horse that finished first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified from the win after a replay of the race video showed Maximum Security edging out of his lane and blocking another horse from advancing. Maximum Security was among the horses that received performance-enhancing drugs, according to investigators.
Professional horse racing is a $100 billion global industry. Racehorses can sell for over $1 million and compete for purses worth millions of dollars. The industry is highly regulated, including monitoring for drugs to protect the health of horses and to ensure fair competition between competitors, and the betting public, an indictment in the case said.
