Paragraph 25k of Count I of the indictment recites a telephone conversation on May 29, 2019 between Navarro and unidentified \"operators\" of a horse-racing stable in California, regarding the performance of a horse named Nanoosh. (These guys apparently never learned to stay off the phones and to not put anything in writing .. . brilliant!) One of the operators asks whether the horse was \"getting all the shit ... is this horse jacked out?\" The owners of the horse at that moment were Rockingham Ranch, Zayat Stables, LLC and David Bernsen, LLC. Ahmad Zayat needs no introduction. The other two mentioned were the owners of Stormy Liberal, hero of the 2018 BC turf sprint, running a 7+ (not a typo) point new top that day and earning a negative 5 1/4 in the process. Hay, oats and water, my friends, I\'m sure. There are plenty of nervous trainers, owners and vets lawyering up today.
I had World of Trouble that day he was beaten by Stormy Liberal. Servis trained WoT. He was out juiced I guess
Couldn\'t agree more...
They also won with Roy H the same day. Identical connections.
Nuggets? You call those nuggets? This indictment implicates the trainer of last years derby winner as well as the perennial leading trainer in south Florida and these are nuggets? This is the whole shebang. This tanks this industry. This gives legitimacy to PeTA and all of their claims about animal cruelty. Enjoy it while it lasts. This game is doomed.
JR Wrote:
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> Nuggets? You call those nuggets? This indictment
> implicates the trainer of last years derby winner
> as well as the perennial leading trainer in south
> Florida and these are nuggets? This is the whole
> shebang. This tanks this industry. This gives
> legitimacy to PeTA and all of their claims about
> animal cruelty. Enjoy it while it lasts. This game
> is doomed.
You tagged me -- I did not call it \"nuggets.\"
You are overreacting anyway like the stock market is now. Horse racing is getting cleaned up. Unfortunately, not by the racing \"leaders\" who frankly suck but by the Federal Government. The sport will be in a much better place now. These criminal trainers and especially the vets are going to jail. Probably a lot more will join them -- especially in CA. The game will improve -- fewer horse break downs, purer betting, improved results for the owners, etc. Short term a lot of screaming but overall a better and cleaner sport for us to enjoy. I have been robbed for decades by these guys as an owner... and, bettor. About time to get rid of them. A shame the FBI has to do it instead of the loser race track operators. Embarrassing for all of them. At least it should be. We need a national Commissioner like every other sport has.
Whoa. Did you say horse racing is getting cleaned up? LMFAO. By the Federal government? Absolutely side splitting.
Maybe I’m too cynical. I don’t know why?
JR Wrote:
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> Whoa. Did you say horse racing is getting cleaned
> up? LMFAO. By the Federal government? Absolutely
> side splitting.
OK -- cheaters in the past have been given 15 days, a $250 fine and an opportunity to appeal taking years. FBI doesn\'t play that way. They arrest you and put you in jail and charge you with a felony and that is exactly what they did.
(I am not even sure what the hell \"side splitting\" means but please don\'t do that to yourself).
JR Wrote:
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> Nuggets? You call those nuggets? This indictment
> implicates the trainer of last years derby winner
> as well as the perennial leading trainer in south
> Florida and these are nuggets? This is the whole
> shebang. This tanks this industry. This gives
> legitimacy to PeTA and all of their claims about
> animal cruelty. Enjoy it while it lasts. This game
> is doomed.
I\'m not going to defend anything, predict anything, or assume anything about any of this on the day it happens, but only on a slow news day does this get much traction and only because of the connection to deaths of animals. However, this doesn\'t strike me as a slow news day. It would take a mass shooting to get near the top of the page or news website. As far as the sport being dirty, most people outside the sport either already thought that or don\'t care.
The only thing more overdue than the FBI getting involved, is Bernie retiring to a life of shuffleboard.
JR Wrote:
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> Nuggets? You call those nuggets? This indictment
> implicates the trainer of last years derby winner
> as well as the perennial leading trainer in south
> Florida and these are nuggets? This is the whole
> shebang. This tanks this industry. This gives
> legitimacy to PeTA and all of their claims about
> animal cruelty. Enjoy it while it lasts. This game
> is doomed.
I’m the last person to tell someone to calm down, so I won’t.
Nuggets is just a figure of speech, and it’s far from the “whole shebangâ€.
If a guy like Baffert gets implicated, or another high profile trainer, then you have more shebang.
This is a guy who trained for Zayat, and oh BTW had seven horses drop dead.
Servis and Navarro are known cheats who don’t resonate with the average fan. They’re just finally getting busted.
If names like Baffert, Brown, Pletcher...... HOF guys get implicated.....then you have a lot of shebang.
Guys...once the \'equine pharmaceutical manufacturers\' start flipping that\'s when everything hits the fan...you don\'t think that the FBI is stopping with this do you? Also...in re-reading the indictment I would be shocked if there isn\'t other \'investigations\' that are on going...
As far as racing getting cleaned up, who knows, but this is an actual step in the RIGHT direction. For once, something is happening. Maybe it goes nowhere but this could be big.
Racing\'s image with the public couldn\'t be much lower than it is now. This won\'t help any, but it\'s also a blip on the radar in the current disaster that is the world. Most people don\'t care about horse racing and will continue not to care.
As pointed out below, it was a figure of speech, meant to identify OTHER newsworthy and/or interesting tidbits, such as the one I recited. If it would restore the equilibrium, happy to relabel the string \"All sorts of other nuggets in this indictment.\"
Do you really think the use of PEDs is just going to stop? When we reach a point where the punishment is as severe for all as it was for Dutrow, then I will return to the church.
I play south Florida. I know about Navarro. There are others. Now that there appears to be evidence of doping, how confident should I feel when I have to decide whether a move up trainer is using today or not? These are usually horses that take a lot of money. There’s just no room in my wagering strategy to accommodate for that variable.
First of all, the Feds are a whole different story when it comes to penalties.
But second, the problem is not the penalties. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN TAKING SERIOUS STEPS TO CATCH PEOPLE. I have been posting about this for years. Rick Arthur in California is a big exception.
Among other things-- the cheaters are ahead of the testers, and they know it. But they don\'t know if they are ahead of where the testers will be in 3 years. Freezing and retesting samples is a powerful deterrent. If you catch someone by doing that they aren\'t going to have just one positive, and if you tag them for multiple penalties it becomes a lot of time they\'re out of business.
Fair points, but none of this came to light as a result of drug testing. Further, while there may be evidence that the feds have but is not disclosed in the indictment, there is no allegation in the indictment that the doping has been confirmed (yet anyway) by testing. As they say, the investigation continues, so it is possible that such evidence may be forthcoming.
But speaking of Arthur, he gave an interview to TDN that should be required reading for anyone who is serious about addressing the doping. Two points should be emphasized. First, his belief is that the best anti-doping technique available is the use of surveillance cameras, such as the ones used at Santa Anita. He called it a \"fallacy\" to completely rely on drug testing, although testing has a role to play. Second, his discussion of SGF-1000, one of the compounds described in the indictment, further illustrates the weaknesses inherent in any testing program. According to Arthur, SGF-1000 is sheep collagen, not a typo. Such a compound may be impossible to detect in any testing regime. His point was, unless you knew to look for sheep genes in the test, you wouldn\'t find it. So, by all means, test, but unless you know what to test and look for and your regulatory scheme is as lengthy and complex as the IRS code, you may not get as far as you hoped.
My POINT is that none of this was discovered by testing. And yes, surveillance cameras are a good idea to go along with freezing and retesting. A few others include 1) having an accountable vet of record for each horse-- anyone else touches the horse they get ruled off, 2) do what they do in Hong Kong-- all drugs have to be purchased at the on track pharmacy. Anybody who brings anything on the premises is ruled off. That prevents the off-label BS these guys were doing. 3) Publish all test results in detail on a timely basis. That lets the public (and the press) know that horses are actually being tested. I have posted here many times about how it\'s unsafe to make that assumption.
TGJB Wrote:
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> My POINT is that none of this was discovered by
> testing. And yes, surveillance cameras are a good
> idea to go along with freezing and resting. A few
> others include 1) having an accountable vet of
> record for each horse-- anyone else touches the
> horse they get ruled off, 2) do what they do in
> Hong Kong-- all drugs have to be purchased at the
> on track pharmacy. Anybody who brings anything on
> the premises is ruled off. That prevents the
> off-label BS these guys were doing. 3) Publish all
> test results in detail on a timely basis. That
> lets the public (and the press) know that horses
> are actually being tested. I have posted here many
> times about how it\'s unsafe to make that
> assumption.
Jerry,
EPO, or \"monkey\" as Navarro calls it, is mentioned a number of times in the indictment. He personally gave it to XY Jet, according to the report.
If this bust has nothing to do with testing, it probably means the industry has no means of detecting the latest EPO tactics. We\'re essentially cycling at the height of Armstrong\'s success.
I sent this to NYS Racing and Wagering Board days after 2018 Dwyerâ€" with cc to Panza and Kay!
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: RICHARD RESNIK
Date: Sun, Jul 8, 2018 at 12:12 PM
Subject: Yesterday\'s Dwyer
To:
CC: ,
Mr. Lewandowski- I have been a racing fan for more than 50 years. I also an owner involved in 5 partnerships and an active NYRA Bets user. I am a Saratoga season ticket holder. I am also an attorney with more than 49 years active experience as a litigator, much of it involving fraud based litigation. I take this opportunity to write to you as the NY Gaming Commission Steward to request, indeed, demand, an appropriate investigation into the betting that took place in connection with yesterday\'s Dwyer handicap.
The basic facts are not disputed. Firenze, the winner of the race, trained by Jason Servis, was between 6-1 and 8-1 throughout the betting. Literally, as the horses were being loaded into the gate the horse was bet down to 5-2 and the $1 exacta with a 14-1 shot second paid $25. The horse had a stunning form reversal and won with ease by 9 lengths in a very fast time. Given that NYRA has already touted in the media how much was bet yesterday on a national basis, an enormous bet (not large, but enormous ) had to have been made at the last minute. The post race statements me by the connections of the horseâ€"“We now realize he is a one turn horse†are pablum designed to explain away what happened and to detract from asking “WHY?†and “HOWâ€. I was in a box seat yesterday, as I was fortunate enough to have a horse in the Belmont Derby and all anyone in ear shot could talk about was the incredible action this horse took.
This email is not prompted by sour grapes as my investment in the race (less than $20) is not worth my time and effort in writing this email. Like many horseplayers I am frustrated and angry at the apparent like of oversight protecting those who continue to make the existence of this game possible-the bettors. It would be inappropriate and irresponsible to accuse Jason Servis (or any trainer) of wrongdoing through the use of unlawful drugs or otherwise since I am not in possession of any facts to support such a accusation and my training was a litigator has taught me that facts are what count, not suspicion. ( I do note that Mr. Servis has been the subject of many writings of late on racing blogs regarding his incredible nearly 50% win percentage at Monmouth. He has supplanted Jorge Navarro as the most discussed trainer. This issue also goes far beyond a single trainer.)
As the NY State Steward (I have actually read the regulations) it is fair to state that your primary responsibility is to preserve the integrity of horse racing as conducted by NYRA. I respectfully suggest that you can only fulfill that obligation by conducting an investigation into the betting patterns, interviewing those involved and publishing your findings so your constituency -the betting public-at least has some comfort that their interests are being protected and that we hear something from you or NYRA other than there is nothing to investigate or “the chemists are ahead of usâ€. I respectfully suggest that neither NY State nor NYRA should be arrogant enough to believe this is an issue it can ignore. I have spoken to many involved in horse racing and the usual response is something like “ I don’t want to bite the hand the feeds me†or a shrug of the shoulders that says “It is what it isâ€. One person heavily involved in racing, in a confidential communication to me today on this issue stated “The cheaters have become emboldened and feel no shame in flaunting it.†Again, I am in no position to accuse Mr.. Servis or anyone of cheating. That seems to be your job to investigate. I do know that horse players are among the most abused persons-and most of the time they deserve it for continuing to play a game that, all to often, they believe is not played on a level playing field. All of us have options---we can stop gambling on horse racing, stop investing in partnerships or switch ADWs. The events of yesterday have made me start to think about some or all of this options. As an attorney I am also aware of the legal options available to compel the performance of your duties and responsibilites.
I am 72 and have choices where I can use my recreational disposable income. The response of you and NYRA to the demand made in this email will strongly suggest my future use of those funds. Since your cell phone is on line I provide you mine in the event you would like to discuss this further. On behalf of horseplayers everywhere, I am outraged at what happened yesterday and request that Mr. Kay and Mr. Panza forward this missive to NYRA’s Board of Directors. Tha
Rez:
Over the past 24 hours I\'ve been privately communicating with about a half a dozen people that regularly post on this board... And everyone as mentioned this race...hell I was communicating with four of them the day after the race and we were saying the exact same thing that you said in this letter... Your verbiage was spot on... I just have one question... Did you get any reply because I\'m guessing that you didn\'t...
John (Trackjohn)
Michael-- there may be no test now (or not, but let\'s stipulate you\'re right). That\'s the argument for freezing, in a nutshell.
Six months later I received a call out of the blue from a NYSRWB investigator.,He asked if anyone had responded, I replied in the negative. After apologizing, he advised me 1.re the betting, there was no past posting, a fact that was already common knowledge and 2. he could not discuss matters under investigation and made clear horseplayers were not the only ones aware of the alleged drug use and would not mention names. If my email had the most miniscule impact on the investigation I shall laminate it! P.S.- never heard from NYRA- shocking!
rezlegal Wrote:
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> Six months later I received a call out of the blue
> from a NYSRWB investigator.,He asked if anyone had
> responded, I replied in the negative. After
> apologizing, he advised me 1.re the betting, there
> was no past posting, a fact that was already
> common knowledge and 2. he could not discuss
> matters under investigation and made clear
> horseplayers were not the only ones aware of the
> alleged drug use and would not mention names. If
> my email had the most miniscule impact on the
> investigation I shall laminate it! P.S.- never
> heard from NYRA- shocking!
and, that is exactly why the Feds got involved. They didn\'t stumble upon this on their own. Someone (thankfully) decided that this was above the heads of the do-nothing racing commissions and track owners and notified the FBI. It is very possible your timely letter moved the needle a little bit.
Expecting (hoping?) the fed are a different story when it comes to penalties. TGJB comment of \"They have not been taking serious steps to catch people\" is exactly spot on regarding most tracks, racing commissions. Similar to many on this board, more than once I have (either through letters or face to face) tried to address issues (once to track management, three times to the racing commission) in three of four cases, not only were my concerns not addressed, I was told we have the \"best people\" overseeing racing....and that I should not have any concerns.
As a last resort, I convinced a prominent owner to ask some questions about a barn that was having unbelievable success pointing out to this owner how many times his horses lost to this trainer with significantly improved performances-- at least I knew the racing commission had to reply to this owner and he did get a response -- the response was \"we are looking into that barn\" -- of course nothing happened. I was told months later the trainer was warned, which was probably the only thing they wanted or could do....
I don\'t see how racing can have the \"best people\" working on this when everyone knows they are working on the virus.
Jerry, even if you have the samples, you still need a comprehensive list of prohibited substances to test against, or testing frozen samples is pointless.
Meaning that I take Rick Arthur\'s point to be that even if we could test some of the hypothetically frozen Navarro samples now, knew what to look for and found the sheep collagen, if sheep collagen wasn\'t on the prohibited list at the time the sample was taken, we\'ve accomplished nothing. The testing regime all this conjures is prohibitively expensive and requires a regulatory effort that is enormous.
Sheep Collagen was contained in the cocktail Bill Romanowski used to prolong his career in the NFL.
According to Romanowski, sheep collagen has an effect on endurance and strength.
So if Sheep Collagen was the only thing used by Navarro and Servis, where is the crime? I cannot fathom a law specifically banning this substance.
The problem with enforcement is the criminals if smart enough will always be 2 steps ahead of the regulators.
So other than a horse being under 24 hour surveillance, how do you stop cheating?
If money is involved people will always try to cheat.
First of all, at the very least it would give you info about what\'s going on. But second, the way I think it works (and definitely the way it SHOULD work) is that you can only use allowed substances, everything else is out of bounds. Not the other way around. If that were the case, every newly discovered drug would be allowable.
I get what you\'re saying, but Derby winner, and winners of multiple Grade 1\'s internationally.
Big enough for me.
Biggest ever ?
I don\'t disagree...but, two things
- due to the coronavirus coverage this story is getting only minimal main stream press coverage
-BUT...IF other popular, well known trainers are \'outed\' then the press coverage will increase exponential in scope, particularly if it happens in April/early May right at the time of the only horserace that 85% of the American population know or care about... comments?
John
Unbelievable about NYRA...but not shocking... hopefully your email did make a difference... FBI investigations don\'t just happen... someone \'offered\' some initial information to get this one started...I make it odds-on that there are more investigating going on... comments?
John
Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> I get what you\'re saying, but Derby winner, and
> winners of multiple Grade 1\'s internationally.
>
> Big enough for me.
>
> Biggest ever ?
Its big enough for me also.
But I\'m talking about the nuclear results this can potentially become if the really big names are implicated.
Yeah. They seem a bit smarter than these two buffoons
One wonders if the FBI used TG data to identify large jumps in figs to identify subjects, also Brad Cox says he is not taking any Rockingham horses that were trained by Navarro, lots of things bout to go down, one vet in the indictment said he injected 6 horses for another barn, the incriminating statements about Nanoosh should be enough to revoke all there licenses, bet your bottom dollar , ain’t nobody that is involved and not yet indicted probably are not getting any sleep, FBI loves to do what they call tickling the wire, rattling some peoples cages and hope they get on a phone and incriminate themselves, wonder how many were tickled yesterday
James Joyce fan?
hellersorr Wrote:
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> James Joyce fan?
Everybody\'s a critic!
Illegitimi non carborundum, Roman! I like a guy with a fancy prose style. You keep doing you.
JB, the big money is always on the side of the guys with the edge. The authorities come second. Yes, eventually the cheaters will get caught. They may be banned for life. But the crowd looking for the edge, no matter how fleeting, will always be there. That’s why people still have locks on their doors.
Roman Wrote:
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> One wonders if the FBI used TG data to identify
> large jumps in figs to identify subjects, also
> Brad Cox says he is not taking any Rockingham
> horses that were trained by Navarro, lots of
> things bout to go down, one vet in the indictment
> said he injected 6 horses for another barn, the
> incriminating statements about Nanoosh should be
> enough to revoke all there licenses, bet your
> bottom dollar , ain’t nobody that is involved
> and not yet indicted probably are not getting any
> sleep, FBI loves to do what they call tickling the
> wire, rattling some peoples cages and hope they
> get on a phone and incriminate themselves, wonder
> how many were tickled yesterday
Did they get a daily cap on purchases or did they just pay a lump sum
“Servis and Navarro are known cheats†and have been operating successful training operations for years even though most of us knew there was something fishy about their success rate.
How can I play a race with any confidence knowing there is the probability that some pertinent information regarding drug usage is unknown to me? Only with play money. This is a gambling venue where it’s best to check your wallet at the door.
I’m more than skeptical that we are in the cusp of a thoroughbred racing renaissance.
Why the f do I care about how much coverage this gets? Horse racing in its totality is a blip on the screen for the general public.
For us, we want a clean sport. One where horses run true to form. Not one where magical trainers with magic potions turn rinky dink claimers into graded stakes winners. This shit’s gotten so far out of hand that the winningest trainers are most likely running the most crooked barns. How many people on this board believe Bob Baffert runs a clean operation? No implication Bob. Just a question. What did happen with all of those juvenile cardiacs? Freaky, wasn’t it?
Cardoc, no foul on your part. It’s just semantics. But I feel, as I imagine you do too, that the most pertinent information regarding a horses ability is undisclosed. Is he turbocharged today or not?
Nice, Paul.
There’s actually talk of doing this, but we had nothing to do with what just happened.
https://www.drf.com/news/navarro-servis-others-arrested-monday-face-five-years-federal-conspiracy-charges
Read the 5th paragraph...
Knowing how frugal the government can be , they were probably red boarding.