By John Wendt
In the penultimate major case of the federal racing anti-doping cases coming out of the Southern District of New York, veterinarian Louis Grasso, who had previously pleaded guilty to felony drug misbranding and adulteration charges,was sentenced to 50 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $47,656,576.[1] The charges in the Grasso case were the result of a massive federal investigation into widespread schemes by more than two dozen racehorse trainers, veterinarians, manufacturers, and distributors of adulterated and misbranded performance enhancing drugs to secretly administer those drugs to racehorses.[2]
The United States Attorney’s Office had proposed a sentence of 60 months for Grasso saying that “[f]or years, the defendant defiantly engaged in the offense conduct by issuing false prescriptions and allowing his veterinary license to be abused by craven actors motivated by greed…and [the] defendant’s actions carried serious risks to the health of the horses he was supposedly caring for as a veterinarian. The Office continued, “The prohibited and, in some cases, unlabeled, untested, unstable, injectable drugs that Grasso sold, administered, or otherwise provided to unscrupulous trainers inherently risked the health of the horses that were receiving those drugs.” Finally, prosecutors said, “Corrupt and self-serving veterinarians, like the defendant, have enabled the hazardous and illegal administration of unnecessary medications to performance animals with the goal of enriching themselves, and under the assumption that no serious consequences will follow if they are ever caught…Imposing a substantial sentence here would send a strong signal to others thinking of engaging in such criminality that there will be consequences for their crimes.”[3]
Grasso’s attorney, Glenn Garber, had instead requested 18 months of home confinement with travel allowed for medical care and argued that the 18 months would be “sufficient.”[4] In Garber’s own words, “A jail sentence will be particularly difficult for him to endure.” [5] Grasso submitted his own letter to the judge, asking him to “find it in your heart to give me some kind of break.”[6] Grasso also said, “From the onset I would like to say I take full responsibility for my actions. I did wrong and accept whatever you decide the proper penalty is for me. Unfortunately, I did not think in my wildest dreams that it would come to this, but I accept what lies in front of me.”[7]
It has been reported that during the sentencing Judge P. Kevin Castel commented that Grasso was a repeat offender. Judge Castel noted that, “The crime that he has pled guilty to did not come out of left field…This was a systemic and long-term crime…It corrupted the sport.” In 1992, Grasso was previously convicted in federal court of selling anabolic steroids and his license to practice equine medicine was suspended by the State of New York.[8] [9] In 1993, based on Grasso’s guilty plea in New York to three counts of possession and distribution of anabolic steroids, his New Jersey license to practice veterinary medicine in New Jersey was also suspended for five years.[10] According to the New York Times in 2000, Delaware authorities suspected Grasso of practicing without a license and when police tried to arrest him Grasso led the police on a wild car chase. When the police finally stopped Grasso they found needles, syringes and banned drugs in his car.[11] In 2005, New York State Racing and Wagering Board upheld a refusal to license Grasso to participate in pari-mutuel harness racing as a veterinarian. The Board based their refusal on the finding that Grasso’s “experience, character and general fitness are such that his participation in racing is inconsistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity, or with the best interests of racing generally.”[12]
During an interview Grasso said he believed that regulators had a “vendetta” against him and his family. He commented, “Anything that goes wrong with harness racing they point to me.”[13] Grasso admitted that he had made mistakes, but claimed that he treated horses well saying, “Veterinarians out in the field are out there to help horses, not hurt them…We are probably the only ones who have the horses’ well-being in mind.”[14] Yet, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams contradicted that claim saying, “Illegally doping racehorses is animal abuse in the service of greed. Such corruption threatens the health of racehorses and undermines the integrity of the sport. Today, three defendants (Grasso, Richard Banca, and Rene Allard) have been sentenced for their roles in perpetuating, and profiting from, the mistreatment of animals.”[15]
The last major case[16] of the doping scandal involves Jason Servis who trained among others, Maximum Security, the horse that was first at the 2019 Kentucky Derby before it was disqualified. Servis is charged with conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.[17] It is alleged that Servis worked with veterinarians Kristen Rhein and Alexander Chan who tried to conceal Servis’ doping schemes through the use of falsified veterinary bills and fake prescriptions. [18] Rhein pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison in January 2022.[19] On December 1, 2022 Chan, who was supposed to go to trial with Servis, instead entered a guilty plea, leaving Servis alone with the possibility of Rhein and Chan being witnesses against him.
Servis’ trial is scheduled for January 9, 2023. But as of December 5, 2022, it has been reported that Servis’ attorney has submitted a document to U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil requesting a one-week adjournment for upcoming motions and that “The Government and counsel for defendant, Jason Servis, are currently in discussions regarding a potential pre-trial disposition, which may obviate the need for trial.”[20]
Finally, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law in 2020 and created the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to draft and establish uniform safety, anti-doping and integrity rules in thoroughbred racing in the United States.[21] HISA was established specifically to protect the well-being of equine athletes and the integrity of competition in situations such as with Grasso, Rhein, Chan, Jorge Navarro and all those involved in this massive indictment.
However, there have been challenges to HISA. On November 18, 2022, a three judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and found that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is “facially unconstitutional because it “delegates unsupervised government power to a private entity,” and thus “violates the private non-delegation doctrine.”[22] On December 7, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is set to hear oral arguments on HISA’s constitutionality. If the Sixth Circuit finds that HISA is constitutional the question of the HISA constitutionality may eventually wind up in the Supreme Court if two different federal courts come to opposite decisions on the constitutionality of a federal statute. If the Sixth Circuit agrees with the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court may be less likely to accept an appeal. In a race to finish before the end of this Congressional Session Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- Kentucky), one of the major supporters of HISA, is reportedly leading a bipartisan effort with Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) to legislatively correct the constitutional questions raised by the Fifth Circuit.[23] Hopefully, the legislature can cross that finish line.
[1] Damian Williams & Sarah Mortazavi, United States v. Louis Grasso Sentencing Submission, (2022), https://assets.law360news.com/1542000/1542173/https-ecf-nysd-uscourts-gov-doc1-127132170290.pdf (last visited Nov 10, 2022). The case is U.S. v. Louis Grasso et al., case number 1:20-cr-00163, in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York.
[2] United States v. Navarro et al.; S.D. New York; 20 Cr. 160 (MKV). See also John Wendt, Judge’s Decision Puts the Focus on Doping in Horseracing, (2022), https://sportslitigationalert.com/judges-decision-puts-the-focus-on-doping-in-horseracing/ (last visited Dec 5, 2022).
[3] Renee Hickman & Lauren Berg, Prosecution Wants 60 Months For Vet Over Doping Scheme, (2022), https://www.law360.com/articles/1542173/prosecution-wants-60-months-for-vet-over-doping-scheme (last visited Nov 10, 2022).
[4] Ray Paulick, View From The Eighth Pole: Veterinarian Grasso Deserves Maximum Sentence For Horse Doping, (2022), https://paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/view-from-the-eighth-pole-veterinarian-grasso-deserves-maximum-sentence-for-horse-doping/ (last visited Nov 29, 2022).
[5] Mike Randall, Horse doping: Orange County veterinarian, trainer sentenced in racing scheme, Times Herald-Record (2022), https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/11/17/pine-bush-veterinarian-middletown-trainer-sentenced-horse-doping/69654179007/ (last visited Nov 17, 2022).
[6] Paulick, supra note 5.
[7] Id.
[8] Emilie Munson, N.Y. lab losing battle of doping in horse racing’s ‘cat and mouse game,’ Times Union (2022), https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/horse-racing-doping-new-york-16771265.php (last visited Nov 22, 2022).
[9] Rachel Scharf, Veterinarian, Horse Trainer Get Prison Time In Doping Case, (2022), https://www.law360.com/articles/1549806/veterinarian-horse-trainer-get-prison-time-in-doping-case (last visited Nov 16, 2022).
[10] State of New Jersey Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, In the Matter of the Suspension or Revocation of the License of Louis A . Grasso, D.V.M. to Practice Veterinary Medicine in The State of New Jersey, (1993).
[11] Walt Bogdanich, Joe Drape & Rebecca Ruiz, At Racetrack, Economic Pressure Overpower Veterinarian’s Oath, New York Times, September 22, 2012, at A1.
[12] New York State Racing and Wagering Board, Minutes of the Meeting of September 22, 2005, (2005), https://www.gaming.ny.gov/pdf/Sep.05.pdf.
[13] Walt Bogdanich, Joe Drape & Rebecca Ruiz, Racehorse vets caught between ethics and money, The Bulletin (2020), https://www.bendbulletin.com/sports/racehorse-vets-caught-between-ethics-and-money/article_e5ae1b90-15ba-5479-9814-b4d6f7a6ec7a.html (last visited Nov 29, 2022).
[14] Id.
[15] United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, New York Veterinarian And Racehorse Trainers Sentenced To Prison In Federal Doping Case, (2022), https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/new-york-veterinarian-and-racehorse-trainers-sentenced-prison-federal-doping-case (last visited Nov 17, 2022).
[16] United States v. Garcia, 20-cr-160 (MKV) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 8, 2021).
[17] Natalie Voss, Court Filing Shows Servis May Enter Plea Agreement In 2020 Federal Doping Case, (2022), https://paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/court-filing-shows-servis-may-enter-plea-agreement-in-2020-federal-doping-case/?fbclid=IwAR1Oeb_ETWGn2vPSLUATjg4zvIgY5c0x6psUpjJrPuJiGxWmUA7pIe5UUJo (last visited Dec 3, 2022).
[18] United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges 27 Defendants In Racehorse Doping Rings, (2020), https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-charges-27-defendants-racehorse-doping-rings (last visited Dec 20, 2021).
[19] Bob Ehalt, Rhein Sentenced to Three Years in Prison in Doping Case, BloodHorse.com (2022), https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/255937/rhein-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-in-doping-case (last visited Dec 4, 2022).
[20] Voss, supra note 18.
[21] Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, HISA (2022), https://www.hisaus.org/about (last visited Dec 1, 2022).
[22] National Horsemen’s Benevolent v. Black, No. 22-10387 (5th Cir. 2022), (2022), https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/22/22-10387-CV0.pdf.
[23] Rory Carroll, Exclusive: Horse racing-U.S. Senator McConnell pushing for legislative fix to safety law, Reuters, December, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/horse-racing-us-senator-mcconnell-pushing-legislative-fix-safety-law-2022-12-04/ (last visited Dec 3, 2022).
