NY Gaming Commission Sat on FBI Evidence of Horse-Doping Scandal

• Regulator admits FBI records were received in 2023, ignored.
  
• Documents tie to Seth Fishman doping scheme and federal convictions.
  
• Prosecutors linked drugs to at least 20 horse deaths.

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) for years sat on evidence from the FBI about the involvement of hundreds of trainers and owners in a widespread doping scandal, while doing nothing to punish those involved, New York Focus reports.

Now, the regulator says it is reviewing the FBI’s documents, which are linked to a sweeping federal case unsealed in March 2020.

In that case, prosecutors charged 27 people with multiple conspiracies involving the use of “adulterated and misbranded” performance-enhancing drugs on racehorses competing in the US and abroad.

Federal officials said the drugs were designed to secretly boost performance, and they put horses at risk.

Rogue Vet

In 2022, Florida veterinarian Seth Fishman was convicted of charges related to drug adulteration and misbranding and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Fishman peddled customized, “untestable” performance-enhancing drugs to hundreds of trainers across the sport, according to prosecutors.

NYSGC spokesperson Lee Park told New York Focus that an investigator received “key documents” in 2023 but “failed to take any action or share with relevant staff.”  Park said the investigator has been placed on administrative leave.

The admission came after the commission had repeatedly denied that it ever received evidence from federal authorities, according to New York Focus.

The FBI records included financial information showing purchases of illegal drugs by owners and trainers, including some who continued racing afterward.

Yet beyond the 12 people ultimately convicted alongside Fishman, the commission has not reprimanded anyone for buying the rogue vet’s drugs.

20 Horse Deaths

This includes racing mogul Howard Taylor who was one of the biggest buyers of Fishman’s products, with more than 400 purchases from 2012 to 2018, according to New York Focus. He and his co-owners won more than $26 million during that time.

Nevertheless, prosecutors tied the doping scheme to at least 20 horse deaths, as well as countless severe racing injuries, including cardiac events and broken limbs associated with overexertion.

Fishman described his self-developed drugs as “chemical warfare.”