Jason Servis trial scheduled to begin Jan. 9, 2023

A federal judge has set Jan. 9 as the start date for the trial of Jason Servis, the trainer who was indicted in 2020 with more than two dozen other individuals involved in horse racing on charges related to the administration of illegal substances to racehorses.

Servis, who trained 2019 champion 3-year-old colt Maximum Security, will be tried alongside Alexander Chan, a New York-based veterinarian, according to court records. Prosecutors have alleged that Servis administered illegal substances to his horses, including Maximum Security, and have charged him with three counts of conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding and two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.

The mail fraud and wire fraud charges are related to Servis sending bills to owners that did not reflect the actual services provided by veterinarians, according to prosecutors.

Servis was scheduled to go to trial this year, but his attorney, Rita Glavin, requested a delay due to her representation of another client whose trial had already been scheduled for this summer.

Two of the 27 individuals initially indicted in March 2020, a drug manufacturer and a distributor who worked for him, have stood trial this year, and both have been convicted by juries that deliberated for less than half a day. More than a dozen of the individuals have entered guilty pleas, including the leading Thoroughbred trainer Jorge Navarro, who was sentenced to five years in prison.

All of the individuals who were arrested in 2020 had their licenses revoked. Servis had a win rate exceeding 21 percent each year from 2007 to 2019, topping out at 32 percent in 2018.