Saudi Cup purse continues to be held with investigation ongoing

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, which administers the $20 million Saudi Cup, will continue to withhold the winner’s share of the 2020 race, won by Maximum Security, until its “investigation” of the horse’s trainer, Jason Servis, is complete, the organization said in a statement on Monday.

Servis on Friday pleaded guilty to one count of adulterating and misbranding drugs and faces a maximum of four years in prison when he is sentenced in May. Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup approximately one month before Servis and 26 other individuals associated with horse racing were indicted and arrested on charges related to illegal drug use.

Saudi racing authorities had cited the arrest and allegations in the indictment as the basis for withholding the purse. They have acknowledged that Maximum Security did not test positive for any illegal substances prior to or after the Saudi Cup.

“Over the coming weeks we will assess our ability to conclude this investigation … in a robust and comprehensive fashion,” the statement said.

Late on Friday, Gary West, who raced Maximum Security with his wife, Mary, released a statement saying that he would “support” a decision by the Saudi racing authorities to redistribute the purse to the other participants in the race.

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“We believe the decision to take the Saudi Cup purse from Maximum Security and redistribute it is the correct one,” the statement said.

In the original indictment, Servis was caught on wiretaps saying that he administered a substance called SGF-1000 to “almost everything” in his barn. At his hearing on Friday, Servis acknowledged that he administered SGF-1000 to Maximum Security, who was voted the champion 3-year-old colt of 2019, the year prior to winning the Saudi Cup.

The second-place finisher in the 2020 Saudi Cup was Midnight Bisou, followed by Benbatl, Mucho Gusto, and Tacitus.

Maximum Security was retired at the end of a 2020 campaign to Coolmore Stud, which purchased the horse’s breeding rights and took an equity position in the horse’s racing career while he was still running.

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