Veterinarian Chan to plead guilty in federal drug case

Alexander Chan, a veterinarian scheduled to go on trial with trainer Jason Servis early next year on drug misbranding and adulteration charges, has entered a change of plea motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to court documents, indicating that he will plead guilty at a hearing on Monday.

Chan and Servis are the only two people among dozens of individuals related to horse racing who were indicted in 2020 who have yet to plead guilty or go to trial. The trial of Servis remains scheduled to begin Jan. 9.

Chan is charged with two counts of drug adulteration and misbranding, the same charges leveled by U.S. prosecutors against all other defendants in the case.

In court documents filed by prosecutors, he was accused of distributing and administering a substance called SGF-1000 that was marketed as a “growth” stimulant, though regulators and chemists have cast doubt on its efficacy. His clients included Servis, prosecutors said.

According to the indictments, Servis was recorded on wiretaps as saying that he was administering SGF-1000 to “everything almost” in his barn, including Maximum Security, the champion 3-year-old colt of 2019.

Two of the indicted individuals who elected to go to trial to fight the charges, a veterinarian who owned a compounding company and his marketing representative, were found guilty by juries earlier this year. Dr. Seth Fishman received an 11-year sentence, while the marketing rep, Lisa Gianelli, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.

Servis was one of two high-profile Thoroughbred trainers charged in the original indictment. The other, Jorge Navarro, entered a guilty plea and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.