The trial is coming, Chan, a former veterinarian for Servis, now wants to change his defense

Seven weeks before the start of the final remaining high-profile trial in the federal doping conspiracy case from 2020, New York-based veterinarian Alexander Chan, whose client list includes training co-defendant trainer Jason Servis, changed his mind about having a jury decide his fate with three felonies for allegedly participating in a drug-mixing conspiracy, misbranding and fraud. through the line.

On Thursday, Chan requested and was promptly accepted for a December 5 change of guilty plea hearing in the United States District Court (Southern District of New York), at which he will likely be charged. plead guilty or enter into a probable plea agreement. agreement instead of going to trial.

That will leave serve alone faces a jury when his trial begins on January 9.

The nationwide raid in March 2020 resulted in countless prison sentences, but Servis has always been the most prominent name among the individuals prosecuted. He amassed flamboyantly high winning percentages throughout the decade of 2010 before being arrested for three felonies of drug misbranding and conspiracy to commit fraud.

According to a series of wiretapping evidence (plus testimony involving jailed plea bargaining defendants), Servis allegedly injected drugs into nearly all of the horses under his control. him in early 2019, including MGISW Maximum security, who crossed the rope first in the GI Kentucky Derby, but was DQ’d for interference in the race. One of the elixir of choice for Servis was said to be SGF-1000, a performance-enhancing drug (PED) that was adulterated, mislabeled, and targeted.

Chan allegedly assisted by performing the injections and concealing the charges from the bill and veterinary records. There’s a chance he could allude to Servis at his confession change hearing.

That’s what Kristian Rhein, a veterinarian formerly with Belmont Park, said. did with both Servis and Chan in August 2021 when he changed his own plea to a felony during the federal government’s lengthy prosecution of an alleged multi-year conspiracy to drugge racehorses.

“I am with Jason Servis as leaders and organizers [of others who performed allegedly criminal actions]including my associate, Dr. Alexander Chan…” Rhein told Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil at his 2021 change of defense.

Rhein received a maximum sentence of three years in prison for his crimes.

Vyskocil, who sentenced Rhein, is the same judge who will hear Chan’s plea change on Monday.

Rhein, Chan and Servis at various times in 2019 were recorded on wiretaps discussing aspects related to Servis’ alleged doping regime. At times, the two vets rationalized to each other and to Servis that if the substances used could not be detected through racing committee testing, they were not considered illegal.

Chan filed in August 2021 to block the use of those wiretapped calls as evidence, but the court rejected his offer.

According to court documents, a conversation between Chan and Servis from August 14, 2019 went as follows:

service: Well, can I use that?

Foot: Use what?

service: SGF.

Foot: Yeah, like the New York rules, there’s nothing like against, like it, you know, like it says unless it’s not specifically written in there it’s seven days, you know . So it’s not illegal.

According to the original indictment, “Chan and Rhein coordinated the sourcing and management of SGF-1000, and engaged in covert efforts to distribute and manage adulterated and mislabeled PEDs, and advise trainers and/or racehorse owners on the use of such substances, including the secret management of such substances to avoid detection by FDA and other regulatory agencies. They do so to support the efforts of Servis and other coaches in managing adulterated and mislabeled PEDs, intended to secretly enhance race performance.

“In connection with that scheme, Chan provided false billing records that did not reflect the drug Chan administered to racehorses under Servis control, and falsified his own prescription records for which Servis racehorse received a specific prescription drug, concealing from potential investigators the true nature and means of administering the PEDs Chan provided and administered at Servis’ direction,” the statement said. the indictment states.