How Horse-Racing Cheaters Made Millions While New York Sat on FBI Evidence
Almost 300 horse trainers and owners known to have purchased performance-enhancing drugs continued racing in New York for two years without any form of review.
Horse trainers and owners known to have purchased illegal performance-enhancing drugs won more than $40 million in prize money between 2023 and 2025, while New York racing regulators failed to act on FBI evidence identifying them, according to a new investigation.
The evidence, delivered to the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) in 2023, identified approximately 280 trainers and owners who had purchased illicit substances from convicted veterinarian Seth Fishman, the central supplier in the largest horse-doping conspiracy ever prosecuted in the United States.
Read the full New York Focus investigation that broke this scandal here.
Despite receiving the material, the Commission did not initiate any disciplinary measure against those identified for more than two years. Trainers named in the FBI records continued to compete at New York venues, including Aqueduct, Belmont Park, Saratoga, and Yonkers Raceway, accumulating massive prize winnings during that period.
