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$20 Million Saudi Cup Prize Money Withheld After Doping Allegations
By Jeff Osienya Apr 14, 2020 IndustryThe Saudi Cup organizers are holding on to the $20m purse money after a trainer was found to have doped his horse. This is a massive blow to Saudi Arabia’s recent streak of hosting highly successful global sports eventsThe organizers of Saudi Cup, a horse racing tournament dubbed the world’s richest horse race have been mortified after a doping scandal of one the event’s American trainers was uncovered. Jason Servis is facing criminal charges for allegedly doping his horse, Maximum Security, which he saddled to victory in the Saudi Cup’s inaugural run held on February 28th and 29th in Riyadh.
After the findings of alleged horse drugging were disclosed on Monday, the JCSA (Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia) released a statement declaring that they won’t be paying out the $20 million prize money of the Saudi Cup until further notice.
Jason’s Maximum Security had swiped the top spot by three-quarters of a length ahead of Midnight Bisou trained by Bob Baffert. The second runner up in this tight race was Dubai’s own Benbatl which was trained by Saeed bin Surour.
Maximum Security was to bag $10 million for being the victor at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse. Midnight Bisou and Benbatl, on the other hand, were scheduled to bag $3.5 million and $2 million in prize money for emerging the second and third respectively. The remainder of the prize purse of this flamboyant race was expected to be paid down to the 10th place finisher, a position that was worth a cool $200 grand.
Other Culprits of the Mass Doping Scandal in the US
After a thorough FBI probe that had been going on even before the Saudi Cup, authorities discovered that Maximum Security had been doped with the notorious SGF-1000 designer drug, a performance-enhancing substance that contains growth factors. At the time of the scandal, the colt is a three-time champion across the country.
The Saudi Cup triumph would have been a crowning accomplishment for Jason Servis particularly since his runner; the same Maximum Security was stripped off of the 2019 Kentucky Derby champion title for interference on the track.
From information disclosed after investigation, Servis was charged together with 26 other individuals that consisted of vets and trainers who have allegedly been doping racing horses. The culprits included Jorge Navarro, who is alleged to have doped some of his horses to death.
As a consequence of the accusations, The New Jersey Racing Commission has already revoked Jason Servis’ training license in New Jersey. Maximum Security’s benefactors have also already fired Servis due to the criminal charges, effectively transferring their triumphant runner to the able hands of Bob Baffert, a Hall of Fame trainer.
Sour Start for Horseracing in Saudi Amidst their Recent Push for Sports
In response to the criminal developments, the JCSA released a statement to all winners of the Saudi Cup indicating that the prize pool was still being held to give room for investigations first. The club has hired French officials to carry out the drug testing on samples taken from horses which took part in the Saudi Cup event. Once the investigations are completed, the findings will be released to the public in due course.
The Saudi Cup had been held in a track exclusively built for horse racing and, was supposed to be a grand entrance of Saudi Arabia into the world of competitive horse racing. Given the $20 million prize purse, the Saudi Cup had already earned the “world’s richest race” title, and the country was poised to be a force to be reckoned with in global horse racing.
Besides, the race was supposed to be a fresh showpiece to its first growing list of international sports victories. In the past 6 months alone, Saudi Arabia has magnificently hosted the heavyweight boxing bout between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz, the European golf championship for women, a stage of PGA’s European Gold and the Dakar Rally.
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