Veterinarian Erica Garcia is expected to plead guilty to horse doping charges in the United States Southern District Court for the Southern District of New York. She was put on trial by jury on September 12.
Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who presided over the doping trial Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli, who were found guilty, and has convicted multiple defendants to plead guilty in a far-reaching series of cases, ordered July 29. that Garcia must appear on August 8, 1 for the purpose of altering her original plea.
Her attorney, Deborah Colson, told BloodHorse Garcia would plead guilty to misbranding of the drug.
Garcia was charged with conspiring to purchase and illegally administer a performance-enhancing drug for racehorses between 2016 and 2020 at the direction of Jorge Navarro, a former trainer serving a five-year sentence for unauthorized use of PED. The allegations were made in an alternate indictment returned in November 2020.
Aside from Garcia, of the 14 defendants charged with illegal activities in the alternate indictment, former coaches Jason Servis and Alexander Chan are the only ones not found guilty by a jury or admitted to the crime scene. sin. They are scheduled to be heard on January 9.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this story stated that Garcia was a suspended veterinarian. Her attorney informed BloodHorse that she was not suspended and was practicing full-time.
