Local Trainer and Vet Sent to Fed Prison for Horse Doping Scheme with Variety of Prescription Drugs

A veterinarian and a trainer, both from Orange County, have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in distributing adulterated and misbranded drugs in connection with a racehorse doping scheme.

Louis Grasso, 65, of Pine Bush, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison. A trainer, Richard Banca, 47, of Middletown, was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison. A third man, Rene Allard, 35, of Canada, another trainer, was sentenced to two-years and three-months in prison.

All three were also sentenced to one year of supervised release.

Grasso was also ordered to pay over $47.6 million in restitution.

The charges in the case stem from an investigation of widespread schemes by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, distributors of performance enhancing drugs, and others to manufacture, distribute, and receive adulterated and misbranded drugs, and to secretly administer those drugs to racehorses competing at all levels of professional horseracing. The drugs were meant to improve race performance and obtain prize money from racetracks through the country.

Grasso accepted payment for prescriptions of those drugs and also created, distributed and administered custom-made drugs designed solely to improve racehorse performance. Through this scheme, Grasso helped corrupt trainers collect over $47 million in ill-gotten purse winnings.

As standardbred racehorse trainers, Banca and Allard purchased and administered adulterated and misbranded drugs to racehorses under their control, and as a result, their horses earned $16 million and $25 million in purse winnings, respectively.

Source: Mid-Hudson News