Horse-Doping Defendants Say Judge Was Breeder, Seek Her Recusal

Thoroughbred trainers, veterinarians and drug distributors charged in an expansive doping probe asked the federal judge on the case to step aside, saying she bred racehorses and is a potential victim.

Lawyers for the defendants, including leading trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis, filed a motion on Thursday asking U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil to recuse herself from the case. They said she was a breeder “for a number of years,” was a member of New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. for a decade and a half, and had horses that directly competed with those trained by Navarro and Servis on at least four occasions.