Jorge Navarro, a leading trainer in the mid-Atlantic who was one of the most high-profile individuals to be swept up in a wide-ranging investigation into drug use in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing, was released from a federal prison in Miami on Wednesday.
Navarro served a little over three years of a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute and administer misbranded drugs. Legislation passed in 2018 allows federal inmates to earn credits against their sentence for early release.
It is highly unlikely that Navarro will participate in Thoroughbred racing ever again, as he would need to be licensed. State racing commissions rarely grant licenses to convicted felons whose crimes were related to their activity in racing.
Navarro is a native of Panama who was in the U.S. legally but who was not a U.S. citizen. His attorney said at his sentencing hearing that the U.S. was expected to deport Navarro upon his release.
Among more than two dozen individuals arrested in March 2020, Navarro and Jason Servis, another trainer based in the mid-Atlantic, were the two most prominent individuals in Thoroughbred racing to be convicted on various charges related to illegal drug use. Wiretaps recorded the trainers discussing the administration and distribution of substances that are illegal to use in the sport.
Servis was sentenced to four years in prison and is scheduled to be released in July of 2026.
For his career, Navarro had 1,224 winners from 4,344 starts for a win rate of 28 percent, with career earnings of $34.9 million. He trained from 2009 to 2020, though the vast majority of his wins and purses were earned from 2015-2019.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.