Bramlage on Maximum Security; 'nothing seriously wrong'

The renowned Dr. Larry Bramlage, retained by owner Gary West to examine Maximum Security in the wake of doping allegations against trainer Jason Servis, said in a report made public this weekend that he could find “nothing seriously wrong” with the champion colt.

Having distributed the report to media in an act of transparency, West will also have lab samples from jurisdictions where Maximum Security has raced tested to determine whether they contain banned substances such as SGF-1000, a performance-enhancing drug that federal investigators allege Servis administered to his horses.

The feds tapped phone calls between Servis and a veterinarian last June, following Maximum Security’s disqualification from the Kentucky Derby, in which the trainer discusses measures to circumvent an upcoming out-of-competition test after giving Maximum Security SGF.

As far as Maximum Security’s current physical condition, Bramlage found the 4-year-old son of New Year’s Day to be consistent with the kind of horse capable of winning a race such as the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup, the inaugural $20 million event.

“If you were not going through him with a detailed exam you would not see any issues,” Bramlage’s report reads. “He is starting to accumulate some subchondral bone inflammation/bruising on all four cannon bones, but that would not be surprising for a horse that has been in serious high level training for 18 months.

At the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., Bramlage performed radiographs and a nuclear scan, ordered by West to examine from hoof to tail. The doctor prescribed no medications — only time off, which connections were intending for Maximum Security before he returns to training with Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

“The planned break from continuous training is a good plan to let him reverse the accumulating inflammation before he trains on,” Bramlage’s report reads.

Maximum Security has officially won eight of 10 starts with earnings of $11.8 million. Since indictments against Servis were unsealed on March 9, rival connections -- namely Jeff Bloom, co-owner of Saudi Cup runner-up Midnight Bisou -- said he “would expect” Maximum Security to be disqualified from his victories if Servis is found guilty.

That prompted West to do some digging of his own. West said he was unfamiliar with Servis’ alleged substance of choice until the indictments were handed down, previously telling The Thoroughbred Daily News that “if SGF-1000 is proven to be a PED and if Maximum Security is proven via testing to have been on a PED during his races, I would fully support whatever the regulators suggest doing.

“If that is the price that has to be paid to clean up a sport I have been in love with for 40 years, I would gladly do that for the good of racing.”

Servis is due to make an initial court appearance Monday in New York but has the option, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to teleconference in.