A US investigation into horse doping has revealed ‘The Devil’, a masking agent claimed to be so powerful that it can mask easily detectable substances such as cocaine. In an October 2019 recorded phone call, Sarah Izhaki offered to sell the masking agent to an undercover agent. It is understood it can be used on horses or humans (see right). 

Izhaki was one of 27 defendants charged with being part of a horse doping ring in March last year. She was sentenced yesterday to 12 months of home detention and three years of supervised release, reported the New York Daily News. 

Izhaki and Scott Robinson pleaded guilty in September last year. Robinson was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in March this year. The other main defendants in the case, Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, are understood to have entered not guilty pleas in April last year.

The Department of Justice’s (DoJ) investigation into the case revealed an online marketplace set up to sell customised drugs, and included evidence that horses had died.The DoJ’s investigation prompted the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 (H.R. 1754), which creates a Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Its remit includes the protection of horses from doping.