Ontario’s gambling and horse racing regulator has banned a standardbred horse trainer from racing for 10 years after finding he bought performance-enhancing drugs in violation of the province’s anti-doping rules for horse racing.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said in a statement that Jeffrey Gillis was one of 27 trainers, veterinarians and others charged as a result of an investigation led by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Gillis and others were charged with offences “relating to the systematic shipment and administration of illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to racehorses competing across multiple jurisdictions.”

Gillis is a trainer who has worked at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ont. He has won multiple awards and trained Covered Bridge, the horse which won Atlantic Canada’s prestigious Gold Cup and Saucer in both 2023 and 2024.

The AGCO said in its statement that Gillis, who has also been fined $40,000, purchased illegal drugs including “a substance held out to be an illegal, blood-boosting synthetic erythropoietin” from U.S.-based veterinarian Seth Fishman, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in July 2022 for making “untestable” performance-enhancing drugs, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the southern district of New York.

The regulator alleged that Gillis purchased or attempted to purchase drugs from Fishman multiple times between Oct. 14, 2018 and June 27, 2019.

Now, no horse fully or partly owned by Gillis is eligible to race for the next decade. Any horses trained by Gillis are ineligible to race but could be released to another trainer or sold.

“This case underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the sport and the welfare of horses,” said AGCO CEO and Registrar Karin Schnarr. “Any attempt to cheat the system and use performance-enhancing drugs is a serious breach of trust and the AGCO will hold offenders accountable.”

The AGCO noted that a licensed horse racing participant has the right to appeal the AGCO’s action to the independent adjudicative body, the Horse Racing Appeal Panel.

Last November, the AGCO banned another trainer, Richard Moreau, and harness driver Sylvain Filion for 10 years each after a horse tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug during standard testing for the North America Cup.