So far this year, CBP seizes 8 shipments of illicit horse drugs destined for Kentucky

May 2 (UPI) -- Ahead of Saturday's Kentucky Derby , U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it has seized eight shipments of performance-enhancing horse drugs since the start of the year.

CBP officers at the Port of Cincinnati have apprehended eight different shipments of the illicit substances since January, the agency said in a release Wednesday.

The shipments originated in Mexico and were bound for multiple United States recipients, some of whom had some connection to racing or other horse-performance venues, according to CBP officials.

The substances included injectables labeled "cobra venom," Spidermorph, Scorpioadrenalin, and unapproved medications such as caffeine, anabolic steroids, Ritalin and ketamine.

In a statement, Cincinnati Port Director Alrick Brooks said substances such as the ones confiscated are used to numb pain and artificially enhance a horse's physical performance.

"Kentucky is known as the horse capital of the world, and the equine industry is a prominent part of the U.S. agricultural economy," Brooks said. "CBP is committed to protecting this industry and the animals within it by preventing illicit substances such as these ... from coming into the country."

The Kentucky Derby, set to take place Saturday in Louisville, Ky. in its 150th running, has contended with illegal substance abuse before.

The use of performance enhancers within the equine industry has been the subject of federal criminal investigations and indictments in the past.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in 2020 charged trainer Jason Servis for administering undetectable, performance-enhancing drugs to $20 million Saudi Cup winner Maximum Security.

Maximum Security had been disqualified from victory for interference on the track in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, around the time the alleged doping happened.

In 2022, a Manhattan federal judge sentenced veterinarian Louis Grasso and trainers Richard Banca and Rene Allard to 50 months, 30 months, and 27 months in prison, respectively, for felony drug misbranding and adulteration charges related to a racehorse doping scheme.

The charges stated Grasso's drug scheme helped corrupt trainers take in more than $47 million in winnings.