Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit

Philip Serpe, a licensed trainer since 1984 who has maintained a nearly violation-free record while campaigning graded stakes winners up and down the East Coast, is fighting "banned substance" sanctions involving the alleged detection of clenbuterol in an Aug. 10 Saratoga Race Course winner he trained by suing the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in federal court. Serpe's Oct. 17 lawsuit in United States District Court (Southern District of Florida) cites the purported unconstitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), "because, first,...

According to the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), a horse from the barn of veteran trainer Phil Serpe tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol on Aug. 10. The alleged positive occurred in a $30,000 claiming race at Saratoga, which was won by the Serpe-trained Fast Kimmie (Oscar Performance). The horse has been banned from competing for 14 months from the time of the violation. Serpe's status is on hold since he has the right to request that the B Sample is analyzed. If that sample also comes back...

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) has granted a temporary stay of enforcement to connections in six pending total carbon dioxide (TCO2) cases, all of which are out of Pennsylvania. In total, 11 of the 14 pending and resolved TCO2-related cases reported since the advent of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) have concerned horses that ran in Pennsylvania. Of the three other TCO2-related cases, one ran in California and two were out of Ohio. When asked about the reason behind the temporary stay of enforcement, HIWU spokesperson...

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Odin Londono has been suspended for 18 months and fined $12,500 as a result of his trainee Private Drive testing positive for Diisopropylamine, a banned substance, when winning at Mahoning Valley Feb. 14 this year. The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) classifies Diisopropylamine as a vasodilator, which is a substance that dilates the blood vessels to allow blood to flow more freely...

A federal judge in Oklahoma on Thursday denied a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that eight licensed Remington Park horsepeople wanted put in place to keep the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) from being enforced in that state. Chief Judge Timothy DeGiusti of United States District Court of Oklahoma (Western District) wrote in an Aug. 8 order that, "the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to make a sufficient showing of irreparable harm to warrant the extraordinary remedy of injunctive relief, [and that] the imminent threat of...

Trainer Mike Puype, whose accomplishments include two wins in the Breeders' Cup, has been provisionally suspended by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit after two banned substances, levothyroxine and isoxuprine, were allegedly found on his possession. The ruling against Puype was posted on the HIWU website Friday. The offense occurred Apr. 24. According to Equibase, Puype has not started a horse since June 16. When reached by phone Friday by the TDN, Puype said he would make a comment at a later date after he has had a chance to...

The attorney representing trainer George Weaver has been informed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) that a split sample taken from the horse Anna's Wish (Dialed In) has confirmed the earlier finding that the horse raced with the banned substance metformin during the Mar. 16 Cicada S. at Aqueduct. Trainers whose horses have tested positive for what HIWU considers banned substances face suspensions of up to two years. Weaver will be allowed to run horses that have already been entered, but cannot continue to enter horses and his...

A new HISA computer model to identify at-risk horses is being used by Churchill Downs officials to complement existing track safety nets, representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced during Tuesday's press conference on equine safety protocols in place for this year's GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. "It's essentially a model that looks at 44 potential risk factors that might cause a horse to be at risk for injury," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, who added that the...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this most recent set of rulings, trainer Jorge Diaz has been suspended a total of 37 days and fined $3,500 for two separate violations. Diaz was suspended for 30 days after his trainee, Melina's Dream, tested positive for an alkalinizing agent (TCO2) after finishing seventh at Parx Racing on Jan. 3. High total carbon dioxide (TCO2) levels could be an indication of bicarbonate loading--or milkshaking--which can neutralize...

Parx-based trainer Monte Gelrod has been notified by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) that a horse he trains named Ratified (Constitution) tested positive for Cobalt after racing Feb. 19 at Parx. His suspension has been put on hold while HIWU awaits the results of a B sample test. If the B sample also shows the presence of Cobalt, Gelrod faces a suspension of up to two years. Gelrod's positive was the second recorded at Parx in a short period of time. On Feb. 6, the Patricia Farro-trained Deplane...

HISA's mission is to protect the integrity of competition and the welfare of horses in the Thoroughbred racing industry. The Banned Substances list, set forth under HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, is one of the many ways HISA advances this mission. Under HISA's ADMC Program, substances with no legitimate, medically justified use in Thoroughbreds are among those classified as Banned Substances, just as they are under the anti-doping programs being run by other equine sports' governing bodies. Many "non-approved substances" on the Banned Substances list have not been...

The team at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company does everything it can to run a clean sale. Under OBS's conditions of sale, no medication may be administered within 24 hours of a horse's under-tack performance, 10 to 15% of the horses who are going to sell are tested, and in 2019, OBS prohibited the use of bronchodilators like Clenbuterol at all of its sales. It may not be enough. The Jeffrey Englehart story has suggested that may be the case. Englehart bought a Classic Empire colt at the OBS auction...