Phil Serpe

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) board of directors announced Monday an important change to a controversial aspect of the federal program's enforcement approach. The HISA board have requested that the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) limit the circumstances under which they issue provisional suspensions. These are the temporary suspensions imposed before a trainer or other allegedly guilty party has had a chance to argue their cause during a formal hearing and relate to cases associated with banned substances. The announcement states that the HISA board has determined...

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...

WellSpring Stables' Leave No Trace (Outwork), overlooked at 14-1 stepping up from restricted maiden company, proved best in Sunday's GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga to give trainer Phil Serpe his first top-level success since 1993. Bought for just $40,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October yearling, the dark bay scored a professional 2 3/4-length victory while wrapped up later against auction price-restricted foes here July 20. That effort earned a co-field best 77 Beyer, but Irad Ortiz, Jr. departed to ride Aunt Shirley (Justify) in here and Leave No Trace drifted...

Cosmonaut (Lemon Drop Kid--Cosmic Fire, by Capote), a four-time Grade III winner and third in the 2007 GI Breeders' Cup Mile, was euthanized Oct. 29 at Cornell Equine Hospital due to complications from surgery. He was 19 years of age. Bred in Kentucky by Patricia Pavlish, Cosmonaut was purchased by trainer Carlos Martin on behalf of Carl Lizza's Flying Zee Stable for $105,000 at the 2003 Keeneland September Sale and was a two-time winner and runner-up in the 2005 Commonwealth Turf. Turned over to Patrick Biancone the following season, the...

Kiaran McLaughlin surprised much of the racing world last year when he abruptly decided to halt his massively successful training career in order to become the jockey's agent for Luis Saez. But it shouldn't surprise anyone to see the success McLaughlin has had handling Saez's book, as the 29-year-old Panamanian is poised to win his first Saratoga riding title. Wednesday, McLaughlin joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to talk about why he made his career shift, the booming results of his partnership with Saez, memories of triumphs in...

It's been a difficult few years for Phil Serpe and his stable. Like many smaller outfits trying to compete at a top-tier racing circuit, he has seen his number of horses dwindle as owners move in favor of consolidating their operations in the barns of "super trainers". Partly due to circumstance, partly due to that increasing monopolization of the sport, Serpe has had an especially trying 2021. Heading into this past weekend, he had just two winners to his name since the calendar turned--a 4-year-old maiden-breaker named King Angelo (Lemon...

WellSpring Stables' New York invader Safe Conduct (Bodemeister) pressed, pounced and just held off the late-charging Riptide Rock (Point of Entry) to win the 162nd Queen's Plate in a dramatic finish at Woodbine Sunday. With top U.S. jockey Irad Ortiz, riding in his first Queen's Plate, in the irons and making his first start over a synthetic surface, the 3-1 favorite was under a hold while tracking longshot pacesetter Take a Chance (Munnings) through fractions of :24.01 and :48.37. The bay colt rolled up to challenge the pacesetter nearing the...