ADMC Program

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) has named Janelle L. Winston as the successor to general counsel Michelle Pujals who has retired from the post, the organization said via a press release on Wednesday. Pujals worked for HIWU for four years after spending two decades with the NBA's legal department, where she oversaw the development and administration of anti-drug programs for NBA players, coaches, and trainers. She was a member of the NBA/National Basketball Players Association Prohibited Substances Committee and the NBA Crisis Management Team. "Michelle...

With a view to pulling the veil back on the hows and whys of their operations, a representative of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority or the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) will every week answer a question of industry importance posed by the TDN. If you have any questions you'd like to ask HISA or HIWU, please feel free to send them over to us at the following email address: danross@thetdn.com   Q: A trainer (who asked not to be publicly named) has contacted the TDN...

Tuesday's Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) virtual town hall was a free-wheeling affair, with the bulk of the two-hour meeting spent on a discursive question-and-answer segment moderated by trainer Ron Moquett and bloodstock agent David Ingordo, two members of HISA's horsemen's advisory board. The initial focus of the town hall was HISA's 2026 budget. This year's gross budget, recently approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), comes to $77.2 million. If all the available credits are utilized by the industry, the net budget comes out to $60.6 million (though...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Jose Roberto Gonzalez, Sr. has been suspended a combined 36 months and fined $25,000 for two out-of-competition positive tests collected from Ol' McClintock, according to the case resolution. Of the samples collected from the Gonzalez, Sr. trainee at Alburquerque Downs...

Two racetrack veterinarians who are the principals of Maryland Veterinary Group (MVG) have been served with notices of violations and were given provisional suspensions that started Jan. 12 after Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) searches of that practice's offices at Laurel Park and Delaware Park allegedly turned up "banned" substances that, under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rules, are never to be found in any covered Thoroughbred or possessed on any HISA-regulated grounds. Dr. Nicholas Meittinis and Dr. Adam Lockard are both alleged to have violated HISA Rule...

All race day test samples (post-race and TCO2) collected from contenders in the 2025 Breeders' Cup held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club have been cleared by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and purse distribution has begun accordingly, the organizer said in a press release on Friday. In 2025, the Breeders' Cup was run for a third year under the full jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA), including the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which took effect in May of 2023 and...

Trainer Phil Serpe, who is fighting both in federal court and at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appeal level to overturn a two-year suspension imposed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) over a contested clenbuterol positive in one of his trainees at Saratoga Race Course in 2024, on Thursday had the judge in his lawsuit deny a request for a preliminary injunction for the second time in five months. In explaining his decision, the judge in charge of the case, David Leibowitz of United States District Court (Southern...

The administrative law judge (ALJ) handling Phil Serpe's appeal to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stemming from a two-year suspension imposed by a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) arbitrator over a contested clenbuterol positive case has upheld the sanctions imposed against the veteran trainer. However, Jay Himes, the ALJ, also wrote in his Sept. 12 decision that he would "modify the award to add a $25,000 fine against Serpe," even though the ALJ also ruled that, "I hold without merit Serpe's argument that he is entitled to a jury...

Trainer Phil Serpe, who has an appeal pending with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an attempt to overturn a two-year suspension imposed in July by a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) arbitrator over a contested clenbuterol positive case from last summer at Saratoga Race Course, is also seeking to renew his request for a preliminary injunction in a 10-month-old lawsuit against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and the FTC. A key issue in Serpe's federal court filing is the fact that HIWU and HISA did not...

One day after an arbitrator ruled that Phil Serpe would be suspended for two years in a contested clenbuterol positive case from last summer at Saratoga Race Course, the 66-year-old trainer was back in federal court Tuesday seeking to renew his request for a preliminary injunction in his nine-month-old lawsuit against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). At the same time, Serpe's legal team also wasted no time in filing an immediate appeal with the FTC to have his July 14 Horseracing Integrity...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 04/14/2025 Licensee: Terrance O. Guidry, trainer Penalty: 60-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning Apr. 15; a fine of $15,000 ($14,000 fine will be waived if all purses are repaid). Final decision by internal adjudication panel. Explainer: A breach of...

HISA will host an upcoming virtual Town Hall on Thursday, Apr. 24, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET, the regulator said via a press release on Wednesday. The agenda includes a transparent conversation about financial processes, including budgeting, fee assessments and the cost assessment methodology rule, and how they are using those funds to advance safety and integrity across the sport. Attendees can submit questions in advance through the registration link below or live in the chat box during the Town Hall. Speakers Include: Lisa Lazarus, HISA Chief Executive Officer...