HISA

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...

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 Calixto Juarez has been banned a combined 36-months and fined a total $25,000 for an incident at Delaware Park June 4. The case was resolved without a hearing. The suspension began Aug. 8. In the case resolution, Juarez was observed...

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 Daniel Harvey was suspended five days and fined $500 for a caffeine overage determined to have come from contaminated feed supplements. The Harvey-trained Leopardi, who finished second at Tampa Bay on April 16, subsequently tested positive for caffeine, a Class...

Yet New Mexico Commission Asserts Neither Drug Allowed at State Level, Either by T.D. Thornton A federal lawsuit filed last month by a Sunland Park-based veterinarian against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) is alleging anti-constitutionality claims similar to a number of other cases that have been swirling at various levels of the federal court system for the past four years. But the civil complaint initiated July 3 in United States District Court (District of New Mexico) by Jason Scott, DVM, does...

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, Angel Sanchez-Pinero was suspended 30-days for a phenylbutazone positive stemming from February-the latest action amid a series of alleged offenses facing the trainer. This includes another pending violation issued against Sanchez-Pinero this week concerning the alleged breach of rule 3230(b)(2), related...

A judge has dismissed federal claims in a lawsuit filed last year by a former Hawthorne Race Course association veterinarian who alleged that her efforts to scratch over 80 lame or injured Thoroughbreds during 2022-23 were met with a purported conspiracy among track employees, other veterinarians, and state regulators to overturn her actions so unsound horses could be entered to fill short-field races. Dr. Christine Tuma had also claimed in United States District Court (Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division) that when she reported this alleged conspiracy to state and...

After a couple of lost training days last week because of escalating safety concerns with the dirt surface, racing resumed Monday at Thistledown, but another tragedy was not far behind. In the first race of the day, the 5-year-old mare Tayyara (Khozan) broke down and had to be euthanized. Thistledown canceled the remainder of the eight-race card. According to a Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority (HISA) spokesperson, HISA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Lazarus asked Thistledown to cancel after the first race and they agreed to do so. She also asked...

Thistledown Racino's firing this week of track superintendent Sean Wright followed reports of alleged safety issues with the track's one-mile dirt surface that led to lost days of training and racing. There have also been multiple racing and training equine fatalities since the meet began Apr. 21. The ongoing autopsy on these events has raised compliance question marks (both at Thistledown and nationally) over a key component of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) racetrack safety program. Under this program, tracks are required when operating a meet to submit...

Thistledown Racino in Ohio fired its track superintendent on Monday, and management at the Cleveland-area track has brought in outside racing surface consultants and is working with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) in the aftermath of four lost days of racing and training this week because of escalating safety concerns with the dirt surface. But Sean Wright, who was only on the superintendent's job four months before his abrupt termination July 21, told TDN in a Wednesday phone interview that Thistledown's troubles on its one-mile dirt oval extend...

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: 07/18/2025 Licensee: Joseph David Perez, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Digits on 6/15/25. Date: 07/17/2025 Licensee: Arthur Agostini, trainer Penalty: Disqualification...

Jockey Umberto Rispoli has waived his right to appeal and will serve a one-day suspension and pay a $6,000 fine meted out by the Monmouth Park stewards for striking Journalism (Curlin) a total of eight times--two more than the maximum allowed under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rule--when winning the GI Haskell Stakes on Saturday. Marcus Hersh of Daily Racing Form broke the news on Tuesday. As of 6 p.m. Eastern time July 22, Rispoli's penalties had not yet been posted on the online rulings portals for either...

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, Bonnie Lucas has been banned for 60 days and fined a total of $8,000 for violating the rules on intra-articular joint injections within a specified standdown time prior to a timed workout or race. For the 47 horses that had been...