HIWU

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: 09/16/2025 Licensee: Dale Romans, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final...

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...

The University of Kentucky has terminated the employment of former lab director Scott Scanley following what they call "a serious breach of ethics and policy violations related to misconduct and mismanagement of the institution's former Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab (EACL), which provided drug testing for the equine industry," according to a Sept. 11 press release from UK. After the initial findings from a UK Internal Audit investigation, the university announced last September that it had begun the process to revoke Scott Stanley's tenure as a faculty member, with the intention...

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: 09/08/2025 Licensee: George Papaprodromou, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on September 9, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,000; imposition...

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 (HIWU)'s "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Shivananda Parbhoo has been banned two years and fined a combined $35,000 (including arbitration costs) for a January clenbuterol positive, according to the written final decision by an arbitral body. The Parbhoo-trained American Speed tested positive for the bronchodilator clenbuterol, which...

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, Dr. Larry Rickman Overly has been issued a 23-month suspension and a combined $40,000 fine (including arbitration costs) for the possession of testosterone and isoxsuprine, both banned substances, during a search of his truck at Los Alamitos on July 23 last year, according to the final decision by...

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: 08/18/2025 Licensee: Anna Meah, trainer Penalty: A written Reprimand (per 9/26/23 HISA Guidance). Admission. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole (Gastrogard)—a Class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Trouble Ahead on 7/9/25. Date: 08/15/2025 Licensee: Agustin Gonzalez Jr., trainer Penalty: 7-day...

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...