Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit

Tom Chuckas, Tony Salerno and Jason Klouser "are no longer employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" in their positions under the state Department of Agriculture, according to a brief email from an agency spokesperson. When asked about the reasons for the terminations, the spokesperson wrote that "we do not comment on personnel matters." Chuckas was the ag' department's director of Thoroughbred Horse Racing. He took that position in 2016. Before that role, he was formerly the president of the Maryland Jockey Club. Chuckas attended Tuesday's Pennsylvania horse racing commission meeting....

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has released its 2025 Annual Report. Available here, the report details HIWU's organization-wide activities as the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The report provides statistics on testing, results management, the adjudication of cases, investigations, and educational efforts and summarizes new procedures, programs, and technologies that were incorporated last year to further enhance the ADMC Program. "HIWU's 2025 Annual Report reflects our team's continued success in administering HISA's ADMC Program," said Ben Mosier,...

Trainer Phil Serpe, who is fighting both in federal court and at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) level to overturn a two-year suspension imposed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) for a clenbuterol positive in one of his trainees, on Wednesday was notified by the FTC that his legal team would not be allowed to have new evidence considered in his nearly 18-month-old case. Serpe's suspension stems from clenbuterol detected in the urine of Fast Kimmie (Oscar Performance) after her Aug. 10, 2024 victory in a $30,000 claiming...

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 Dates: 02/04/2026 Licensee: Johanna Urieta, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on February 5, 2026; 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...

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 Angel Sanchez Pinero has been banned a combined eight years and fined a total $90,000 (as well as arbitration costs) for a series of medication violations stemming from 2024 onwards. These penalties come in the wake of a two-year suspension...

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 Carlos Sedillo has been suspended 18 months and fined $12,500 after he was found in possession of Levothyroxine—a banned synthetic thyroid drug—at Sunland Park in New Mexico on March 6. His suspension began on December 11. The case was resolved without a hearing. Sedillo has been training...

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 Dates: 12/02/2025 Licensee: Kelsie Calvo, trainer Penalty: 15-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on December 3, 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...

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...

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up 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 Marisa Monserrate has been banned 18 months after her trainee, Can't Beat Me, tested positive for the banned substance 2,5 Dihydroxybenzenesulfonic Acid after winning at Finger Lakes on July 14. According to Equibase, Monserrate has been training since 2023, winning...

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up 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 Juan Munoz Cano has been suspended a combined 12 years and a combined $150,000 (including arbitration costs) for a series of clenbuterol positives spanning the end of last year and earlier this year, according to a final decision by an...

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...

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...