HISA trainer Phil Serpe has returned to federal court seeking a preliminary injunction against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and Federal Trade Commission, just one day after an arbitrator handed him a two-year suspension for a clenbuterol positive.
The 66-year-old trainer’s legal team filed an immediate appeal with the FTC on Tuesday, requesting an administrative law judge reconsider the July 14 Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) arbitration decision.
A central issue in Serpe’s federal court filing focuses on HIWU and HISA’s decision not to pursue any monetary fine against him — a departure from how the agencies handled a dozen other clenbuterol detections since the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program (ADMC) began in May 2023.
While it might seem counterintuitive for a penalized trainer to highlight the absence of a fine, Serpe argues this represents a strategic maneuver by the regulatory bodies to circumvent his constitutional right to a jury trial.
Serpe’s October 2024 civil complaint cites a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal regulatory agencies enforcing civil monetary penalties must do so in federal court, subject to Seventh Amendment jury trial rights.
“This was intentional,” Serpe’s July 15 filing in U.S. District Court (Southern District of Florida) stated. “While Defendants had told this Court that Serpe’s Seventh Amendment challenge against the FTC was unripe, all parties essentially agreed that, were the Arbitrator to comply with the law and impose a fine, Serpe’s appeal to the FTC would have immediately ripened his challenge.”
The filing argues that by “illegally preventing the FTC from reviewing a fine on appeal,” the Authority sought to “strategically deprive federal-court jurisdiction over Serpe’s entire prosecution.”
A HISA spokesperson declined to comment on these developments when contacted Wednesday.
Serpe’s sanctions took effect Monday when the arbitrator’s decision became public. As of Wednesday, it remained unclear when another trainer might take over his New York-based stable. Serpe has six horses entered at Saratoga for upcoming Thursday and Saturday programs.
The suspension stems from a clenbuterol positive detected in urine samples taken from Fast Kimmie (Oscar Performance) after her August 10, 2024, victory in a $30,000 claiming race at Saratoga.
Clenbuterol, a bronchodilator approved by the FDA for managing horses with airway obstruction, is classified as a “banned” substance under ADMC rules, meaning it should never be present in any HISA-regulated Thoroughbred. The drug gained regulatory attention in the 1990s and 2000s due to its potential abuse as a muscle-building agent similar to anabolic steroids.
Serpe, licensed since 1984 with a nearly violation-free record while campaigning graded stakes winners throughout the East Coast, has denied authorizing any veterinarian to administer clenbuterol to Fast Kimmie.
The trainer presented evidence showing Fast Kimmie had undergone out-of-competition testing at HIWU’s request nearly eight weeks before her Saratoga win, with no prohibited substances detected. A follow-up test three months after the positive also came back negative for clenbuterol in both blood and hair samples.
Arbitrator Jeffrey Benz wrote in his decision that “nowhere in the ADMC Program does it provide that prior or subsequent testing is relevant” and that it is “not necessary” for HIWU to demonstrate intent, fault, negligence, or knowing use to establish a presence-based drug finding.
Benz added: “Despite the findings of this Arbitrator, no one should read this decision as determining that Mr. Serpe is a cheater. The only determination that can be taken from the findings in this Final Decision is that Mr. Serpe was unable to meet his burden and standard of proof under the applicable rules.”
Serpe’s legal filing argues that “the FTC right now is prosecuting Serpe for violating the ADMC Program, which includes a civil penalty,” and therefore he should “be in federal court” to resolve the matter.
The filing describes the “irreparable harm” of the situation: “Serpe attests that the economic value of all these losses is difficult—if not impossible—to quantify. A two-year suspension will not simply deprive Serpe of money, but it will destroy his entire business as a trainer.”
