clenbuterol restrictions

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 latest twist in the legal odyssey involving Phil Serpe and the agencies that regulate racing at the federal level was made public late on Tuesday, when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an order staying the issuance of a $25,000 fine that had been imposed against the veteran Thoroughbred trainer barely one day earlier by an administrative law judge (ALJ). That ALJ, Jay Himes, had been assigned by the FTC itself to adjudicate Serpe's FTC-level appeal of banned-substance charges. In addition to re-imposing the fine that the Horseracing Integrity...

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...

The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council (EDRC), which serves as an advisory board to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), advanced a Dec. 1 recommendation to that full board that would require any horse who receives clenbuterol to be restricted via the veterinarian's list for 21 days and then test clear of that substance prior to being removed from the list and allowed to compete. Kentucky's current clenbuterol regulation requires a prescription that must be filed with the KHRC within 24 hours of dispensing the drug and a withdrawal time...