Trainer Phil Serpe is suspended 2 years for clenbuterol use

Trainer Phil Serpe was suspended for two years by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit after a positive finding of clenbuterol in one of his horses.

The alleged finding occurred with Fast Kimmie after the now 5-year-old mare won a claiming dirt mile at Aqueduct on Aug. 10, according to HIWU.

Clenbuterol, a bronchodilator, is approved for the treatment of recurrent airway obstruction. But it is banned in competition, and horses must be on the veterinarian's list for a minimum of 21 days after a treatment. Horses also may not work or race until clenbuterol or its metabolites are not detected.

Daily Racing Form reported that Serpe argued in pre-hearing filings and during a June hearing that he did not administer clenbuterol to the horse or know how the horse tested positive. He that the sample could have been contaminated.

The suspension is effective Tuesday. Serpe had three horses entered for both Thursday and Saturday at Saratoga.

Bradford Beilly, an attorney for Serpe, told DRF he is appealing the arbitrator’s decision and that it “was his understanding” that Serpe had begun moving his horses to other trainers.

After receiving a provisional suspension for the clenbuterol positive, Serpe filed suit in October against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Administration, claiming his Seventh Amendment right to a jury hearing was denied wrongfully. He also made the case that HISA's work is out of constitutional bounds.

A judge denied Serpe’s request for a preliminary injunction in that case in May, DRF reported, but the judge said Serpe could re-file the action if the case was adjudicated by HIWU.

Serpe's lawsuit argued that jury trials are required when a government agency is seeking a fine, DRF reported. The ruling in Serpe’s case did not include a fine, unlike in similar cases.

“HISA has been playing games throughout this process,” Beilly told DRF.

Serpe will re-file his lawsuit seeking a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday, Beilly said. The suit will include a request for preliminary injunction against the suspension.