Renowned horse trainer Phil Serpe, celebrated for conditioning three Grade 1 winners, has been handed a two-year racing suspension due to a clenbuterol finding in his horse, Fast Kimmie. This suspension, issued by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program Arbitration Panel, stems from a positive test after Fast Kimmie’s victory in an August 10, 2024, race at Saratoga Race Course.
The arbitration panel’s final decision, released on July 9 and posted to the HIWU website on July 14, mandates Fast Kimmie’s disqualification from her half-length win in the $30,000 claiming race. The $27,500 first-place prize will be redistributed, with Miss Fasionista, the second-place finisher, now awarded the win, and all other horses moved up accordingly. Serpe’s two-year suspension includes 25 days credited from a provisional suspension served from October 10 to November 4 of the previous year.
Serpe, known for training top-tier runners such as Grade 1 winners Leave No Trace, Birdonthewire, and Captive Miss, faces significant sanctions under HISA’s robust anti-doping regulations. Clenbuterol, a bronchodilator used to treat respiratory congestion in horses, also possesses anabolic properties. HISA has implemented stringent restrictions on its use and increased penalties for abuse. Under HISA rules, clenbuterol can only be administered within a veterinarian-client-patient relationship for therapeutic purposes, with a strict maximum duration of 30 days. If not prescribed by a veterinarian, it is classified as a banned substance, and horses treated with it must be placed on the veterinarian’s list, rendering them ineligible to race. HISA and HIWU differentiate penalties, with banned substances carrying more severe consequences than those in the therapeutic category.
During the proceedings, Serpe’s representatives presented a hair sample analysis of Fast Kimmie that returned negative for clenbuterol. They contended that the post-race positive test result was a consequence of inadvertent exposure. This hair testing was conducted after the initial clenbuterol positive was reported on August 27 by the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory in Davis, California, based on a post-race urine sample analysis. The finding from the urine sample was further corroborated on October 8 by B sample testing conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture Analytical Toxicology Laboratory.
The arbitrator’s detailed 16-page decision acknowledged that the UC Davis Lab also performed a segmental analysis on a six-inch hair sample collected from Fast Kimmie on December 11, 2024. These tests, however, also yielded negative results. Serpe’s legal team argued that these negative hair test findings directly conflicted with the positive clenbuterol result from the urine analysis, questioning the accuracy of the urine testing. Blood tests conducted were also negative.
However, the arbitrator emphasized that any adverse finding in blood, urine, or hair is sufficient to declare a positive, without the need for further testing. The decision referenced a HISA rule concerning alternative biological matrices, stating, “Any negative analytical testing results obtained from hair, hoof, saliva, or other biological material shall not be used to counter adverse analytical findings or atypical findings from urine, blood (including whole blood, plasma or serum), or hair.”
Dr. Cynthia Cole, serving as an expert witness for Serpe, suggested that if clenbuterol were regularly administered to Fast Kimmie, the hair sample should have tested positive, given the association of regular administration with clenbuterol’s anabolic effects. Despite this, the arbitrator was not persuaded, noting that even Dr. Cole’s report indicated that a single dose of clenbuterol might not be detectable in hair samples. The arbitrator stated that for Serpe to successfully challenge the adverse urine sample finding, he would need to demonstrate a specific departure from established laboratory standards or testing procedures.
Serpe also highlighted out-of-competition tests conducted prior to the race in question, which found no trace of clenbuterol in Fast Kimmie’s system. These samples were collected on June 19, 2024. The arbitrator, however, deemed prior or subsequent testing results irrelevant to the determination of an adverse finding. The arbitrator concluded that Serpe failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his argument that the clenbuterol exposure may have resulted from cross-contamination.
“The evidence adduced by Mr. Serpe falls well short of establishing on a balance of probabilities the source of clenbuterol. He has not provided any affirmative evidence of contamination,” the arbitrator stated in the final decision. “Mr. Serpe’s expert Dr. Cynthia Cole does not provide any affirmative evidence of contamination either. The Cole Report gestures at the theoretical possibility of inadvertent transfer of clenbuterol. But Dr. Cole provides no opinion that there is any specific fact in this case that renders inadvertent exposure the likely explanation for Fast Kimmie’s (adverse finding).”
In parallel, Phil Serpe is pursuing litigation against HISA and the Federal Trade Commission. A lawsuit filed on October 17, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, argues that HISA’s enforcement actions against Serpe are unconstitutional, as they do not permit such actions to be reviewed in federal district court. The federal court filing on behalf of Serpe noted that to contest an alleged ADMC Program Violation and dispute proposed consequences, HIWU’s charge letter presented Serpe with the sole option of proceeding “at a hearing before an adjudicator from the arbitral body in accordance with ADMC Program Rule 3261 of the protocol and arbitration procedures.” The filing further stated that declining arbitration would be deemed a waiver of the right to a hearing, an admission of the charged anti-doping rule violations, and acceptance of the specified consequences without mitigation, leading to the automatic imposition of all proposed penalties, including fines. On May 29, United States District Judge David Leibowitz denied Serpe’s request for injunctive relief pending the case hearing but acknowledged that Serpe could renew the application for an injunction after the arbitration process.
