Photo:

Benoit Photo & Gulfstream Park / You Tube – edited composite

Trainers Jonathan Wong and Phil Serpe, who were hit with
suspensions by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority after they were accused
of medication violations, have taken separate legal actions against the
regulator and the Federal Trade Commission. Both say they have been denied the
constitutional right to have a jury hear their cases.

Wong filed a complaint Tuesday in Louisiana federal court in
response to a two-year suspension he is serving after he was cited for a horse’s
failed drug test in June 2023.

As first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, Wong argued
that HISA rules are unconstitutional not only because they do not allow him the
right to a jury trial but also because the authority wrongfully carries out the
federal government’s work. He also claimed one of his grooms had his work visa
threatened, something that the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit denied.

A maiden-breaking win by Heaven and Earth last year at
Horseshoe Indianapolis was flagged for a metformin positive. Once he was suspended, Wong
moved his stable operation to Delta Downs in Louisiana, a state that has
rejected HISA regulations while it wages its own court fight against the federal
regulator. Wong also was fined $25,000.

Serpe also said his Seventh Amendment right to a jury
hearing was denied wrongfully. He said so in a lawsuit he filed Thursday in
Florida federal court. Serpe was hit with a provisional suspension after he was
accused of a clenbuterol positive after Fast Kimmie won a claiming race at
Saratoga in August.

Like Wong, Serpe also made the case that HISA is out of constitutional
bounds with the very work it is doing. That is the crux of the broader cases
that have been brought by horsemen’s groups and state racing authorities. Conflicting
rulings by appellate courts mean the whole issue is likely to be brought to the
U.S. Supreme Court.