Arbitrator Dismisses HIWU Case After Inconclusive Hair Test, Elias Lopez Cleared

Hon. Bernetta D. Bush, a retired judge, has dismissed the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit enforcement action against trainer Elias Lopez after concluding the hair-test results and chain-of-custody record could not prove La Clasica was given albuterol while in Lopez’s care. The arbitrator wrote that HIWU had “failed to meet its burden of proving to the comfortable satisfaction of the Arbitrator that Trainer Lopez was the trainer for La Clasica at the time the horse was exposed to albuterol, and thus has failed to establish that Trainer Lopez has committed a Rule 3212 violation.”

La Clasica, a filly entered in a maiden claiming race at Hawthorne on June 5, 2025, suffered a catastrophic injury during the race and was humanely euthanized. Investigators collected blood and hair samples after the incident, and the hair test returned positive for albuterol. HIWU, the entity charged with enforcing the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program rules of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, pursued the case after that positive finding, and records show La Clasica did not have a prescription for albuterol on file with HISA.

Bush’s ruling turned on evidentiary gaps rather than on the laboratory finding alone. The arbitrator found the hair testing evidence and the supporting chain-of-custody documentation were insufficient to establish that the horse was exposed to albuterol while Lopez was the trainer, and therefore did not sustain a Rule 3212 presence-based anti-doping violation. As a result of the dismissal, Lopez will face no HIWU sanctions and is responsible only for his portion of arbitration fees.

Elias Lopez’s career record, as cited in the arbitration reporting, lists 78 winners from 535 starters and career earnings of $1,697,383; he began training in 2021. Those statistics, paired with the severity of La Clasica’s injury at Hawthorne, frame the stakes for a young trainer whose record could have been materially altered by a disciplinary penalty under the ADMC program.

The decision arrives against a backdrop of broader debate about testing matrices and evidentiary standards. FTC filings and prior JAMS decisions referenced in the record note that in other arbitrations the ADMC program has been treated as a single-matrix program in which a split urine A/B sample suffices to establish an Adverse Analytical Finding, and one prior arbitrator observed that “the results of hair sample analysis cannot be used to override a positive finding in urine.” Those excerpts also record judicial admonitions such as “mere speculation is not sufficient” and that Use “can be proven by any reliable means including admissions, witness testimony, and documentary evidence.” The filings and past decisions named HIWU v. Wong, HIWU v. Pineda and cases such as Fast Kimmie as precedent, but the filings do not indicate urine results were produced in the Lopez matter.

Other recent HIWU outcomes illustrate the range of arbitrators’ remedies. In the Phil Serpe matter an arbitrator imposed a two-year suspension and purse forfeiture; arbitrator Jeffrey Benz issued that decision and Serpe’s counsel signaled plans to appeal, saying, “We will be filing a notice of appeal with the FTC in the [HIWU] administrative proceeding as required and renewing the motion for preliminary injunction against the FTC in the federal district court action.” The Lopez dismissal underscores how evidentiary detail and chain-of-custody proof can determine liability and sanctions under HISA’s ADMC rules.

Chelsea Hackbarth’s reporting notes that the arbitrator’s full report is available for review. The dismissal leaves Lopez without HIWU discipline but also places renewed focus on how HIWU, laboratories and race-day officials document sample handling and prescriptions in contested cases, an issue that will shape future enforcement and trainers’ business risk on the racetrack.