California Horse Racing Board

Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s necropsy report will be released Friday at 9 a.m. PST, the California Horse Racing Board announced Thursday night. The GI Kentucky Derby winner died of an apparent heart attack following a workout Dec. 6 at Santa Anita. "The California Horse Racing Board with the cooperation of the University of California-Davis will be issuing a news release along with the Medina Spirit necropsy report at 9 a.m. to those receiving this advisory," the CHRB release said. The CHRB added that a Q&A via teleconference for credentialed news media...

The veterinary license of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director, Jeff Blea, remains suspended pending a full administrative hearing, according to a ruling by administrative law judge Nana Chin. In a 15-page document dated Friday, Jan. 28 but posted to the Veterinary Medical Board's website Wednesday, Chin wrote that despite Blea not currently practicing veterinary medicine, this still "does not ensure" public safety. "As long as Respondent's license to practice is active, he is free to return to the practice of veterinary medicine at any time. Permitting Respondent...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 01/28/2022 Licensee: Richard Dean Greenman, trainer Penalty: Required to participate in a fitness for licensure hearing before being permitted to get re-licensed (his license having expired in August of last year). Violation: N/A Explainer: Acting on an Order of...

In the formal hearing Friday morning of the Veterinary Medical Board's petition for an interim suspension of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director Jeff Blea's medical license, both sides laid out their arguments. In short, the deputy attorney general Elaine Yan representing the veterinary board took a procedural defense of the petition, arguing that the allegations against Blea amount to violations of standards of practice within the veterinary community as codified in the veterinary medicine practice act. "These guidelines emphasize the importance of examinations and diagnosis," said Yan,...

Three members of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), plus the agency's executive director, on Thursday advocated for the reinstatement of temporarily suspended CHRB equine medical director Jeff Blea on the eve of his hearing before the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) to rule on a list of allegations that include administering "dangerous drugs" to racehorses without examination or medical necessity. "For my own two cents as chairman, I think that the issues surrounding Dr. Jeff Blea brought forth by the veterinary medical board are both ill-advised and slanderous," said...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public and where. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 01/07/2022 Licensee: Andreas Psarras, trainer Penalty: $500 Violation: Medication violation Explainer: Trainer Andreas Psarras, who started the horse House of Targaryen, who finished fifth in the sixth race at Santa Anita Park Oct. 10, 2021, is fined $500.00 and assessed one half...

Jeff Blea, California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director, has been placed on administrative leave by UC Davis pending a formal review of his veterinary license, according to Blea's attorney, George Wallace. The story was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. The California Veterinary Medical Board last week announced that an emergency hearing had resulted in an interim suspension of Blea's veterinary license for a number of alleged offenses, including purportedly administering "dangerous drugs" to racehorses without a prior examination, without forming a diagnosis and without medical necessity....

Given Jeff Blea's high-profile position as equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), news last week that the California Veterinary Medical Board had issued an interim suspension of his veterinary license set the latest alarm bells clanging across the industry. Certainly, the accusations leveled against Blea appear a damning indictment of his veterinary bona-fides. According to the veterinary board, Blea presents a "danger to public health, safety and welfare," due to his oversight of the investigation into the death of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico), the...

In response to the actions brought by the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) against Dr. Jeff Blea, Equine Medical Director, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) issued a statement Thursday morning regarding the interim suspension order of his license. The investigation into the death of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) will now be headed by the executive associate dean of UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine. "Given the sensitive and very public nature of the necropsy and resulting investigation into the death of Medina Spirit, and in keeping...

The California Veterinary Medical Board has filed an interim suspension order against the license of Jeff Blea, the UC Davis Equine Medical Director who advises the California Horse Racing Board on matters relating to equine health and welfare. The order reads, "The allegations include prescribing, dispensing, and/or administering thyroxine and other drugs to racehorses without establishing a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR), without performing an examination, without forming a diagnosis, and without medical necessity." According to John Cherwa at the Los Angeles Times, an emergency hearing was held Dec. 24, and Administrative...

In a press release Monday, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced that it had amended its ongoing Statement of Charges issued against trainer Bob Baffert to include a pair of positive tests for phenylbutazone (bute) in 2019 in California and a subsequent inspection of the trainer's barn which allegedly uncovered an unlocked medication cabinet, improperly labeled medications and the presence of unsecured phenylbutazone paste. NYRA has charged Baffert with engaging in conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing and has sought to temporarily ban the trainer from its...

by Bill Finley and Dan Ross The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has amended its Statement of Charges issued against trainer Bob Baffert to include a pair of positive tests for phenylbutazone that occurred in 2019 in California and a subsequent inspection of the trainer's barn in which it alleges that 25 improperly labeled medications were found. NYRA's Statement of Charges now contains allegations that, over a 16-month period prior to the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, six horses under Baffert's care violated rules and regulations in six separate races. Having...