February, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Rood & Riddle To Host Second International Podiatry Conference

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital will host the Second Rood & Riddle International Podiatry Conference, an educational seminar for veterinarians and farriers, on April 15 and 16 at the Spy Coast Equine Educational Center on Newtown Pike in Lexington, KY.

The conference aims to create a collaborative experience for veterinarians and farriers to work together, increasing and sharing their knowledge of biomechanics, laminitis, and innovations within equine podiatry. The conference will feature lectures and demonstrations by some of the equine industry's most notable members. Guest speakers include Dr. Renate Weller of the University of Calgary, Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. She is joined by Dr. Thilo Pfau, University of Calgary, Professor Faculty of Kinesiology, and Yogi Sharp, DipWCF BSc (Hons) First Class, best known for his platform “The Equine Documentalist,” which brings research to the wider equine community.

Podiatrist Dr. Scott Morrison, the Rood & Riddle Podiatry Center founder, stated, “We wanted to hold a conference that incorporated both veterinarians and farriers in a collaborative environment that will inspire all who attend,” said Dr. Scott Morrison. Dr. Raul Bras, International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame inductee, added, “We hope this will be an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn new techniques, meet each other and facilitate future collaborations for everyone.”

The conference will be limited to 85 participants.

For more information or to register for the course, please go to Rood & Riddle Podiatry Conference.

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Blea Seeks California Superior Court Relief From Suspension

Sidelined California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director Jeff Blea has filed a writ of mandate with the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles seeking to lift the California Veterinary Medical Board's interim suspension on his veterinary license.

The court filing, dated Feb. 24, also seeks declarative and injunctive relief, arguing that the position of equine medical director does not require an active license, and that Blea, UC Davis and the CHRB will continue to suffer “irreparable harm” if California horse racing's head veterinarian remains unable to fulfill his duties.

UC Davis placed Blea on administrative leave from his role as equine medical director in January. That position is first appointed by the dean of UC Davis, which then contracts with the CHRB for the appointee's services.

In the interim, UC Davis has used “school personnel” to fulfill the duties of the equine medical director for the CHRB.

Monday, Blea also set the ball officially rolling towards a formal hearing on the veterinary board's accusations against him, filing a notice of defense.

In the meantime, Blea will also likely seek to stay the interim suspension of his veterinary license until the Superior Court can officially hear the matter, explained his attorney, George Wallace.

Another purpose of the stay would be to potentially delay the formal hearing on the accusations against Blea so that the veterinary board receives guidance from the Superior Court “on what the law is,” said Wallace.

At the start of the year, the veterinary board 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 medications to racehorses without a prior examination, without forming a diagnosis and without medical necessity.

The veterinary board also claimed that Blea presents a “danger to public health, safety and welfare,” due to his oversight as equine medical director of the high-profile investigation into the death of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico), the Kentucky Derby winner who collapsed and died after a scheduled workout Dec. 6 at Santa Anita.

The necropsy and postmortem review of Medina Spirit's death is now complete, with the cause of death undetermined. John Pascoe, the executive associate dean of UC Davis's School of Veterinary Medicine, ultimately oversaw the necropsy examination.

According to various leading veterinary medical experts, the veterinary board's accusations levelled against Blea—including amended accusations from earlier this month—consist largely of lax record keeping.

Veterinary experts also suggest that the veterinary board's investigation potentially failed to account for the unusual nature of veterinary practice on the backstretch, where veterinarians–even those with multiple barns under their care–can build the sort of daily relationship with their animals absent from traditional small animal practice.

In his filing with the Superior Court, Blea argues that the interim suspension of his veterinary license is invalid for several reasons, including how the administrative law judge who issued the suspension used a “preponderance of evidence” to support her decision, instead of the legally required higher standard based on “clear and convincing proof to a reasonable certainty.”

The judge's findings “are not supported by the weight of the evidence, or by any substantial evidence, or at all,” the filing states.

Furthermore, even though Blea retired from medical practice in June of last year–to assume the role of equine medical director–there is “no substantial evidence” to suggest that even if he were still practicing, he poses a “danger” to anyone, the filing states.

“The Accusation is devoid of any assertion, or suggestion, that any equine patient of Dr. Blea was harmed in any way, or that any of Dr. Blea's clients (the owners and trainers of those horses, the “consumers” of veterinary services whose interests are to be protected by the Veterinary Medical Board) have the slightest complaint about his professional practices in the care of those patients,” the filing adds.

The veterinary board has also argued that the statutory definition of the equine medical director position means that Blea is actively engaging in veterinary medicine by conducting his duties.

In his Superior Court filing, Blea takes issue with that assessment, arguing that the veterinary board's reading of the state's Business and Professions Code is “overbroad and unreasonable,” and is incorrect “as a matter of law.”

The CHRB has thrown its weight behind Blea. Earlier this month, senior CHRB officials said that the agency was contemplating a similar legal intervention in the Superior Court on Blea's behalf.

Monday, CHRB executive director, Scott Chaney, explained the agency is still in the process of finalizing that strategy.

The TDN also asked UC Davis if Blea would resume his equine medical director duties if California Superior Court grants a stay on his interim suspension. UC Davis has yet to respond.

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Behesht Moves To Whytemount Stud In Ireland

Behesht, a French stakes winner who began his stud career in the U.S., has been sold to stand at Whytemount Stud in Kells, Ireland, Thoroughbred Stallion Guide reports.

The 11-year-old son of Sea the Stars previously stood at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Ky., where he entered stud in 2018. He sold to sold to Indiana-based William Nicks for $3,500 at this year's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, and his first foals are 3-year-olds of 2022.

Behesht had nine foals in his debut crop, and two starters. Yurena has placed in four of seven starts in Peru, while A Touch Of Spadget is still seeking her first in-the-money effort running at Tampa Bay Downs.

Bred in France by The Aga Khan, Behesht spent his early racing years primarily in his home country, winning the Prix Turenne and finishing second in the Prix Frederic de LaGrange.

He sold to Calumet Farm prior to the 2016 racing season, and raced for his new owner for two seasons before retiring to stud. He finished his career with three wins in 16 starts for $143,833.

Behesht is out of the French Group 2-winning Kris mare Behkara, whose other foals of note include French Group 1 winner Behkabad and French stakes winner Carthage. His second dam is the European champion Behera.

Read more at Thoroughbred Stallion Guide.

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NY Passes Suspension Restrictions, Takes Aim at Mutuel Uncoupling of Married Jockeys

Without any public discussion among commissioners and in quick succession by unanimous voice vote, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Monday enacted a new rule designed to keep jockeys from stalling via filing appeals to get out of serving riding suspensions during the lucrative Saratoga Race Course meet.

In similarly brisk fashion, the NYSGC also set into motion Feb. 28 the advancement of a proposed regulation to lift controversial pari-mutuel restrictions related to married jockeys competing in the same race. This measure must come back for a final vote after publication in the state register and a presumably final round of public commentary.

It's now been 14 months since newlywed spouses Katie Davis and Trevor McCarthy made unwanted headlines when an antiquated NYSGC rule requiring the mounts of married jockeys to be treated as a single betting interest forced confusing pari-mutuel couplings in 41 races in which they competed against one another.

Between Jan. 1 and Mar. 21, 2021, McCarthy and Davis's mounts in common races at Aqueduct cost an estimated $4.2 million in handle loss.

The regulation in question, rule 4025.10 (f), states, “All horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey.”

The application of that little-used rule was widely bemoaned by the betting public and termed as sexist by some critics. But the NYSGC did not address the controversy during any open, public meetings in 2021 while a piece of legislation to update the regulation sailed unanimously through both the Assembly and Senate.

But on Oct. 25, that bill was surprisingly vetoed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who explained that she would instead be directing the NYSGC to review the “continued need for mandatory coupling and the circumstances under which such a requirement might be relaxed.”

That directive resulted in a Jan. 11, 2022, commentary-seeking pow-wow of Thoroughbred industry stakeholders, regulators, and track officials, during which not a single person advocated in favor of keeping the antiquated rule as written.

Monday, the matter was finally up before the NYSGC to put in motion the process of changing the old regulation by simply deleting the word “shall” from rule 4025.10 (f) and replacing it with the phrase “are not required” to be coupled.

'Saratoga' rule changed

The so-called “Saratoga rule” dates to an initiative from June 2021 in which the NYSGC sought to end the resource-draining practice of jockeys appealing riding infractions during big-money race meets like at Saratoga, then withdrawing those protests once the meet was over for the sole purpose of delaying a suspension until it was more convenient for the penalized rider to serve the days.

The resulting re-write gives the commission discretion to instead make the jockey sit out a suspension at a subsequent meeting at the same track, meaning a rider's Saratoga penalty might not be able to get pushed back to, say, Aqueduct in the winter, if the stewards opted to make the days instead carry over to the start of the next year's meet at the Spa.

The measure voted in on Monday reads: “If a jockey commits a riding infraction and the penalty of a suspension or revocation is not served during the same race meeting, then the commission in its discretion may order that the penalty be served, in whole or in part, at a subsequent race meeting at the same track.”

According to a brief written by NYSGC general counsel Edmund Burns, only one entity, the Jockeys' Guild, filed a public comment on the proposed rule change. Burns summed up the opposition as such:

“The Jockeys' Guild opposes codifying this policy as a regulation. Instead, the Jockeys' Guild suggests that hearing requests brought in bad faith should subject a jockey to sanctions if the appeal is found to have been brought frivolously.

“The Jockeys' Guild also suggests that the regulation allow for jockeys who are suspended for minor riding violations for 10 days or less be permitted to ride in “designated races” during the suspension, serving a day of suspension at a later time to make up for the designated race day. The Jockey's Guild suggests that such a policy may decrease the number of jockey challenges.

“In the alternative, the Jockeys' Guild states that if the rule is adopted, the rule should retain the provision allowing for discretion in whether a penalty should be served at the same track.”

The NYSGC staff responded in writing to the Guild's suggestions. But the response was redacted in its entirety from Burns's brief, so it can't be published here.

Other proposed rules

Also advancing to publication in the state register and the required public commentary period on Monday were:

a.) An amendment to the regulation governing licensing for a jockey agent that removes the requirement for an applicant to have been previously licensed as an exercise person, apprentice jockey, jockey, assistant trainer or trainer for at least one year. The proposed change would instead allow the stewards to determine whether an applicant is qualified. TDN first reported on this seemingly restrictive practice back in 2020.

b.) Amendments to the jockey equipment weighing rules that would eliminate the need for jockeys to be weighed with muzzles, martingales and breastplates, like in Florida, Kentucky, California, and other states.

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