The summary suspension of veterinarian Dr. Cynthia Loomis has expired after the Indiana Horse Racing Commission failed to take further action against her, according to a ruling by an administrative law judge dated Oct. 15.
Loomis was summarily suspended on July 4 of this year alongside owner/trainer Marvin Johnson. Stewards in Indiana did not specify in their ruling what either was alleged to have done, but Johnson told Thoroughbred Daily News at the time that Loomis was found treating one of his horses at Horseshoe Indianapolis on race day, an allegation Loomis denies.
Summary suspensions are intended to immediately remove a licensee from sanctioned grounds until a hearing can be held to determine whether they violated racing regulations. Loomis appealed the summary suspension, and after she was denied, filed a motion for reconsideration. In that motion, Loomis argued that the summary suspension was amended in July to be given an end date of Oct. 3, which has come and gone. Although she has been told the commission is continuing its investigations, Loomis claims there are no hearings scheduled in the case.
Administrative law judge Michael Buker wrote in his finding that there are circumstances in which a summary suspension may be extended, but that he found Loomis' case did not meet those legal requirements since there was no indication on Oct. 3 that there were charges pending against her.
Indiana Horse Racing Commission executive director Deena Pittman did not respond to a request for comment at press time. In Buker's ruling, he wrote that “As a threshold matter, Respondent [Indiana Horse Racing Commission] acknowledges that an Administrative Complaint has not been filed as of Oct. 13, 2022. According to Respondent, the investigation is ongoing because (1) investigators have discovered additional alleged violations requiring further investigation, and (2) Petitioner's employer has not sufficiently cooperated with Respondent's investigators.”
Pittman has failed to respond to multiple requests by the Paulick Report in recent weeks for updates on the status of Marvin Johnson's case.
Last week, Indiana stewards issued a summary suspension of assistant trainer Christy Johnson, who is married to Marvin. Pittman confirmed at that time that Christy's suspension was related to Marvin's, but declined to elaborate on what Christy is alleged to have done.
The post Indiana’s Summary Suspension Of Veterinarian Expires After State Does Not Pursue Charges appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
