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‘Ill Advised And Slanderous’: CHRB Chairman Unloads On Vet Board Over Blea Investigation

Dr. Gregory Ferraro, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, called the recent investigation and action by the California Veterinary Medical Board to temporarily suspend the license of the CHRB's equine medical director, Dr. Jeff Blea, an “unwarranted and unfair vendetta” that is “ill advised and slanderous.” Ferraro said Blea has become a “pawn in a politically driven effort” to hurt horse racing in California. As a result of Blea having to be put on administrative leave from his post with the CHRB, Ferraro added, “the health and safety of racehorses are being compromised.”

Ferraro, formerly a racetrack practitioner and director of the University of California-Davis Center for Equine Health, made the remarks during Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting of the CHRB following a report by the regulatory agency's executive director, Scott Chaney. Chaney, a one-time assistant trainer at Southern California racetracks, also defended Blea's integrity and professionalism, as did CHRB vice chairman Oscar Gonzalez and commissioner Alex Solis, a retired jockey.

Chaney's comments to the board follow:

“As you know, the California Veterinary Medical Board has filed accusations against our Equine Medical Director, Dr. Jeff Blea last month alleging violations from his previous employment as an attending veterinarian. Although I question the veracity of those allegations, what is particularly disturbing is the desire to suspend his veterinary license in advance of his hearing and more to the point, prevent him from working in his role as Equine Medical Director.

“The CHRB has hired outside counsel to represent our interests and in the interim, UC Davis, for which Dr. Blea works, has appointed acting EMDs to fulfill the statutory and regulatory roles. On a personal note, I would like to say that I have known and worked with Dr. Blea for more than 20 years. He is the one of the finest and most ethical veterinarians I have met and more importantly, one of the finest humans with whom I have interacted. I am sorry for Dr. Blea and his family, and although he has been professional and hopeful throughout this ordeal, it is not right that his excellent reputation be besmirched in this way.

“The CHRB is doing everything in its legal power to right this wrong. And while we are making do for the time being, in a very real way, the CHRB is less effective at protecting animal welfare without him.“

Chaney gave a promising report on the decline in California horse racing fatalities in recent years, particularly in 2021. The 0.63 deaths per thousand starts for California racing in 2021 may be the lowest in the country, Chaney said, adding that it is difficult to compare data to other states that are far less transparent than California.

“Our reform efforts are working,” said Gonzalez, suggesting the CHRB will push to have Blea reinstated. “We need Dr. Blea as equine medical director.”

“I know how much he cares about horses,” said Solis.

Blea is among several racetrack veterinarians being investigated following anonymous complaints to the Veterinary Medical Board that certain regulations were not being followed. Other racetrack practitioners have called those regulations outdated and ill-suited to equine practice. Dr. Rick Arthur, the CHRB's former equine medical director, said his experiences with the Veterinary Medical Board have led him to believe some board members are anti-horse racing.

Blea is the only veterinarian being investigated whose license was temporarily suspended.

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‘A Significant Disconnect’: Equine Veterinarians Speak Out At California Veterinary Medical Board Meeting

California's equine veterinarians and its equine medical board need to have a meeting of the minds — that's the takeaway from a series of public comments ahead of the board's regularly-scheduled video conference meeting Jan. 19, where a large number of racetrack and sport horse practitioners dialed in to voice their concerns over the board's recent charges against racetrack licensees.

The most high-profile of the track veterinarians facing action against their veterinary license is California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director Dr. Jeff Blea, whose license was suspended at an emergency hearing by the board on Christmas Eve. Blea is accused of failing to perform adequate examinations of horses prior to prescribing drugs to them, as well as lacking in record-keeping and other areas of the state's veterinary practice law. He has since been placed on administrative leave as the case plays out. Blea isn't the only one facing charges – Drs. Vince Baker, Sarah Graybill Jones, Kim Lewis Kuhlmann, Steven Lee Boyer, and Kenneth Carl Allison also had accusation documents filed against them in 2021 with similar charges. Only Blea's case has resulted in an emergency hearing.

Many in the racing industry have, publicly and privately, questioned the motivation of the veterinary medical board in its pursuit of charges against Blea, as well as its public presentation of the charges as being relevant to Blea's work in overseeing the death of Medina Spirit at Santa Anita in December. (We ran this letter to the editor from trainer Richard Mandella earlier this week testifying to the conditioner's relationship with Blea before he retired from racetrack practice.)

Speakers during the public comment period of the veterinary medical board meeting Jan. 19 did not get into the specifics of Blea's case or mention him by name, but most suggested that the regulations under which the board filed an accusation document against him were outdated and ill-suited to equine practice.

“Not every veterinary practice in this state is conducted on small animals in four-walled hospitals,” said Dr. Rick Arthur, retired racetrack practitioner and former equine medical director for CHRB. “The California Veterinary Medical Board regulations do not reflect the standard of practice, the high standard of practice in ambulatory practice in California, which makes it easy for this board to play 'Gotcha.' That has to change.”

“The scope and tone of the charges on your website are extreme, and they don't' appear to be based on any knowledge of the standards of equine practice in this state,” said Dr. Michael Manno, racetrack veterinarian with San Dieguito Equine Group. “I can tell you that if you can suspend a license based on these accusations and complaints, most of the veterinarians that practice equine medicine in this state might as well hand in their licenses right now.”

Dan Baxter, executive director of the California Veterinary Medical Association, voiced the organization's concern about whether the regulations are in touch with business practices.

“On the heels of recent enforcement action taken by the veterinary medical board, the CVMA has received emails and phone calls from numerous members practicing within the California equine community concerning the board's interpretations of minimum practice standards and enforcement of those standards,” he said. “We fear that there may be a significant disconnect between the reasonable, sound practice standards observed by equine practitioners in the field and the standards to which those same practitioners are being held by the board.

“Without a meeting of the minds between this board, the body interpreting and enforcing the legal standards of practice, and the equine practitioners subject to that enforcement, the CVMA is deeply concerned that equine veterinary practice within the state of California, already a profession in which the supply of qualified clinicians is limited, may be further gutted due to the departure of practitioners unwilling to subject their licenses or livelihoods to the vagaries of a framework that does not reflect the standard of practice observed by the equine veterinary community in this state.”

Dr. Russ Sakai, surgeon at Petaluma Equine, agreed and also expressed concern about what these types of regulatory actions may mean for veterinary students.

“There is a lack of veterinarians graduating and coming into equine practice,” said Sakai. “I think it's difficult to recruit veterinarians at the student level, especially when they see equine veterinarians being subjected to this sort of what appears to be unfair treatment, or being treated with a double standard by a group of members that seem to have not a very thorough understanding of equine practice.”

After hearing the feedback, veterinary board vice president asked the California Veterinary Medical Association to submit a presentation to the board outlining their concerns about the state's Veterinary Practice Act as applied to equine medicine and any regulatory proposals they had to remedy those issues.

There were no specific cases set to be discussed by board members during the public portion of the meeting on Jan. 19 or during a follow-up meeting scheduled for Jan. 20.

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Report: UC Davis Puts Blea On Administrative Leave Among Veterinary Board Proceedings

The Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 12 that Dr. Jeff Blea, equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board, has been placed on administrative leave by the University of California-Davis amid continued grappling over his veterinary license. Blea is employed by the university but loaned to the racing commission — an arrangement that is common amongst other equine medical directors who are hired in partnership between local state universities and commissions.

The Times also reported that Blea had not been performing his duties as equine medical director since last week, because state attorneys were informed that contrary to their initial interpretation of California law, the position does require an active veterinary license. Previously, the CHRB had announced its intention to leave Blea in the role because it believed an active license was not required.

Blea's veterinary license was suspended at an emergency meeting held on Christmas Eve. He has not been operating his racetrack practice since taking the job of equine medical director last summer.

It is expected that UC-Davis staff members will share Blea's duties until the situation becomes more clear. The next hearing in Blea's license case is Jan. 21.

Blea had already been removed from his role overseeing the investigation into the death of Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, who dropped suddenly after completing a workout at Santa Anita. The equine medical director is not responsible for actually performing necropsies or testing biological samples on horses who die in racing or training in California or elsewhere. Those responsibilities go to veterinary pathologists and toxicologists — in California, those duties are contracted to UC-Davis, though some samples have been shipped outside California in this particular case. The equine medical director would be responsible for gathering reports and interpreting them for presentation to the board and to the public.

Many in the veterinary community have been critical of the California Veterinary Medical Board's handling of Blea's case, which they say must have political motivations. Most of the violations alleged against Blea focus on record-keeping regarding examinations and prescriptions. Two other veterinarians who had similar charges brought against them at the same time as Blea have not had their licenses suspended and do not yet have hearings scheduled.

Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings: Jan. 3-10

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 (1/2) point in accordance with California Horse Racing Board rule #1843.4 (Multiple Medication Violations–Expires 01/07/23) pursuant to rule #1887 (Trainer or Owner to Insure Condition of Horse) for violation of rule #1843(a)(d) (Medication, Drugs and Other Substances), and rule #1843.1(b) (Prohibited Drug Substance–Methocarbamol 4.7 NG/ML [Class 4]).

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 01/08/2022
Licensee: Keith Desormeaux, trainer
Penalty: $400
Violation: Late registration of Lasix
Explainer: Trainer Keith Desormeaux is fined $400.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1845 (Authorized Bleeder Medication–late registration) of Miss Everything in the eighth race Jan. 7, 2022, at Santa Anita Park.

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 01/08/2022
Licensee: Abel Cedillo, jockey
Penalty: $500
Violation: Excessive riding crop use
Explainer: Jockey Abel Cedillo is fined $500.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board Rule #1688(b)(7) (Use of Riding Crop–more than two times in succession during a race–first offense in the last 60 days) during the third race at Santa Anita Park Jan. 7, 2022.

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 01/09/2022
Licensee: John Velazquez, jockey
Penalty: $500
Violation: Use of riding crop in post parade
Explainer: Jockey John Velazquez is fined $500.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board Rule #1688(b)(3) (Use of Riding Crop–during post parade–first offense in the last 60 days) while warming up for the first race Jan. 7, 2022–at Santa Anita Park.

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 01/09/2022
Licensee: Tyler Baze, jockey
Penalty: $1,000
Violation: Excessive riding crop use
Explainer: Jockey Tyler Baze is fined $1,000.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8) (Use of Riding Crop–more than six times–third offense within the past 60 days) during the second race at Santa Anita Park Jan. 8, 2022.

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 01/09/2022
Licensee: Mario Gutierrez, jockey
Penalty: $750
Violation: Excessive riding crop use
Explainer: Jockey Mario Gutierrez is fined $750.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8) (Use of Riding Crop–more than six times–second offense within the past 60 days) during the eighth race at Santa Anita Park Jan. 8, 2022.

The post Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings: Jan. 3-10 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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