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‘Public Trust Will Diminish’: CHRB Equine Medical Director’s License Temporarily Suspended, But He Remains In Post

According to the Los Angeles Times, California Horse Racing Board equine medical director Dr. Jeff Blea has had his veterinary license temporarily suspended after an emergency hearing requested by the state's veterinary medical board. The vet board issued accusation documents (akin to charging documents) against Blea and two other Southern California racetrack veterinarians last month. An emergency hearing was held on the morning of Christmas Eve to determine whether a temporary suspension was appropriate for Blea, and according to the LA Times' John Cherwa, Administrative Law Judge Nana Chin signed the temporary suspension order on Jan. 3.

Chief among the concerns of the veterinary medical board was Blea's ability to remain impartial in his capacity at the CHRB, given the nature of the accusations against him. Blea is accused of violating several components of the state's veterinary practice act by administering medications to racehorses without documentation of complete medical examinations or medical necessity.

“The Board cannot fulfill its mission of protecting equine patients while Respondent Blea continues to be primarily responsible for the enforcement of violations that harm the health and safety of racehorses,” the petition states. “Respondent Blea currently oversees the UC Davis Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory drug-testing program, works with CHRB investigators to investigate potential medication violations, liaises with peers directing programs at UC Davis, including the UC Davis-CHRB necropsy program, and works with Official Veterinarians in their oversight of practicing veterinarians. This gives Respondent Blea control or influence over the drugs administered to racehorses, drug detection, and the investigations of medication violations and racehorse deaths, including the direction of the investigation, the necropsies, and their results. The UC Davis Equine Medical Director has historically held immense authority and influence over the operations and procedures within CHRB on matters related to equine health and welfare.

“The Board alleges that Respondent Blea administered medically unnecessary and non-FDA approved drugs to numerous racehorses. The Board's findings and allegations established that racehorses are administered legal and illegal drugs to enhance performance in racing. Racing is not a medical condition or diagnosis. If Respondent Blea is allowed to continue his role in enforcement and investigations, his involvement alone will raise questions and will compromise the integrity of the drug testing program, the investigations, their findings, and their results due to the unquestionable conflict of interest. Public trust will diminish. Without a trusted drug testing system and without impartial, complete, and accurate investigations, the Board will be prevented from learning the true causes of horse death and injury, from enforcing the Practice Act, and from instituting remedial action or regulations to curb unnecessary deaths of racehorses. Because the protection of the public, especially the health and safety of equine patients, are paramount, the requested interim suspension order is proper.”

Thyroxine was a particular focus in the board's petition for temporary suspension. There is no FDA-approved, mass-manufactured form of thyroxine in the United States for racehorses.

“Veterinarians are prohibited from possessing or using any drug, substance, or medication that has not been approved by the FDA on the premises of a facility under the jurisdiction of CHRB,” the petition read. “As an experienced veterinarian who has treated racehorses for over a decade, Respondent Blea should know and understand this regulation. Yet, on December 15, 2021, Respondent Blea announced that CHRB will begin a strict regulation of thyroxine, a thyroid medication, on January 1, 2022. Thyroxine, as stated above, is not approved by the FDA, can cause cardiac arrhythmias, and squarely falls under the category of drugs prohibited by section 1867. Respondent Blea's approval of prohibited veterinary practices proves that he cannot be trusted to be involved in any medication violation or death investigations.”

The petition specifically cited the ongoing investigation into the sudden death of Medina Spirit as a reason for the veterinary medical board's concern for swift action. It also alleges that in a two-month span, Blea administered medications to 3,225 horses in 67 working days, for an average of 48 horses per day.

“The records show Respondent Blea administered the same drugs for multiple horses with the same trainer consecutively at approximately the same time,” read the petition. “Respondent Blea provided drugs to a large number of horses not based on a documented examination, diagnosis or medical necessity, but instead based on what the trainer requests.”

According to the LA Times though, the CHRB has previously stated it intends to let Blea remain in the job with the belief that state regulation does not require the equine medical director to hold an active veterinary license. Both boards fall under the umbrella of California's Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.

Blea's position is expected to be part of a closed session of the CHRB meeting scheduled for Jan. 20. The veterinary medical board will hold a formal hearing the following day to determine whether Blea's license will be suspended on a non-temporary basis. A formal adjudication of the charges against him may take up to a year.

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Blea, Baker Among California Veterinarians Hit With Accusations From Veterinary Medical Board

Three racetrack veterinarians in Southern California are the subjects of formal “accusation” documents from the state's veterinary medical board saying they violated a series of regulations governing their jobs. Dr. Jeff Blea, longtime racetrack practitioner and equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board, is facing eight causes for discipline; Dr. Vince Baker, practitioner and managing licensee of Equine Medical Center in Cypress, Calif., faces 15 causes for discipline; Dr. Sarah Graybill Jones, a practitioner who works for Equine Medical Center, faces seven causes for discipline.

All three could see their veterinary licenses revoked or suspended, may be required to pay the Board back for reasonable costs of investigation, and/or be ordered to pay fines not exceeding $5,000.

The accusation documents represent the charges filed by the veterinary board. Hearings have yet to be held to determine whether and what disciplinary action may be taken.

The primary focus for much of the accusation documents involves record-keeping, both records of examination and diagnosis ahead of treatment and records of drugs dispensed, including controlled substances in some instances. In several cases, the veterinary medical board accuses the veterinarians of failing to establish a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) per state regulations because it's not clear from existing records that the veterinarians examined horses prior to dispensing medications.

The accusations outline the treatment of racehorses identified only by their initials and in large part, without trainer or owner names attached. The exception seems to be in the accusation document for Baker. As managing licensee of Equine Medical Center, he is considered to have some responsibility for the record-keeping of veterinarians working at the practice. A portion of the accusation document detailed records from other veterinarians at the clinic that seemed to similarly be missing identifying information, examination records, or treatment plans as required by law. In these cases, specific clients (trainers) were mentioned and included Carla Gaines, Doug O'Neill, and Bob Baffert. Baker has long been a key part of the veterinary team treating Baffert's horses, although in the accusation documents the medical board noted it was Jones who administered treatments to two unidentified Baffert horses and later billed the treatments under Baker's name.

The majority of substances listed in the documents are routine and legal therapeutic medications. By the veterinary medical board's legal definition, however, some were considered “dangerous” if they bore the phrase “RX only” on the label. Many, like Lasix, aren't considered by a layperson's definition to be inherently dangerous or exotic. Some of the drugs mentioned however, were also considered by the state to be misbranded because they were produced outside of federal oversight. Thyro-L, the trade name for levothyroxine powder, falls into this category as it is not FDA-approved and was allegedly dispensed by both Baker and Blea. Baker is also accused of using compounded substances from Buy Rite Drugs which were missing best usage dates, as well as Stop Two and EMP Drench, which the board also says fit the state's definition of misbranded drugs.

Some of the records the board considered to be inadequate from Baker's practice were for more tightly-regulated substances like Euthasol and ketamine.

An anonymous tip earlier this year prompted the investigation by the medical board into Blea in February. Blea took over his current role as CHRB equine medical director in June. In Baker's case, the medical board had performed a routine inspection of EMC's mobile unit in August 2019 and noted deficiencies in medical records and drug logs. The board visited the clinic's base in May 2020 and also received an anonymous complaint about Baker and others in February 2021.

Although identifying horse information was excluded in the documents, treatment dates were included. For Blea, they ranged from early 2020 to February 2021. For Baker, the dates ranged from January 2019 to August 2020. For Jones, the dates were concentrated in March 2020.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times Dec. 23, an emergency hearing in Blea's case is scheduled for Dec. 24. The Times also notes that the position of equine medical director does not require an active veterinary license.

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‘Can’t Ignore These Injury Rates’: CHRB Grants Golden Gate Six-Month License With Increased Monitoring

At Wednesday's meeting of the California Horse Racing Board, the Daily Racing Form reports that discussion centered around the equine fatality rate at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif. Seventeen racehorses have died in racing (four) or training (13) at Golden Gate this year, with four fatalities coming during an eight-day span in November.

In March of 2021, Golden Gate was the site of an on-track protest against horse racing organized by Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), whose spokesperson Cassie King, said DXE was spurred to action by the deaths of three horses during a recent four-week period.

CHRB vice chairman Oscar Gonzales introduced a motion to grant Golden Gate a three-month license in order to review its safety policies, but that measure failed on a vote of 3-4. Instead, commissioner Dennis Alfieri suggested monitoring the track's safety record every 30 days, and a six-month license was approved on a vote of 4-3 (racing from Dec. 26 to June 14, 2022).

Gonzales, Wendy Mitchell, and Brenda Washington-Davis voted against the six-month license. Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Alex Solis, and chairman Dr. Greg Ferraro voted for it.

Ferraro said he had traveled to Golden Gate with executive director Scott Chaney and equine medical director Jeff Blea to talk about the injuries.

“We can't ignore these injury rates,” Ferraro said. “We're willing to work with them and try to improve the situation.”

At last December's meeting of the CHRB, the fatality rate at Los Alamitos (29 in a one-year period) came under scrutiny when preparing to grant that track's race dates for the year. Board members voted to grant the track a six-month license, instead of one year. In January 2021, after Los Al enacted a series of protocols to improve safety, the CHRB voted to restore a full-year license with enhanced scrutiny.

Feinstein Asks for ‘Thorough, Transparent Investigation’ Into Medina Spirit’s Death

California Senator Dianne Feinstein called on the California Horse Racing Board to conduct a “thorough, transparent and independent investigation” into the death of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) in a letter to CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney sent from her office Monday.

The letter reads:

“As the California Horse Racing Board proceeds with the investigation into the jarring death of Medina Spirit, I urge you to ensure such efforts are thorough, transparent, and independent of any outside influence. Further, I ask that you
provide my staff with regular updates on the investigation and any recommended actions necessary to prevent additional fatalities.

“As you well know, Medina Spirit is one of 71 racehorses who have died at California racing facilities thus far in 2021. While this represents a reduction in deaths from prior years, it is apparent that more work is necessary to prevent these tragic fatalities. The continuation of racehorse deaths across the country illustrates why states' cooperation is especially critical to support the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. As you know, this law establishes national, uniform safety standards for horse racing, which will take effect on July 1, 2022.

“I recognize that Governor Newsom and the CHRB have worked to improve the safety of horse racing, and I expect this matter will be treated with the seriousness and professionalism it deserves. As a lifelong horse-enthusiast, I appreciate your prioritizing the welfare of racehorses. Your oversight role in this investigation and beyond is critical to protecting these horses and strengthening the integrity of the sport. Please let me know if I can be helpful.”

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