Blea’s Vet License Remains Suspended, Per Judge

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 to practice and engage in veterinary medicine poses a risk of injury to the public health, safety, and welfare,” wrote Chin in the ruling.

According to a UC Davis spokesperson, Blea remains on administrative leave from his position as equine medical director.

At the start of the year, the California 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.

Chin presided over a formal hearing on that interim suspension on Jan. 21.

“I'm certainly disappointed,” said Blea's attorney, George Wallace. “But I don't know, given the players involved, that it really is a surprise.”

According to Wallace, the veterinary board has 30 days with which to schedule a full hearing on the merits of the case once a notice of defense has been filed, though he warned that the timeline will likely take longer.

Wallace also suggested that Blea might seek “intervention” from the Superior Court in the meantime. “Under the interim suspension statute, there is a right to seek review in the Superior Court,” Wallace said.

“I would expect that, by this time next week, we'll have a much clearer idea of where things are going to be steered,” said Wallace. “But at the moment, it's an ongoing process. There are a lot of people whose opinions get to be heard on it, on all sides.”

A timeline of events leading to the issuance of the charges against Blea can be read here.

A key wrinkle in the case concerns the question of whether or not the equine medical director position requires an active veterinary license.

The position is first appointed by the dean of UC Davis, and the university then contracts with the CHRB for the appointee's services.

Historically, the equine medical director has not required an active license.

But in its argument for an interim suspension, the veterinary board 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 on Dec. 6 at Santa Anita.

The CHRB responded to Blea's emergency interim suspension by bringing in the executive associate dean of UC Davis's School of Veterinary Medicine, John Pascoe, to oversee the necropsy of Medina Spirit.

UC Davis subsequently placed Blea on administrative leave on Jan. 12, however.

“The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is aware the interim order of suspension of Dr. Jeff Blea's veterinary license has been upheld and is monitoring the situation as the legal process moves forward,” wrote a UC Davis spokesperson, in an email.

“The School of Veterinary Medicine continues to fulfill its duties to provide equine medical director services for the CHRB,” the spokesperson added.

The CHRB has thrown its weight behind Blea, voting unanimously in closed session on Jan. 20 on their “support and confidence in Blea to continue in his role,” according to a statement issued last week.

The commissioners are “further committed to pursue appropriate legal avenues to protect the authority of the board, as well as preserve the contract with UC Davis,” the CHRB wrote, adding that “regardless of the outcome, Dr. Blea has their full support and confidence to continue in his role as EMD throughout the full adjudication process.”

The TDN reached out to the CHRB for comment on the latest ruling but didn't receive a response before deadline.

The veterinary board accuses Blea of a number of offenses, including allegedly administering drugs to racehorses without a prior examination to form a diagnosis and determine medical necessity, failing to establish “any” veterinary-client-patient relationship, and of issuing drugs that are not FDA approved for equine administration.

A subsequent TDN investigation found a broad consensus among veterinary medical experts that the infractions are largely matters of poor record-keeping which rarely, if ever, rise to the level of a suspended license.

“When it comes to rising to the level of needing an immediate suspension, in my opinion, I don't think it reaches that level,” Bryan Langlois, former president of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, told the TDN.

In her ruling, however, Chin suggests that the defense failed to provide at the administrative hearing an adequate rebuttal to the allegations, writing that while testimony from the veterinary board's investigator, James Howard, was given “significant merit,” the affidavits submitted by the defendant were afforded “little” weight.

“Though each affiant asserts that the allegations were without merit and claims the allegations are based on a misunderstanding of racetrack practice, they provide no factual grounds for their conclusions,” Chin wrote.

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CHRB Backs Blea Ahead of ‘Dangerousness’ Hearing

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 CHRB chair Gregory Ferraro, who is also a licensed veterinarian.

“Unfortunately, he has now become a pawn in a politically driven agenda to disparage horse racing in California,” Ferraro said. “The people behind this effort are willing to sully and besmirch Dr. Blea's reputation to achieve their ends. And while they are in the process of achieving these goals, the health and safety of racehorses are being compromised every day that Dr. Blea is not allowed to perform his duties.

“Personally, I am dismayed that no one in authority is willing to step forward and call out this ordeal for what it is–an unwarranted and unfair vendetta,” Ferraro summed up.

No members of the CHRB voiced criticisms of Blea. But when the topic was opened up to hear the opinions of nine members of the public who had requested commentary time, sentiment turned against Blea and the CHRB's backing of him by an 8-1 margin.

Among the public opinions voiced were some that advocated for letting the VMB process play out so Blea's allegedly “reckless” behavior could be properly adjudicated. One speaker also called for Ferraro to go on the record by naming the people or entities he believes are slandering Blea.

After the public portion of the Jan. 20 CHRB meeting, the board was scheduled to discuss the case in greater detail while operating in a closed executive session.

TDN reported last week how the VMB also claims that Blea presents a “danger to public health, safety and welfare” due to his oversight of the high-profile investigation into the death of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, the GI Kentucky Derby winner who collapsed and died after a scheduled workout Dec. 6 at Santa Anita Park.

The alleged medication violations occurred before Blea's tenure began at the CHRB, when he was previously employed as an attending veterinarian who treated racehorses.

“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,” said Scott Chaney, the CHRB's executive director.

“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,” Chaney said.

Chaney said the CHRB has hired outside legal counsel to represent its interests in the case and to “right this wrong.” He added that acting veterinary personnel have been appointed to ensure that the equine medical director's duties get covered, but that the CHRB is “less effective without him.”

CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales said, “In order for the CHRB to keep moving in the right direction, we need Dr. Blea as equine medical director.”

Commissioner Alex Solis also spoke out in defense of Blea's character and competence.

None of the four CHRB-affiliated speakers directly addressed the charges against Blea. They largely chose to cite declining equine fatality statistics at the state's racetracks, which they said underscored the importance of having their chosen equine medical director in place to further those efforts.

Gonzales cited “outdated standards and regulations” as a factor in Blea's case, and he implored the CHRB and VMB to meet “as soon as possible” to update such standards to prevent similar “unintended consequences.”

Public commenter Lynn Freudenberg, who signed up to speak as a member of an organization called “Kill Racing, Not Horses,” advocated for the CHRB to take an introspective look at its defense of Blea.

“I know you guys have a personal relationship with Dr. Blea. And I can see why you like him. He's your veterinarian–of course you like him,” Freudenberg said. “But you have to realize that the veterinary board has reason and they have evidence, and they're asking for this to be debated if [Blea's conduct] is wrong.

“Dr. Blea is being charged with negligence. He's administering drugs, medications [and applying] treatment to animals without performing an examination or performing a diagnosis. He's just blindly giving things out. There's six cases, and they have a list of drugs that go with it,” Freudenberg said.

“These are all recent [allegations]. This is nothing from the past,” Freudenberg said. “I don't know why you would stand behind somebody when his own veterinary board is going against him. I think you have to open your eyes and see what's going on and why this is happening.”

A Jan. 11 TDN investigation into the accusations against Blea found a broad consensus among veterinary medical experts that the alleged infractions are largely matters of poor record keeping that rarely, if ever, rise to the level of a suspended license.

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Beem Talks Racecalling, Anxiety, on Writers’ Room

Jason Beem was just 23 years old when he had his first panic attack, but remembers it in excruciating detail to this day. “I was in law school at Gonzaga University. I was in constitutional law class and I didn't know what it was and walked out of class and freaked out in the hallway.” That episode was the beginning of over a decade-and-a-half struggle with anxiety and depression that caused him to leave racing for a period, and be hospitalized several times. The popular racecaller and podcast host talks openly about mental health on the TDN Writers' Room podcast, presented by Keeneland, with hosts Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Jon Green, as the Green Group Guest of the Week.

He said that at times, the depression was so bad that he would have to lie down on an air mattress in the announcer's booth at River Downs because the effort to stay upright was too overwhelming. “My second year at River Downs, I really struggled,” he said. “And that was like the first time I had ever had a real depression and I didn't know what it was. I was in line at Chipotle one day, just crying and I didn't know why. And so I hadn't done a lot of therapy up until then, and so I started doing that and kind of learned what I was dealing with and also that it wasn't uncommon. I think that for me was one of the biggest helps early on was realizing that mental health issues are things that a lot of people struggle with.”

Currently the announcer at Tampa Bay Downs, he talks about being out of racing for a year and half and working as an Uber driver when BetAmerica saw his “Beemie Awards” on Twitter and reached out to see if he was interested in doing something with them. “I said I would love to do a daily podcast,” he recalled. “And that was that was literally like Christmas and we were up and going two weeks later. It really kind of came together pretty fast and, you know, just kind of took the model from what a lot of podcasts were doing; 20 minutes of chat, 25 minutes of interview and then you were out. And we've been really fortunate.”

In other segments on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horse Breeders, West Point Thoroughbreds, Legacy Bloodstock and XBTV, the writers discuss the news of the week, including: the ongoing story of California veterinarian Jeff Blea, the 2021 handle figures and how much of that could be from computer bettors, and the continuing legal battles between Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs.

Watch the video version of the podcast here.

Listen to the audio version here, or on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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California Vet Blea’s License Suspended on Interim Basis

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 Law Judge Nana Chin signed the temporary suspension order.

The petitioner for the order was Jessica Sieferman, the Executive Officer of the California Veterinary Medical Board, and was filed by Rob Bonta, the Attorney General of California. They write in her petition that “the Board is investigating licensed veterinarians who have prescribed, dispensed, or administered drugs to racehorses, and the medical necessity of such drugs.”

The filing suggests that as a practicing veterinarian, Blea has a vested interest in the findings of the Medina Spirit necropsy, and that suspending his license will “prevent the appearance of impropriety,” while failing to clearly connect the dots as to why Blea specifically would have a vested interest simply by virtue of being a veterinarian or in his administrative roles.

It reads, “Because Respondent Blea is alleged to have administered dangerous and medically unnecessary drugs to numerous racehorses, it stands to reason that he approves of such practice by other veterinarians. Any necropsy and investigation results identifying any racehorse's cause of death as drug-related would be detrimental to Respondent Blea, his career, and his livelihood. With the Board's allegations pending, there exists a clear conflict of interest with Respondent Blea's continued involvement in the drug testing program and investigations. The requested interim suspension order will prevent the appearance of impropriety and any possible undue influence by Respondent Blea. The Medina Spirit investigation is currently underway. An impartial, complete and transparent investigation without undue influence and the appearance of impropriety is necessary to determine the root cause of Medina Spirit's death so that remedial action can be taken to prevent additional equine deaths.”

The filing goes on to say that Blea treated six horses with “dangerous drugs” without showing that he completed a “proper physical examination. A proper physical examination would consist of a documented general organ-system examination and may consist of more detailed and focused examinations of particular areas of interest.” It says that Blea “administered at least one of the following dangerous drugs…Thyro-L, Lasix, acepromazine, Adequan, phenylbutazone, methocarbamol, glycopyrrolate, trichlomethiazide/dexamethasone, Dormosedan, and Torbugesic.”

“Respondent Blea is alleged to have committed medication violations on racehorses and is part of the team that oversees the UC Davis drug testing program and investigates medication violations. The appearance of the impropriety alone erodes public trust. The mission of the Board is to protect consumers and animals. Adequate protection of racehorses requires learning the true causes of their sudden deaths so proper remedial action can be taken. That can only happen with impartial, complete and transparent investigations. Petitioner requests the Court to grant the interim suspension order suspending Respondent Blea's license,” the report concludes.

Blea is a respected veteran of the veterinary medical field, both in California and nationally. Aside from decades of equine practice, during which time he has been associated with some of the most well-regarded horsemen in the business, like Richard Mandella, Blea is also a former chair of the American Association of Equine Practitioners' Racing Committee. He also sits on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Standing Committee.

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