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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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Amended Accusations Set Ball Rolling Towards Blea Hearing

In an amended accusation, the California Veterinary Medical Board has revised its original set of complaints leveled against California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director, Jeff Blea.

The additional information, however, mostly “fine-tunes” what was included in the original accusation against Blea and doesn't change the “big picture,” said George Wallace, Blea's attorney.

According to various leading veterinary medical experts, that big picture is one largely of lax record keeping.

What the amended accusation does, however, is set the ball rolling on a rough time-table leading to a full hearing, giving Blea 15 days with which to file a notice of defense.

Once Blea's notice of defense has been filed, the formal hearing is required to be scheduled within 30 days, said Wallace. But due to the complicated nature of the case, it will likely take longer, he said.

“We expect to oppose and refute most everything here when the appropriate time comes. It remains the case that the allegations of the Accusation are disputed, and will be either refuted altogether or shown to be consistent with the professional and legal obligations of equine veterinarians generally, and particularly of equine veterinarians at California race tracks,” Wallace wrote in an email, regarding the amended accusation.

Blea was put on administrative leave from his position as California horse racing's head veterinarian by UC Davis in January. As per an administrative law judge ruling from earlier this month, Blea's veterinary license is also temporarily suspended pending a formal hearing.

In the interim, Blea might still seek injunctive relief in the California Superior Court to lift the temporary block on his veterinary license due to the fact the suspension has “serious problems in terms of a lack of an evidentiary basis,” Wallace said. A decision on such a move could arrive by next week, he said.

After the administrative law judge's ruling earlier in February, CHRB executive director, Scott Chaney, explained that the agency was contemplating similar legal intervention in the Superior Court on behalf of Blea.

According to a CHRB spokesperson Wednesday, no decision had yet been made on the agency's legal approach in the case.

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 typically result in punitive actions less severe than a suspended license.

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

In its original 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 GI Kentucky Derby winner who collapsed and died after a scheduled workout Dec. 6 at Santa Anita.

The final results of that necropsy were issued to the public last week, with Medina Spirit's cause of death ultimately “undetermined.”

According to UC Davis, Blea remains on administrative leave, despite completion of the necropsy.

“The conclusion of the Medina Spirit necropsy does not affect the status of the equine medical director position. Dr. Blea's administrative leave continues. In the meantime, school personnel continue to fulfill the duties of the equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board,” wrote a UC Davis spokesperson, in an email.

The amended accusation includes details that weren't included in the original complaint.

It states, for example, that Blea's veterinarian confidential reports revealed “clusters of equine patients were administered identical medications and treatments, at the same time, at the request of their trainers without medical necessity.”

Listed in explanation are the following substances that are commonly found along the racetrack backstretch: Adequan, Gastrogard, Aspirin powder, Acepromazine pills, Uniprim, Otomax, Legend (a hyaluronic acid), and Tucoprim powder.

The amended accusation also adds additional substances to those that Blea reportedly possessed or used that have not been approved by the FDA.

But as Bryan Langlois, former president of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, had previously told the TDN, just because certain drugs don't have FDA approval for use in horses doesn't mean veterinarians are prohibited from prescribing them.

“A lot of drugs that are out there, they're FDA approved but only in certain species or only in humans. The companies never did the trials to test them in animals to get the FDA certification. So, a lot of times, we prescribe these drugs as off-label use,” Langlois had told the TDN.

“Usually, what that means is that there is no FDA approved equivalent out there for that species. The research has been done and the drug dosage has been worked out so that it can be used safely in animals, you just have to make the owner aware of the fact that you're using it off-label,” he had said.

Among the punitive outcomes the veterinary medical board is seeking against Blea is full revocation or suspension of his license.

The TDN asked Langlois to review the amended accusation. In a text, he explained that the nature of the allegations still don't rise to the level requiring immediate license suspension.

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Blea’s License Suspension Upheld; CHRB Equine Medical Director Remains On Leave

Judge Nana Chin has upheld the veterinary license suspension of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director Jeff Blea, reports the Los Angeles Times. The news follows last Friday's formal hearing of the California Veterinary Medical Board's petition for his interim suspension, and Blea remains on leave from his position with the CHRB.

Blea is facing eight causes for discipline, according to formal “accusation” documents issued in late December. 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.

Blea was placed on administrative leave in mid-January. Drs. Heather Knych and Ashley Hill have been named acting equine medical directors and will perform the statutory functions of the Equine Medical Director.

“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,” Amy Quinton, a UC Davis spokesperson, told the LA TImes. “At this time, Dr. Blea remains on administrative leave. The School of Veterinary Medicine continues to fulfill its duties to provide equine medical director services for the CHRB.”

Blea has also been removed from his role overseeing the investigation into the death of Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, who dropped dead 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.

No date has been set for a hearing into the eight charges, but the LA Times suggests that normal circumstances could see the CHRB without an equine medical director for up to a year.

The CHRB remains steadfast in it's support of Blea, releasing the following statement after it's Jan. 20 meeting.

“The commissioners of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) unanimously agreed in closed session Jan. 20 on their support and confidence in Dr. Jeff Blea to continue in his role as the CHRB's Equine Medical Director (EMD) as he deals with the accusation filed against him by the California Veterinary Medical Board (CVMB), which has resulted in an emergency temporary suspension of his veterinary license.

“The commissioners and Executive Director Scott Chaney are optimistic that the interim suspension hearing held on Jan. 21 will overturn this initial decision. However, 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 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, which appointed Dr. Blea as the Equine Medical Director for the CHRB.”

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 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.

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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