California Horse Racing Board

Last month, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) issued a complaint against trainer Richard Baltas alleging that between Apr. 15 and May 8 this year, 23 horses in his care had been administered on race-day a substance containing the plant extracts higenamine and paenol in violation of the board's rules. A hearing on the complaint, originally scheduled for early and then possibly late July, is now set for Aug. 3 with the Del Mar stewards beginning at 9 a.m., according to CHRB spokesperson, Mike Marten, in an email Friday afternoon....

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 (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Los Alamitos Date: 07/01/2022 Licensee: Diego Herrera, jockey Penalty: $1,000 fine Violation: Excessive use of the whip Explainer: Jockey Diego Herrera is fined $1,000.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8)(d) (Use of Riding Crop - more than...

Trainer Peter Miller has been fined $10,000 and suspended seven days by the Santa Anita Park stewards for violating the California Horse Racing Board's rule against program training. The ruling was made pursuant to a stipulated agreement and mutual release with the CHRB. As previously reported, the CHRB filed a complaint earlier this week alleging that Miller remained involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and listed under the name of his former assistant Ruben Alvarado. Alvarado was named in a related complaint,...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has filed a complaint against trainer Peter Miller, alleging that he was involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and put under the name of his former assistant Ruben Alvarado. Alvarado has also been charged in a separate complaint involving the same allegations. In November, Miller announced that he was taking a "temporary hiatus" from training to spend "more time with my family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests." The announcement created speculation...

The California Horse Racing Board's Jockey and Driver Welfare Committee held a relatively rare meeting Wednesday in Sacramento to discuss several items, including a novel and somewhat controversial proposal to require the granting of a one-time breeding right or season to the winning rider of a future stallion that wins certain California graded stakes. As the CHRB's meeting package points out, owners have typically given a stallion share to the regular rider and trainer of horses that retire to stud. But that voluntary practice "has evolved, some would say eroded,...

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has lost the first phase of his legal tussle against the Los Angeles Turf Club and The Stronach Group (TSG) controlled subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, according to a ruling filed Apr. 29 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California. The bifurcated non-jury trial, conducted between Apr. 4 and Apr. 6 this year, focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and the track. In all, Hollendorfer has...

California became the first state to opt into the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) enforcement structure on Thursday when the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted 7-0 to collect and remit fees on behalf of the new federal HISA Authority. For 2022, HISA has assessed California's portion of the Authority's budget to be $1.4 million, a figure that is based on starts and purses, and amounts to roughly 10% of the overall nationwide budget. It includes only the safety portion of the HISA program that will go into effect...

Courtesy California Horse Racing Board Chuck Winner, an internationally recognized expert in public affairs, crisis communications, and campaign management, who served on the California Horse Racing Board from 2012 to 2019, five of those years as chairman, passed away Thursday morning, Mar. 24, from natural causes at the age of 81. Mr. Winner guided the CHRB through difficult times, most notably during the winter of 2019 when a rash of equine fatalities at Santa Anita Park attracted worldwide scrutiny. He led the push for improved safety measures to protect horses...

Newly minted California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) member, Thomas Hudnot--an education consultant and a former racehorse owner--enjoyed a relatively smooth landing on his first public day on the job, with few of the highly combustible topics on the monthly commission meeting agenda that have lit the touch paper during any number of board meetings these past few years. The meeting, however, did signal a potential brewing storm in the shape of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's scheduled implementation of its racetrack safety rules July 1. CHRB executive director, Scott...

A hearing in the Los Angeles County Superior Court Wednesday morning resulted in a denial of sidelined California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director Jeff Blea's request to stay the California Veterinary Medical Board's interim suspension of his veterinary license, meaning that the California horse racing industry continues to operate without its chief veterinarian at least for the near future. According to George Wallace, Blea's attorney, Judge James Chalfant was not persuaded by the argument that Blea and the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) would suffer irreparable harm if...

A trial on the long-gestating legal battle between trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and The Stronach Group (TSG), along with its subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, is scheduled for Apr. 4 in the County of Los Angeles Superior Court of California. The bifurcated non-jury trial, however, is focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action against TSG, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and Santa Anita, and excludes some of Hollendorfer's broader causes of action. That second part of this bifurcated...

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...