California Horse Racing Board

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...

In a press release Monday, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced that it had amended its ongoing Statement of Charges issued against trainer Bob Baffert to include a pair of positive tests for phenylbutazone (bute) in 2019 in California and a subsequent inspection of the trainer's barn which allegedly uncovered an unlocked medication cabinet, improperly labeled medications and the presence of unsecured phenylbutazone paste. NYRA has charged Baffert with engaging in conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing and has sought to temporarily ban the trainer from its...

by Bill Finley and Dan Ross The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has amended its Statement of Charges issued against trainer Bob Baffert to include a pair of positive tests for phenylbutazone that occurred in 2019 in California and a subsequent inspection of the trainer's barn in which it alleges that 25 improperly labeled medications were found. NYRA's Statement of Charges now contains allegations that, over a 16-month period prior to the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, six horses under Baffert's care violated rules and regulations in six separate races. Having...

Golden Gate Fields twice came within one vote Wednesday of having its upcoming December-June license to conduct racing either curtailed or not granted at all because of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) concerns over a recent four-horse uptick in equine fatalities. The meet was eventually approved by a 4-3 vote, with CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, casting the deciding vote and pledging that he will be personally responsible for making sure Golden Gate executives understand that the "or else" consequences of not having a better safety record could mean the...

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...

Trainer Peter Miller has been fined $5,000 and assessed one half (1/2) point in accordance with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) multiple medication violations rule as a result of Mr. Dougie Fresh (Ghostzapper) testing positive for phenylbutazone after working at San Luis Rey Downs on Sept. 13, according to a Los Alamitos board of stewards ruling Sunday. Phenylbutazone--more commonly referred to as just "bute"--is a class 4, category C drug. This constituted Miller's third class 4 medication violation in California in 365 days. On Sept. 2, Miller was fined...

When Nov. 29 rolls around, trainer Peter Miller, one of the most numerically powerful stables on the Southern California circuit, will embark upon a temporary hiatus from training to spend "more time with his family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests," according to press release issued Thursday evening. While Miller's assistant, Ruben Alvarado, is expected to take over the everyday running of the barn, Miller will take on an advisory position and maintain his role as an owner, the release states. "I have been working virtually...

A mare trained by 89-year-old Hall-of-Fame trainer Ron McAnally has been disqualified after winning a race at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club last November and subsequently testing positive for a metabolite of cannabidiol (CBD). A separate hearing to determine if McAnally will be further sanctioned will go before a hearing officer, California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) spokesperson Mike Marten told TDN. [Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated McAnally had avoided being fined or suspended after the issuance of the CHRB's Nov. 12 ruling mandating the DQ.] Roses and...

Amidst its ongoing investigation of the erroneous scratch of eventual purse-money-only winner Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) from last Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, the California Horse Racing Board issued the following update Monday: "Concerning the 10th race at Del Mar on Friday, November 5, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: Upon review of available videos showing the horses in the gate prior to the start of the race, the CHRB has determined that #1 Modern Games (IRE) did not rear up in the gate, as was initially reported to...

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, barred from The Stronach Group (TSG)-owned facilities since June of 2019, has filed a motion for preliminary injunction to be able to enter and race horses under his name at Santa Anita for the upcoming 2021-2022 winter/spring meet--the latest salvo in an ongoing legal feud between the Hall of Fame trainer and various corporate entities under TSG umbrella. According to a filing with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, dated Sept. 26, Hollendorfer requests the preliminary injunction to prohibit the owners of Santa Anita Park from "unlawfully...

Two-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O'Neill has been summoned to a stewards' hearing to address a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) complaint that revolves around a potential illegal administration of a substance prior to races four months ago at Los Alamitos Race Course (LARC). According to an Oct. 22 CHRB complaint, back on July 5, "Investigators received information from Los Alamitos track security steward, Michael Kilpack, regarding seeing someone at trainer Doug O'Neill's barn possibly giving an illegal substance to a horse that had already been entered in a...

An indication of just how prickly an upcoming California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Medication, Safety, and Welfare Committee meeting discussion will likely be--one on potentially penalizing trainers for equine injuries and fatalities--can be evinced through a tweet the agency's spokesperson, Mike Marten, issued on Sept. 26. The digital missive goes: "Considerable interest in this Oct. 19 CHRB committee agenda item: 'Discussion regarding the advisability of penalizing trainers for injuries and fatalities for horses in their care.' Emphasis on the word 'discussion.' Very early in a complicated process." A "complicated process"...