Blea Pursues Litigation Against Veterinary Board

California Horse Racing Board equine medical director Jeff Blea has filed litigation against the state's Veterinary Medical Board alleging that the regulator improperly suspended him.

Employed by the University of California schools, Blea said in a lawsuit filed Feb. 24 in Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles that he retired from private veterinary practice June 30, 2021, to take the position as equine medical director July 1, 2021.

In the Feb. 24 filing, Blea asks that a Jan. 28 judgment by a hearing officer upholding the suspension of his veterinary license be set aside. The filing noted that in his role as EMD, Blea does not perform veterinary work. It argues that therefore Blea is not subject to discipline by the Veterinary Medical Board and requests that a restraining order be granted to lift the suspension and that a prohibition be put in place to prevent further action by the VMB.

KING: Blea Remains on Leave After License Suspension Upheld

The hearing officer in the Jan. 28 decision noted that reinstating Blea's license would allow him to return to veterinary practice.

Blea previously was one of Southern California's leading racetrack veterinarians. He was one of three equine veterinarians to receive VMB complaints in late December, along with Dr. Vince Baker and Dr. Sarah Graybill Jones.