Jury Awards Vaccarezzas Over $1M in Vet Negligence Case

A jury in California Superior Court for the county of Los Angeles awarded Priscilla and Carlo Vaccarezza $1.06 million in damages in a Feb. 25 verdict from a lawsuit filed against veterinarian Dr. Vincent Baker over his treatment of a filly they campaigned, Little Alexis .

The jury found Baker, a racetrack veterinarian from Equine Medical Center in Cypress, Calif., "negligent in failing to use the level of skill, knowledge, and care that other reasonably careful veterinarians would use in same or similar circumstances," a presiding juror marked on the verdict form. Additionally, the juror noted Baker's negligence was a substantial factor in causing damage to the Vaccarezzas.

The jury further awarded accrued prejudgment interest dating back to Nov. 3, 2014, two days after she ran ninth in the DraftKings Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Baker treated Little Alexis for trainer Carlo Vaccarezza and owner Priscilla Vaccarezza leading up to the race.

Carlo Vaccarezza claimed in the lawsuit that Little Alexis was not properly evaluated for a lump on her jugular vein. He said Baker's treatment with bute and Banamine lowered her elevated temperature, which he theorizes put her at risk when she competed in the Breeders' Cup.

After the race, her health deteriorated, and she did not travel to sell at The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton as intended. She eventually recovered and returned to racing the next year.

Appraised in 2014 for $1.5 million, she sold in 2015 at Fasig-Tipton for $440,000 after winning one of four starts that year, with her victory coming in the Barely Even Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The prior year as a 3-year-old, the Mr. Greeley  filly won the Cash Run Stakes at Gulfstream and ran third in the Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course in two highlights. 

The verdict was the difference between her 2015 sales price and her appraised value.

In a telephone interview with BloodHorse March 1, Carlo Vaccarezza said Baker conducted blood tests but never told him before the race of the results. Her serum amyloid A test was highly elevated with a 2,534 reading, a marker for inflammation and infection.

A Tuesday telephone message left for Baker at Equine Medical Center was not returned, nor was an email request for comment.

According to Paulick Report, Baker testified at trial that he tried to call Vaccarezza with the test results Oct. 31, 2014, but didn't reach him. Baker added he did not leave a message or send a text message to Vaccarezza's cell phone and did not share the results with anyone else connected to Little Alexis. 

"One person knew the horse was sick and had no chance to win the race, and that was Dr. Baker," Vaccarezza said Tuesday. "That's almost defrauding the betting public."

Baker's attorney, Lisa Brown, told Paulick Report the judgment would be appealed.

Baker, one of several Southern California veterinarians facing complaints before the veterinary medical board of California, is also known for treating the late Medina Spirit  and other highly successful Bob Baffert-trained horses. According to Clark Brewster, one of Baffert's attorneys, Baker prescribed and dispensed the betamethasone valerate-contained Otomax to treat a skin condition on Medina Spirit's hindquarters before the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs.

Kentucky stewards have since disqualified Zedan Racing Stable's Medina Spirit from the Derby for testing positive for betamethasone, and fined and suspended Baffert, sanctions that will be contested on appeal. Medina Spirit died in December after collapsing following a workout at Santa Anita in a incident considered unrelated to treatment with betamethasone more than seven months earlier.