Judge Denies Blea's Stay Request in License Fight

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant denied a stay request March 9 that could have cleared the way for Dr. Jeff Blea to resume his duties as equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board.

Blea, placed on administrative leave this winter after an interim suspension of his veterinary license by the California Veterinary Medical Board, took the position as equine medical director for the CHRB last summer after the retirement of Dr. Rick Arthur. Blea previously was a racetrack veterinarian in Southern California.

Along with Dr. Vince Baker and Dr. Sarah Graybill Jones, Blea was one of three equine veterinarians to receive VMB complaints late last year. The other veterinarians did not have an emergency license hearing as Blea did.

In her interim suspension of Blea earlier this year, Judge Nana Chin cited Blea for several infractions, among them that he prescribed and administered medications to horses "without documented examinations or diagnoses" during his time in private practice. She called the conduct "negligent" and "a danger to the public health, safety, and welfare."

The CHRB equine medical director serves in an administrative, regulatory role, and Blea has not indicated a desire to return to his prior role as a practicing racetrack veterinarian. 

Writing to the court in advance of Wednesday's hearing, Rob Bonita, attorney general of California, and Michael Yi, deputy attorney general, argued in court documents that no stay be granted, even in consideration of Blea's EMD position.

"In this role, (Blea) has control and influence over enforcement and investigations of the drug testing program and drug medication violations, including violations that he is alleged to have committed," they wrote. "His involvement alone will compromise the integrity of the drug-testing program, the investigations, their findings, and their results due to the unquestionable conflict of interest. Public trust will diminish."

Following the interim suspension of his license, the CHRB initially was hopeful Blea could continue as equine medical director without it, but that did not materialize.

Since being placed on leave, some of Blea's duties have been absorbed by the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and from within the CHRB, executive director of the CHRB Scott Chaney said. UC Davis formally employs Blea and provides his services to the regulator.

Chaney called the current setup a "patchwork effort, certainly not ideal."

In a ruling published online Wednesday, Chalfant concluded that Blea did not present "evidence of irreparable harm and has not shown that it would not be against the public interest to grant a stay."

"We're disappointed by today's decision, not that it was entirely unexpected," Chaney said. "Great deference is given to state departments when they file accusations, and the Veterinary Medical Board was given that weight. But we're obviously still hopeful that when we have a hearing on the underlying accusations that he'll be exonerated."

Following the Wednesday ruling, Chaney said the CHRB would weigh whether to file legal action on their own in a "decision we will make in the next few days."

There is an April 7 Trial Setting Conference scheduled in Superior Court, and Blea's attorney, George Wallace, speculated that a court date likely would come two or three months afterward. A date for the veterinary medical board accusation is likely to be set "in very short order," he said.