Judge Rules Veitch Improperly Dismissed

A circuit court judge has ruled John Veitch, the former chief state steward for Thoroughbred racing in Kentucky, was improperly dismissed from his position in November 2011 and has ordered him reinstated with back wages.



The Nov. 24 ruling was the latest development in the convoluted case that began with the 2010 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs. It eventually led to Veitch, a Hall of Fame trainer, being suspended by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and eventually dismissed from his position as the chief regulator for Kentucky Thoroughbred racing. 



Veitch was dismissed without cause in a Nov. 28, 2011, letter from Holly McCoy-Johnson, the appointing authority for the Public Protection Cabinet, with the consent of Public Protection Cabinet secretary Robert Vance. The KHRC falls under auspices of the Public Protection Cabinet.



A hearing officer for the Kentucky Personnel Board recommended that Veitch be reinstated because he was improperly removed from his post, but the board overruled the hearing officer and upheld Veitch's firing.



In his ruling, Franklin (Frankfort) Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate concluded that the KHRC, not the Public Protection Cabinet, was the proper appointing authority under which personnel matters for racing commission staff fall.



"Even though all the necessary and appropriate agency heads and authorities concurred in terminating Veitch, Secretary Vance took unilateral action in terminating Veitch," Wingate wrote. "While this may be a distinction without a different result at the end of the day, this Court believes that, because the KHRC is a statutorily created independent agency of state government, Secretary Vance did not have the authority to terminate Veitch.



"The hearing officer concluded, and this court agrees, that the statutes and regulations make it clear that such personnel actions must originate from within the KHRC."

To read the ruling in its entirety, click here.



A KHRC spokesman said Nov. 26 no decision has been made on whether to appeal Wingate's ruling. The commission will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Dec. 2.



Following his dismissal, Veitch was suspended for a year when the KHRC upheld a hearing officer's report into the circumstances surrounding the performance of Life At Ten during the 2010 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (gr. I).

Hearing officer Robert Layton determined Veitch had violated rules of racing by not having Life At Ten inspected by a veterinarian or scratched from the race after jockey John Velazquez told an ESPN audience the filly was not warming up properly prior to the race. Among other charges, Layton ruled Veitch should have ordered Life At Ten tested after the Ladies' Classic, in which she was not persevered with and ran last as the 7-2 second choice.



Velazquez did not admit to wrongdoing but paid a $10,000 fine following the incident, half of which went to a charitable organization. Veitch refused to pay a fine or admit wrongdoing, resulting in a lengthy and costly investigation by the KHRC that led to the suspension.



Veitch has subsequently regained his license and since October 2013 has been employed an official in the racing office at Keeneland.