Blacker is accused of incomplete vet checks before 527 works

Trainer Dan Blacker has been accused of running horses through 527 workouts in 1 1/2 years without completing veterinary checks beforehand, the California Horse Racing Board said in a document posted to its website.

News of the complaint that was dated Sept. 8 was first reported Wednesday by Daily Racing Form. The paperwork included a notice for Blacker to appear Sept. 28. According to DRF, a scheduled Friday hearing was postponed.

The death of Animae, listed at Equibase as an unraced, 2-year-old filly, was the linchpin to the complaint.

“During a horse-fatality investigation for the horse Animae,” the CHRB complaint said, “it was found the horse did not have an examination by his attending veterinarian entered into EquiTAPS database during the 72 hours immediately preceding an official workout. Three out of the four official workouts listed for Animae did not have an veterinarian exam listed, including the official workout when the horse suffered the fatality.”

The CHRB said inspection that was done by investigator Steven Manila led to a closer look at Blacker’s Southern California operation.

“An audit was conducted on all horses trained by Blacker from Jan. 1, 2022, through July 1, 2023,” the complaint said. “The result for the audit found that there were 789 official workouts with 527 of those workouts not having a veterinary examination completed prior to in violation of CHRB rule 1878.”

The part of rule 1878 that is pertinent in this case says, “A horse shall not be permitted to workout unless the horse has been examined by the trainer’s attending veterinarian during the 72 hours immediately preceding the workout for the express purpose of evaluating the horse’s fitness to work out, and an evaluation has been conducted by the attending veterinarian and a determination has been made that the horse is fit to work out.”

The rule later says, “The evaluation shall be recorded in the veterinarian report in accordance with section 1842,” the rule that requires trainers to maintain veterinary records for their horses.

Blacker, who did not respond right away to a Wednesday text message from Horse Racing Nation, could be fined, suspended or both if he is found to have been in violation of CHRB rules.