Blacker is fined, suspended for incomplete vet checks

Trainer Dan Blacker was fined $15,000 and suspended for 90 days for running horses through 527 workouts in 1 1/2 years without completing veterinary checks beforehand.

California stewards handed down the ruling Sunday, according to the California Horse Racing Board. The penalties were reported earlier by Thoroughbred Daily News.

The ruling said that in 527 cases, no 72-hour pre-workout veterinarian examinations were conducted, as required, between Jan. 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023.

The suspension begins Feb. 26 and runs through May 25.

The CHRB filed a complaint in September after the death of Animae, an unraced, 2-year-old filly trained by Blacker.

“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 the inspection 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.

In October, Blacker said he took "full responsibility" for the violations.

In a written statement posted on X, he said he learned after the fact that the way he had been conducting workouts for years was “not always in line” with California state regulations.

“I learned that our long-established procedures, while complying with Santa Anita workout rules, were not always in line with the California Horse Racing Board rule regarding pre-work inspection and reporting. As soon as I was made aware, we immediately began to operate in compliance with the rule.”

Animae's death was the first recorded fatality of any Blacker-trained horse in 10 years. Blacker said a necropsy and diagnostics showed no pre-existing injury.