A jury in California Superior Court for Los Angeles County awarded Priscilla and Carlo Vaccarezza $1.06 million in punitive damages in a February 25 ruling from the lawsuit against veterinarian Vincent Baker. the money they campaigned for, Little Alexis .
The jury found Baker, a race veterinarian from the Equine Medical Center in Cypress, California, “was negligent in not using the level of skill, knowledge, and care with which the another reasonably careful veterinarian would use in similar or similar circumstances,” a presiding juror marked on the sentencing form. In addition, the jury noted Baker’s negligence was an important factor in Vaccarezzas’ loss.
The jury continues to award accrual returns as of November 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 to coach Carlo Vaccarezza and owner Priscilla Vaccarezza led the race.
Carlo Vaccarezza claims in the lawsuit that little Alexis was underappreciated because of a tumor on her jugular vein. He said Baker’s treatment with bute and Banamine reduced her elevated temperature, which theoretically put her at risk when she competed in the Breeders’ Cup.
After the race, her health declined, and she didn’t go to the sales at The November Sale in Fasig-Tipton as planned. She eventually recovered and returned to racing the following year.
Rated 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 win it comes in the Even Handicap at Gulfstream Park. Years ago when a child was 3 years old, Mr. Greeley easily win Cash Out Shares in Gulfstream and third in Test Shares (G1) at Racecourse Saratoga in two highlights.
The verdict is the difference between her 2015 sale price and her assessed value.
In a phone interview with BloodHorse on March 1, Carlo Vaccarezza said Baker took the blood test but never told him before the race about the results. Her serum amyloid A test was elevated with a reading of 2,534, a marker for inflammation and infection.
A phone message Tuesday left to Baker at Equine Medical Center was not returned, nor did an email requesting comment.
Based on The Paulick Report, Baker testified at trial that he tried to call Vaccarezza with test results on October 31, 2014, but failed to reach him. Baker added that he did not leave a message or send a text message to Vaccarezza’s mobile 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 of winning the race, and that was Dr. Baker,” Vaccarezza said Tuesday. “That almost deceived the betting public.”
Baker’s attorney, Lisa Brown, told Paulick Report that the verdict will be appealed.
Baker, one of several Southern California veterinarians facing complaints before California’s veterinary medical board, is also known for his late treatment. Medina Spirit and other very successful Bob Baffert-trained horses. According to Clark Brewster, one of Baffert’s attorneys, Baker prescribed and dispensed Otomax containing betamethasone valerate to treat a skin condition on Medina Spirit’s hind legs prior to the 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). displayed at Churchill Downs.
Kentucky managers have since disqualified Zedan Racing Stable’s Medina Spirit from the Derby for testing positive for betamethasone, and also fined and suspended Baffert, sanctions to be contested upon appeal fox. Medina Spirit died in December after collapsing after training at Santa Anita in an incident deemed unrelated to betamethasone treatment more than seven months earlier.
