Through a settlement, the regulator that oversees veterinarians in California has placed racetrack vet Vincent A. Baker on probation for four years for negligence in the practice of veterinary medicine.
In a stipulated settlement and disciplinary order adopted by the Veterinary Medical Board of the Department of Consumer Affairs for the State of California that was scheduled to go into effect Aug. 21, Baker will be placed on probation for four years. Justin Wunderler, who posts as @SwiftHitter on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, brought attention to the settlement by posting the public record on his account the evening of Sept. 7.
The regulator said that Baker is subject to disciplinary action for prescribing, dispensing, or administering a drug, medication, appliance, application, or treatment to animal patients without performing an examination and forming a diagnosis of any condition that required treatment. Based on details in the report, it’s clear that one of those horses is Medina Spirit, who was disqualified from victory in the 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) after failing a post-race drug test.
Dr. Vince Baker
The 79-page report and order says that “clusters of equine patients were administered identical medications and treatments, at the same time, at the request of their trainers without medical examinations or necessity.” It goes on to list dozens of such horses.
BloodHorse left a message Thursday with attorney Lisa J. Brown, who represented Baker in the regulatory proceeding, but did not immediately hear back from her.
The action by the VMB against Baker follows a similar action it took against the California Horse Racing Board’s equine medical director Jeff Blea, who saw his vet license suspended in January 2022 when he also stepped down from his role as equine medical director for a time. Blea had been accused of eight violations, alleging that he prescribed and administered medications to horses without an examination or medical necessity while he was an equine veterinarian in private practice on Southern California backstretches.
A number of respected vets and industry leaders defended Blea, among them, his predecessor as CHRB equine medical director, Rick Arthur, who called the allegations “nonsense.” Blea would reach a settlement with the VMB and return to his role as equine medical director in September 2022.
The action against Blea followed an anonymous tip, that also was made against Baker and another track vet, Sarah Graybill Jones. Under a settlement also effective Aug. 21, the VMB placed Jones on probation for three years also based on its assessment that Jones prescribed, dispensed, or administered a drug, medication, appliance, application, or treatment to animal patients without performing an examination and forming a diagnosis of any condition that required treatment.
The decision and order from the VMB on Baker appears to shine some additional light on the treatments of Medina Spirit. While the report used initials of horses to protect their identity, the treatment records of a horse identified as “M. Sp.” closely match previously reported details of Medina Spirit. Baker has served as the long-time vet for trainer Bob Baffert, who conditioned Medina Spirit.
The post-Derby test finding came up positive for betamethasone, which is not allowed at any level on race day. After initial denials that Medina Spirit could have been treated with betamethasone, Baffert said on May 11, 2021—two days after the initial announcement of the drug positive—that Medina Spirit was treated for a skin condition with an anti-fungal ointment known as Otomax.
According to California Horse Racing Board treatment documents, Baker prescribed Otomax on April 9, 2021, and April 19, 2021, as Medina Spirit readied for a start in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. In its decision and order on Baker, the VMB noted that, “between April 9, 2021, and April 19, 2021, Respondent Baker treated equine patient M. Sp. with Otomax without offering to provide and note in the medical record the required drug consultation.”
The VMB’s decision and order on Baker said that “between Sept. 20, 2020 and Dec. 6, 2021, without performing an examination and forming a diagnosis of any condition that required treatment, Respondent Baker prescribed, dispensed, or administered the following medications to equine patient M. Sp.: Finish First Supplement; Sedivet; Lasix; GastroGard; Bute inj; Adequan; Vits and Vit Booster; Naquasone paste; Dorm; Rompun; HyVisc; Vetalog; Banamine; Otomax; Fulvicin; Equimune; fluid therapy; throat spray; Legend; and Endoscope.”
Another entry said that between Oct. 28, 2020, and Dec. 6, 2021, “without performing an appropriate examination and forming a diagnosis of any condition that required treatment, Respondent Baker dispensed the following unnecessary dangerous drugs to equine patient M. Sp.: Sedivet; Lasix; GastroGard; Bute inj; Adequan; Vit Booster; Naquasone paste; Dorm; Rompun; HyVisc; Vetalog; Banamine; Otomax; Fulvicin paste; Equimune; fluid therapy; throat spray; and Legend.”
The board decision and order also said that the Patient History Reports for equine patient M. Sp., dated between Oct. 28, 2020, and Dec. 6, 2021, failed to include the following required information: A history or pertinent information as it pertains to the equine patient’s medical status; data, including that obtained by instrumentation, from the physical examination of the equine patient; treatment and intended treatment plan, including medication dosages and route of administration; a diagnosis or assessment prior to performing a treatment or procedure; a prognosis of the equine patient’s condition; and medications dispensed including strength, dosage, route of administration, and frequency of use.
After the Derby, Medina Spirit placed third in the Preakness Stakes (G1), won that year’s Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar, and won the Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park. He then was second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar. Medina Spirit, a son of Protonico , died Dec. 6, 2021, after collapsing following a workout at Santa Anita. A necropsy examining his death suggested acute heart failure without precise confirmation.
Wunderler is a longtime critic of Baffert and part of a group of bettors with an active lawsuit against the trainer and others associated with Medina Spirit for lost wagers in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.
The stipulated settlement and disciplinary order is available on the VMB website.
