HISA has issued a two-year ban to trainer Zvi Kriple for violating racetrack safety rules after failing to provide necessary veterinary care to a horse that subsequently died from colic complications.
The internal adjudication panel determined Kriple breached regulations prohibiting “the deprivation of necessary care, sustenance, shelter, or veterinary care” to a covered horse. The case involved Royal Honey, a 5-year-old mare by Astern (Aus), who died at Belterra Park in April.
According to the October 27 ruling, Royal Honey suffered what veterinarian Dr. Timothy Renn described as “a very painful death” that could have been prevented with proper medical attention.
Kriple’s suspension began October 28, with a 10-day window to appeal the decision following receipt of the written order.
The ruling details that Royal Honey began showing colic symptoms on April 23. Kriple didn’t contact Dr. Renn until 12:30 p.m. the following day. The veterinarian, located 100 miles away, provided alternative veterinary contacts and emphasized the urgency of treatment.
“He further stressed the importance of having the horse seen to and that the condition, left untreated, could lead to a very painful death of the Covered Horse,” states the ruling.
Dr. Renn testified that when Kriple called him again at 8:30 p.m. on April 24, the horse still hadn’t received veterinary care. Another trainer on the call reportedly mentioned that several colleagues had offered to transport Royal Honey to a nearby clinic at no cost, but Kriple declined these offers.
The mare died around 3:30 a.m. on April 25 after falling out of her stall. Kriple had left her unattended two hours earlier.
During the October 20 hearing, Kriple claimed he made “best and repeated efforts” throughout April 23-24 to secure veterinary care but couldn’t find a veterinarian willing to treat the horse either at the track or at a clinic.
This isn’t Kriple’s first disciplinary action. The California Horse Racing Board suspended him in March 2010 following animal cruelty convictions related to a pony in his care.
According to a January 4, 2010 Los Angeles Daily News report, Kriple was convicted of misdemeanor animal cruelty for failing to euthanize or properly treat a horse at Fairplex racetrack suffering from a chronic hoof condition.
The prosecutor in that case told the newspaper that Kriple demonstrated “extreme negligence when it comes to taking care of horses,” referencing a 2002 incident where Kriple allegedly failed to properly care for a racehorse with a fractured knee at Los Alamitos.
Equibase records show Kriple has trained 39 winners from 319 starts in a career dating back to 1998.
