New York Vet Who Failed to Submit 3,000+ Treatment Records Gets 2-Year HISA Suspension, $25,000 Fine

[Wandering Eyes]

A member of the Internal Adjudication Panel (IAP) for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) on July 10 imposed a two-year suspension and a $25,000 fine on a veterinarian who has practiced on the New York circuit for more than three decades for “failing to submit over three thousand veterinary treatment records to HISA within 24 hours after examination or treatment of Covered Horses during the period from Jan. 1, 2023, through Mar. 7, 2024.”

The veterinarian, Michael J. Galvin, could have faced penalties that included a lifetime ban.

Galvin's attorney, Kim Bonstrom, told TDN late Friday afternoon the decision will be appealed.

The decision was signed by Barbara Borden, a member of the IAP. Borden is separately employed as the chief state steward in Kentucky.

“My first take on this is that there was not one citation to law in this 12-page opinion,” Bonstrom said. “We raised legal issues, constitutional issues. And the hearing officer essentially took the position that HISA rules trump the Constitution, trump the case law. I don't necessarily fault the hearing officer. I found her delightful. But she wasn't a lawyer.”

By registering with HISA as a veterinarian, Galvin assumed responsibility to comply with all HISA rules, including Rule 2251(b), which requires the reporting of all veterinary treatments to the HISA portal within 24 hours of the treatment.

The decision stated that the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) began looking into Galvin's recordkeeping after a HIWU investigator “obtained, copied, and returned to Dr. Galvin” his daily treatment notebook “during a search of Dr. Galvin's vehicle at Belmont Park on Sept. 2, 2023.”

According to Borden's decision, “The notebook contained trainer names, horse names and notes that appeared to relate to veterinary treatments. [The agent] also described a 'Work Done' record provided to HISA by Dr. Galvin on Nov. 13, 2023, which contained the names of trainers and horses listed by date. However, the 'Work Done' record did not record the specific treatments provided by Dr. Galvin to each horse.”

The decision stated that in February and March 2024, “HIWU issued a 'Demand for Business Records' to trainers and owners whose horses had been treated by Dr. Galvin. The demand required the production of, among other items, records of veterinary services provided by Dr. Galvin, and trainer administration records required to be kept for Covered Horses that had Galvin.”

The decision stated that a HIWU agent “then compared these records and documents to the treatment records that had been entered by Dr. Galvin into the HISA portal [and that] analysis revealed that many treatments had not been reported to the HISA portal.”

The agent “also testified that her analysis revealed that Dr. Galvin had not entered treatment records for several horses that had either suffered injuries during their race, or that died or were euthanized after they raced,” Borden wrote.

On Aug. 23, 2024, HISA issued a violation notice to Galvin, alleging that he failed to enter required veterinary treatment records into the HISA portal.

Borden's decision stated that as Galvin's Mar. 10, 2025, hearing before the IAP neared, “counsel for Dr. Galvin objected to the notices, scheduling, and deadlines concerning the hearing of this matter.”

According to Borden's decision, Galvin had been advised by a member of his legal team not to appear at the hearing. Then, “Counsel for Dr. Galvin then proposed that the hearing be continued to a later date to allow his client to be physically present with him while testifying, citing principles of due process.”

Borden wrote in her decision that she denied that request “because counsel for Dr. Galvin had had ample time prior to the hearing to arrange for his client to be present with him.”

Galvin then filed a Motion to dismiss the IAP proceeding on Mar. 7, 2025. But that motion, too, was denied and the hearing proceeded three days later without the veterinarian testifying.

According to the decision, Galvin's legal team argued that HISA's notice of violation failed to state a cognizable offense; that HISA violated his due process rights by an impermissible pre-accusation delay; that the proceeding should be dismissed on the grounds of selective and/or vindictive prosecution, and that “HISA'S refusal to produce relevant (and exculpatory) evidence violated Dr. Galvin's Fifth Amendment due process rights.”

Borden did not agree. In meting out Galvin's penalty, Borden underscored that some of the horses whose procedures had not been logged “appeared to have received treatments, including intra-articular injections, several days prior to competing in races.”

Borden explained further: “In some instances, had the intra-articular injections been reported, the horses would not have been permitted to work or race in what should have been a mandatory stand-down period. Because the treatments were not reported to the HISA portal, a number of these horses did in fact work and race during what should have been a mandatory stand-down period.

“Enforcement counsel also presented evidence that several horses that raced during what should have been a mandatory stand-down period were either injured and did not finish their races or were claimed and the claim subsequently voided by the regulatory veterinarians in the test barn,” Borden wrote.

“In other instances, the treated horses finished their races but never raced again,” Borden wrote.

“In addition, Enforcement counsel presented evidence that several of the listed horses that raced during what should have been a mandatory stand-down period died or were euthanized shortly after competing,” Borden wrote.

“In at least two instances, horses appeared to have had an intra-articular injection on the morning of their race,” Borden wrote.

According to a summary of Galvin's past legal issues that the Paulick Report published on Aug. 27, 2024, “Galvin's history in New York includes issues dating back to 1998, when the New York Racing Association (NYRA) banned him for eight months after allegedly treating a filly with a nasogastric tube on race day. The New York Post reports that Galvin actually served a suspension of four months, and later sued NYRA for $30 million. The parties later settled for $500,000.”

The Paulick Report story from last summer also stated that, “The New York State Gaming Commission later attempted to suspend Galvin for 45 days over the same issue, but on appeal it was settled for a $250 fine.”

A Daily Racing Form story by Matt Hegarty from 2021 stated that Galvin “was temporarily barred” by NYRA from practicing at Belmont, but that the issue was resolved and Galvin was allowed back on the grounds in a matter of days.

At the time of that story four years ago, Hegarty quoted a press release from NYRA that stated, “Galvin's NYRA credential was temporarily revoked this week due to a number of concerning operational and administrative issues related to his practice at Belmont Park [but that] his NYRA credential was subsequently reinstated after he took action to address these issues.”

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