Asmussen

[miff]

KHRC finds nothing re PETA loons attempted set up of Asmussen. Can\'t wait to read Joe Dope\'s write up.

[TGJB]

Drape\'s take on this will indeed be interesting. Last summer I met an investigative reporter for the Times who knew him, and knew a fair amount about horses, but didn\'t know the details of what he wrote-- specifically the \"pulse\" stuff. When I told her what he wrote she visibly blanched.

[miff]

Unconfirmed but NYSGC supposedly also found no violations of racing rules re PETA set up of Asmussen.

PETA creeps dropped a dime to IRS and Immigration re Asmussen which may end up his biggest problem.

[magicnight]

Meanwhile, Dr Mary (\"racehorse is not a diagnosis\") Scollay announces that Kentucky recorded a record-low level of fatal breakdowns in 2014 ... only 1.1 per thousand. Today, Matt Hegarty quotes PETA statement on Twitter: \"The [KHRC] has today distinguished itself for being as uninterested in horse welfare as the Syrian government is in human suffering.\" Uh, OK. No hyperbole there.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/89620/record-low-for-fatal-breakdowns-in-kentucky

And at Aqueduct, You Take the Cake euthanized after falling after the finish and breaking a neck vertabrae in today\'s 2nd.

Something tells me that if winter racing in NY was eliminated, NYRA would have little trouble in getting to a \"1 per 1,000 starts\" fatality rate. Such a rate is basically typical in the rest of the world, with the exception of Hong Kong, which sets the standard for safety.

[TGJB]

After that Syrian thing it\'s hard to see how anyone can take PETA seriously. Holy crap.

[smalltimer]

That\'s exactly what I said on Mar 20 during the \"not good\" topic.  
When all else fails, the IRS then becomes the real problem.
Asmussen may be protected, or he may be made an example of.

[miff]

NY breakdown issue becoming political out of Albany(what else) Some looking for a scalp(track super Kozak my choice)Clueless Kay in hiding as be boasted on Dec 3 of reduced NYRA breakdown rate since he took over. In last 37 days 12 fatal racing breakdowns and a few more in AM training.

Surface guru,Mick Peterson, says it\'s NOT the surface which leaves unsound winter garbage quality,NYRA winter staple, as the most likely culprit.Trainers stonewalling breakdown issue sticking to their theme that handle from NYRA winter racing an absolute must,current breakdown rate an aberration.

[TGJB]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/sports/kentucky-horse-racing-commission-clears-steve-asmussen-and-scott-blasi.html?emc=edit_th_20150116&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=33396799

So basically, Drape had nothing to do with what happened (nary a mention of his article or the tape appearing in the Times), and he manages to take a drive-by shot at Asmussen on the way out the door. Nice.

[smalltimer]

If you read the 6 comments from readers, they are all beside themselves.

[miff]

What did you expect from Dope???


Review Cites Strong Safety Stats for Asmussen

As part of its extensive investigation into the Steve Asmussen stable following allegations of horse mistreatment from an animal rights group, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission compiled safety numbers in which the Eclipse Award-winning trainer\'s stable fared well.

According to the KHRC, horses trained by Asmussen did not suffer a single catastrophic breakdown in 721 Kentucky starts the past four seasons (2011-14). In 1,770 starts from 2007 through 2014, not a single Asmussen-trained horse was scratched by KHRC veterinarians. (Regulatory vets observe horses on race day and on the track before the race and will scratch horses who could be at risk.)

Those safety numbers would be featured prominently in a 27-page report compiled by KHRC staff following allegations of horse abuse against Asmussen and assistant Scott Blasi brought last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA alleged abuse occurred in a four-month period in 2013 at Asmussen\'s Churchill Downs stable based on information gathered by PETA\'s Kerin Rosen while working for the stable.

On Jan. 15 the KHRC cleared Asmussen and Blasi of all charges brought by PETA following the release of what the regulator determined to be a highly edited online video by the animal rights group in March 2014. PETA suggested the video showed equine abuse at the Asmussen stable in 2013 at Churchill Downs and in New York at Saratoga Race Course.

The New York State Gaming Commission continues its investigation that followed the release of the video and a complaint filed by PETA. Asmussen attorney Clark Brewster said he expects New York to release its findings soon.

Publicly available numbers from the NYSGC show Asmussen hasn\'t had a catastrophic breakdown in a New York race since the regulator started tracking such numbers in 2009.

From 2011 through 2014, Asmussen started 728 horses in New York. Combining the numbers for the four years of 2011-14 in Kentucky and New York, Asmussen has started 1,449 horses without a catastrophic breakdown in a race in either state. The national average of breakdowns per race is about 1.9 per 1,000 starts.

In total, the KHRC looked at Kentucky stats for the years 2007 through 2014. In 1,770 Kentucky starts Asmussen had three fatal breakdowns, or 1.69 fatalities per 1,000 starts. Looking at those same starts, the KHRC said only one Asmussen-trained horse sustained a non-fatal injury during races.

Asmussen, who was voted Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer in 2008 and 2009, has served some long suspensions for medication violations throughout his career. He served a six-month suspension from July 2009-January 2010 for an overage of the local anesthetic lidocaine in a 2008 race at Lone Star Park. In 2006, Asmussen served a six-month suspension after mepivacaine, a local anesthetic, was detected in the post-race test results of a losing favorite he saddled at Evangeline Downs.

But in recent years Asmussen has not committed any medication violations severe enough to carry a suspension. According to the industry website ownerview.com, since 2009 Asmussen has had two drug positives for which he was penalized. Both were for therapeutic medications allowed in the sport that have to be out of a horse\'s system on race day or at a race-day level that does not affect performance. In March 2011 the Maryland Racing Commission fined Asmussen $500 when pyrimethamine, a medication used to treat the equine neurological disease equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, was found in a horse\'s system on race day; and in June of that year Kentucky stewards fined Asmussen $250 for an overage of the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone.

Furosemide (Lasix) is permitted to be administered on race day to prevent or reduce the severity of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. Since 2010, Asmussen has been sanctioned three times for Lasix violations. In January 2010, Asmussen paid a fine of $500 after pleading \"no contest\" to charges of a Lasix overage at Remington Park in Oklahoma. In July of that year, he was fined $100 for giving Lasix too close to the race. Asmussen was fined $500 in Louisiana after one of his horses at Fair Grounds had Lasix in its system above the permitted levels.

In its investigation the KHRC went beyond looking at violations and also examined therapeutic medication levels at any concentration during post-race drug tests for 2012 and 2013. High-level testing is capable of picking up minute levels of medication that would have been administered far enough before the race to be permitted. Regulatory bodies permit therapeutic medication in a horse\'s system on race day as long as they\'re at levels determined to no longer have an effect.

This research suggests Asmussen\'s use of permitted non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications was in line with the general population as 52.6% of his horses showed trace amounts of one NSAID and 40.4% showed trace amounts of two NSAIDs, compared with the general population\'s use at 49.7% for one NSAID and 37.2% for two NSAIDs.

In those same tests in 2012 and 2013, Asmussen\'s legal use of corticosteroids proved significantly lower than the general populatio—7% compared with the 26.4% of all horses. And his horses showed trace amounts of clenbuterol, an expectorant that has been a concern because of its anabolic potential when abused, just 4.3% of the time, compared with 6.1% by the general population. The average furosemide concentration in Asmussen horses was lower than the general population.

In reviewing the data, the KHRC determined there was no statistical difference between the Asmussen horses and the general Kentucky population in its use of NSAIDs, clenbuterol, and furosemide. The KHRC said Asmussen\'s use of corticosteroids and methocarbamol, a muscle relxant, was substantially lower than the general population.

The report concluded with a favorable review of Asmussen\'s safety and medication record.

\"Review of population data indicates a lower incidence of racing fatalities, race-related non-fatal conditions, and KHRC-initiated scratches in the Asmussen-trained horses when compared to the general population of Thoroughbred horses racing in Kentucky. Review of post-race testing results indicates Asmussen-trained horses carried a substantially lower medication load when compared to the general population of Thoroughbred horses racing in Kentucky.\"

Brewster said Asmussen wanted the regulator to see all available data during the KHRC\'s investigation.

\"Steve said whoever they want to speak with, please facilitate that. Let them review veterinary records, inverview vets, grooms, farriers, whoever,\" Brewster said. \"Steve was completely open and transparent about it.\"

[TGJB]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/89640/petas-actions-frustrated-khrc-investigation?&utm_source=DailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20150117

[Silver Charm]

Former Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan:

Which office do I go to to get my reputation back? Who will reimburse my company for the economic jail it has been in for two and a half years?\'\'

Its pretty easy these days to blog and slander. Those that pile on are just as bad. The innocent rarely have the time or pulpit to retaliate. They are too busy trying to recover from what they lost because of the lies....

[Bet Twice]

I\'d be curious to know the financial damage this caused Asmussen in terms of lost clients and purse money.  If I recall correctly, Zayat departed quickly when the news broke but not sure who else left and what that would amount to in terms of dollars.

[TGJB]

Silver-- When I first started this site, people used to wonder why I let the Raggies post here, and why I got into it publicly with them. That\'s exactly why, and it was an explicit policy decision-- after years of people hearing lies about us, this was my first shot at a pulpit.

You will notice you don\'t hear any of that crap any more-- \"don\'t use live ground\", \"cheap sheets\" (Harvey Pack, while wearing a NYRA jacket), etc.

[magicnight]

I had to write somthing on this, if for no other reason than to bring up the connection to \"Notorious\", which is an often overlooked, but absolutely top-notch Hitchcock.

http://around2turns.com/2015/01/18/trust-and-consequences-the-steve-asmussen-saga/