PETA undercover in Asmussen's barn - Whoa!
 

This looks BAD for Asmussen.

How did Drape miss all of these alleged horrors when Jess Jackson had him writing about Curlin and Rachel Alexandra?

That was disturbing.

I did enjoy listening to the farrier talk to Scott Blasi like he was the scum of the earth.

This is even worse

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9TJVA2lwW4A

Jesus Christ. If my non-horse racing friends ever see this video -- after all the time I've spent defending the sport in the wake of the "Luck" cancellation, the Barbaro, Eight Belles, etc. breakdowns, the game "being on the level"...

I'm going to look like an *******.

:eek:

I thought I cursed a lot. F*cking Blasi makes me look like I'm living at the foot of the cross.

Check out Ahmed Zayat's Twitter timeline right now. @jazz3162

He's not a happy camper right now.

Does that change this story?

What is the story exactly? That horses get Lasix when they train? That horses can have bad feet that need constant attention? That horses colic and die? That undocumented workers are employed on the backstretch? Fold in the sensationalized video.. It's news that owners want to win at Saratoga? That barns are happy to lose underachievers to claims? That outfits utilize various supplements in feeding regimens? That treatment options include pin firing and shockwave therapy? What elements of the 'story' were revelations to you?

There's a lot of trainers and assistants who are going to come off like Blasi did if they had a hidden camera following them around for several months, and had the final footage reduced to a less than 10 minute video.

Asmussen was obviously targeted because he's a big name without the nicest reputation. If they targeted someone small-fry or mid-level, it wouldn't get any attention. If they targeted someone with a relatively shiny reputation like Pletcher -- you'd get more of a "Hey, it's PETA, consider the source!" type of response. It's harder to rally to the defense of someone with black marks against him, like Asmussen.

One thing though, the PETA video isn't a good 'marketing' video for horse racing. It probably could turn off a few people who are looking to bet horses or own horses, for the first time...and don't really understand all the realities.

I have got myself in a lot of trouble by advocating for lower takeout rates. But, 15-to-20%+ takeout rates are too steep, in a sport where horses aren't machines who show up and deliver a similar type of performance everytime they race.

The undercover investigator working on the backside says that "bettors are being duped" because of the injections and the fact that bettors are largely unaware of the physical ailments a horse might be battling through. That's BS...but the industry can't cultivate bettors, because they set the bar for sustainable success too high.

One of the best 'Follows' on Twitter is Sports Injury Alert: https://twitter.com/SprtsInjryAlert -- everytime an athlete is injured in a sport, I hear about it. I think it's cool to know that Matt Joyce of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays has a stiff neck at the moment.

Of course, it's unrealistic to expect horse racing bettors to get any kind of reliable information regarding the minor physical ailments of race horses. However, what you can do, is simply lower the takeout.

:tro:

Didn't this story break a little early? Don't they usually wait until Derby week to release their sensationalized discoveries?

Maybe they wanted to catch the Hall of Fame voters before they cast their ballots.

Someone should go undercover into Peta and make a 10 minute highlight of their shenanigans. They would cease to exist very soon afterwards.

Oh boy, here we go . . .

Right. They should have to explain why over 80% of the animals that came into their care in 2013 were euthanized.

Business as usual today folks...Move on.. The HBO doc on dog hustlers was way worse. Watching Dr. Hunt give a horse an injection is hardily cruelity to animals. Lasix is a preformance enhancer who cares it isnt bad for horses if used properly (small doses) and if good people rehydrate them with care and cobcern.

Remember there are a lot of fine horsemen who use drugs medicinally and a lot of caring hard working trainers, grooms, hots etc. that call this industry their home and love the horses and the sport. Steve Assumussen did a poor job supervising his staff and as such needs to be accountable.

Surely we arent babes in the woods. Surely we realize that when X trainer is 41% off the claim AND we bet the horse that horse has gone to a trainer and barn that is much more aggresive campaign of medication.

Those cute pictures of foals that Darley, Juddemonte and other organizations post on twitter isnt racing its breeding. Racing is brutal not cute and fuzzy.