My opinion on Asmussen

[Slewbopper]

>Horse's positive drug test trips up trainerAsmussen receives 6-month
>suspension, plus fine of $2,500Tuesday

Wow!! A $2500 fine! BFD. That is like fining an NBA player $50,000 when he is earning $10 mil a year.. In the meantime someone else sends his horses to the starting gate and he continues to earn a living.

A message should be sent. No horse that is officially being trained by him should be allowed to start during the 6 month suspension. Then maybe the owners will think twice about who they entrust the care of their horses to.

I agree 100% Slew. This man is one of racings biggest cheaters. He's lucky they didn't find the illegal crap he runs his horses on. Someone needs to tell George Strait and Tobey Keith to find a different trainer. This guy makes them look bad IMO.

I could not agree less.....the chances that Steve has seen the filly in question in the last 30 days is slim, and we all know that he was know where around EvD the night she was medicated....whether he authorized it is another question, but ask your self this....Would he really jeopardize all that he has just to win a cheap claiming race for a cheap purse at EvD?...By the way, the filly - No End in Sight - finished last in the race, so it hardly helped her....Steve is a lot smarter than that..

..this suspension is RIDICULOUS....6 months is WAY too much for the crime...Pletcher only got 30 days in NY for something similiar...this is clearly Louisiana business as usual, which is BAD POLITICS....the Cajuns were tired of Steve coming in and winning all the money with better horses so they found an excuse to punish him and nailed him hard for it....absolutely ridiculous and if I were Steve I'd probably hire a high-priced attorney to sue the stews at EvD, as well as the La. Racing Commission to make the Govorner look bad.....this is like putting a man in jail for six months for speeding...just isn't right...but that is just my opinion...

[paisjpq]

well said Joel, and i agree with you for the most part...but I also believe that if his the filly is under his name he has to accept responsibility for whatever his asst. might have done. However 6 months is absurd.

[JJP]

The punishment does seem a bit harsh for the offense but I believe he had a previous violation, maybe for EPO? That might've factored into the punishment.

Originally Posted by JJP

The punishment does seem a bit harsh for the offense but I believe he had a previous violation, maybe for EPO? That might've factored into the punishment.

In my opinion, the only thing that really factored in this judgement was the fact that he wins a lot of the races at EvD and his name is not Bourgeious, Arceneaux, Desormeaux, Hebert, Breaux or Melancon...catch my drift?....Cajuns don't like the big outfits coming in and taking there slots-supplemented money and they take care of there own to make sure it happens as least as possible..

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

In my opinion, the only thing that really factored in this judgement was the fact that he wins a lot of the races at EvD and his name is not Bourgeious, Arceneaux, Desormeaux, Hebert, Breaux or Melancon...catch my drift?....Cajuns don't like the big outfits coming in and taking there slots-supplemented money and they take care of there own to make sure it happens as least as possible..

I say you're on to something here. Smells like Cajun home cookin to me.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

In my opinion, the only thing that really factored in this judgement was the fact that he wins a lot of the races at EvD and his name is not Bourgeious, Arceneaux, Desormeaux, Hebert, Breaux or Melancon...catch my drift?....Cajuns don't like the big outfits coming in and taking there slots-supplemented money and they take care of there own to make sure it happens as least as possible..

1. This quote... interesting
2. Calling for national oversight ... unrealistic.
3. Calling the other poster the "moron of the day" .... lamentable

In revesrse order:

3. If he's the "moron of the day," what does that make you (other than, of course, the self-styled purveyor of the moron of the day award)? There are lots of people who share his view, right or wrong. And since he chooses to race so widely, there's no way he can know what's going on everwhere. I'll say that if he's going to play the game, he's subject to it's rules. Whether the punishment fits his offense is a matter for appeal.

2. National oversight. Yeah, sure it sounds good, but you should know it will never happen. Do you really think that the 30 or so states with a horse racing industry and their own racing commissions are going to agree to cede that authority? Politics in Louisiana are not so very different than they are in other states, certainly not when it comes to inviting federal legislation that would supercede State authority. Banking and insurance are two good examples. While there is federal regulation to a some extent, these huge industries are, for the most part, state regulated. If your zeal for national standards to apply to suspension guideline for violating state racing medication rules is genuine, I'd suggest you focus on getting the industry's national trade association to develop "model" guidelines for states to follow.

1. Your comment regarding the "Cajuns" in Louisiana. It's awful. And worse, it's lamentable. It smacks of the kind of "my people came over on the Mayflower and yours didn't" latent and very unsubtle attitude that has little use other than, of course, to make an unsubtle point. I'm a modest CDI, Inc. shareholder and it's unfortunate that one of CDI's on-air staff would make this sort of remark. If CDI were to promote you and transfer you to Louisiana and you found yourself in the position of needing to interview one of these "Cajuns" you mentioned would you be able to do so objectively? I'm sure many of them have fathers and sons and mothers and daughters who have fought and died to give you the right to your unsubtle and unseemly comments.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by paisjpq

well said Joel, and i agree with you for the most part...but I also believe that if his the filly is under his name he has to accept responsibility for whatever his asst. might have done. However 6 months is absurd.

Responsiblity, yes..you're right..But, keep in mind that his assistant may or may not have directly had anything to do with it, even.....the Vet that medicated here could have made a mistake..Who knows?

The bottomline is that - yes, it is his responsibility because he is named as the trainer of the horse. However, assuming that he is guilty enough to throw the freaking book at him and sit him for 6 months is absolutely asonine.....this is another classic case of bad Louisiana politics and Cajun home cooking..

[paisjpq]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Responsiblity, yes..you're right..But, keep in mind that his assistant may or may not have directly had anything to do with it, even.....the Vet that medicated here could have made a mistake..Who knows?

The bottomline is that - yes, it is his responsibility because he is named as the trainer of the horse. However, assuming that he is guilty enough to throw the freaking book at him and sit him for 6 months is absolutely asonine.....this is another classic case of bad Louisiana politics and Cajun home cooking..

yup. I don't like spicy food much anyway.

[paisjpq]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Responsiblity, yes..you're right..But, keep in mind that his assistant may or may not have directly had anything to do with it, even.....the Vet that medicated here could have made a mistake..Who knows?

The bottomline is that - yes, it is his responsibility because he is named as the trainer of the horse. However, assuming that he is guilty enough to throw the freaking book at him and sit him for 6 months is absolutely asonine.....this is another classic case of bad Louisiana politics and Cajun home cooking..

Here's the thing though--I have worked as a groom for show horses and on various farms and sales both in and out of the TB industry. I have never seen a vet take matters into his own hands w/o the OK from someone higher than me on the food chain.

Originally Posted by paisjpq

Here's the thing though--I have worked as a groom for show horses and on various farms and sales both in and out of the TB industry. I have never seen a vet take matters into his own hands w/o the OK from someone higher than me on the food chain.

Well, it has been the opposite experience for me....I own a few T-breds and have seen it happen before..

[Danzig]

yet another example of why there should be ONE national overseer. none of this state by state b.s. with everyone making their own rules. there should be one set of rules, there should be consistency in how violations are handled. no way should one trainer get a month, another six months, and yet another who gets off on appeal, all because the three occurred in different states. this is a national sport, it should be handled as such.

[kentuckyrosesinmay]

Originally Posted by Danzig188

yet another example of why there should be ONE national overseer. none of this state by state b.s. with everyone making their own rules. there should be one set of rules, there should be consistency in how violations are handled. no way should one trainer get a month, another six months, and yet another who gets off on appeal, all because the three occurred in different states. this is a national sport, it should be handled as such.

I completely agree. Well said!

Originally Posted by Danzig188

yet another example of why there should be ONE national overseer. none of this state by state b.s. with everyone making their own rules. there should be one set of rules, there should be consistency in how violations are handled. no way should one trainer get a month, another six months, and yet another who gets off on appeal, all because the three occurred in different states. this is a national sport, it should be handled as such.

You are preaching to the chior on this one...Why should Louisiana officials have the power to prohibit Asmussen from running anywhere else in the country for 6 months?...Does this really make sense?

There absolutely needs to be a national governing board for take action on whether or not Asmussen or any trainer would be eligible for punishment outside of Louisiana....this is too much power to give the politically corrupt state of Louisiana...I am from the state and love it with all of my heart, but I've seen bad Louisiana politics long enough to know how to spot it when I see it...Unfortunately, it happens regularly around those parts...

Joel I'm not trying to start a fight with you but I have to note the favortism you show Asmussen here and point out your lack of objectivity which undermines your credibility.
Now I agree with you and have posted that this is complete nonsense as far as the Asmussen situation goes. I don't know Steve, have only spoken to him on the phone a few times, but I know he is one brilliant guy and a fantastic horseman. Yet he has almost the same profile as Dutrow and ironically just got the same EXACT positive that Dutrow got two years ago. How can you bash Dutrow and defend Steve? I defend both and think that if you are objective you either have to condemn both or defend both.

Originally Posted by oracle80

Joel I'm not trying to start a fight with you but I have to note the favortism you show Asmussen here and point out your lack of objectivity which undermines your credibility.
Now I agree with you and have posted that this is complete nonsense as far as the Asmussen situation goes. I don't know Steve, have only spoken to him on the phone a few times, but I know he is one brilliant guy and a fantastic horseman. Yet he has almost the same profile as Dutrow and ironically just got the same EXACT positive that Dutrow got two years ago. How can you bash Dutrow and defend Steve? I defend both and think that if you are objective you either have to condemn both or defend both.

I'm not neccessarily defending Steve or saying that he is a 'saint'...yes, oracle, he has a similar reputation between many serious horseplayers as Cole Norman, Dutrow, Frankel and many others do...the point I was making was that it would take a blatant intent or something far serious in my eyes for Louisiana officials to lay down such a crazy suspension.....that is all I'm saying here.

For them to suspend him for that long over the circumstances - and yes, I know very clearly Asmussen's history in LA (remember I am a La-Bred) - I just feel like it is very suspicious. Do you really feel that based on what you know that the punishment fits the crime?...If so, then you should also feel that your boy Peltcher should have gotten more than 30 days for a similar recent infraction, right?

The basis of my argument is that 6 months is completely asomine..

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

You are preaching to the chior on this one...Why should Louisiana officials have the power to prohibit Asmussen from running anywhere else in the country for 6 months?...Does this really make sense?

There absolutely needs to be a national governing board for take action on whether or not Asmussen or any trainer would be eligible for punishment outside of Louisiana....this is too much power to give the politically corrupt state of Louisiana...I am from the state and love it with all of my heart, but I've seen bad Louisiana politics long enough to know how to spot it when I see it...Unfortunately, it happens regularly around those parts...

my husband is from louisiana...yeah, i understand about preaching to the choir.
of course this is the same governing body who sat a jock for a year because they felt he didn't ride a horse to win in a qualifying race. was it a meche? can't remember....but seems LA likes to hand out very harsh sentences, at least to some. it's a shame that LA has such a bad rep as being so corrupt. hell, how else explain nagin winning re-election??