By Frank Angst
Kentucky horse racing commissioners are expected to listen Jan. 15, to a staff report on an investigation of trainer Steve Asmussen that followed allegations of horse mistreatment from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The allegations from PETA followed its 2014 release of a video the group says documents wrongdoing at the Eclipse Award-winning trainer’s Churchill Downs -barn in 2013.
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission spokesperson Dick Brown said Susan Speckert, legal counsel for the KHRC, will present the report to commissioners during its regular monthly meeting at 1:30 p.m., Jan. 15, in the Kentucky Room at Keeneland.
As typical of an investigation of a licensee, the commissioners will consider the report during executive session.
Last year racing regulators in New York and Kentucky launched investigations related to the PETA video that PETA says was collected by one of its members while she worked in 2013 for Asmussen. Involved parties say videos were shot at both Churchill Downs and Saratoga Race Course over a period of at least four months.
In Kentucky, PETA alleged a non-veterinarian employed by Asmussen administered a drug to one of his horses and that Asmussen’s assistant trainer Scott Blasi maintained horses “who were apparently in poor physical condition, in apparent violation of Kentucky’s Thoroughbred racing regulations.” After the investigation began last year, KHRC executive director John Ward Jr. said Kentucky would examine those allegations as well as any others that come up after watching the available video and meeting with PETA representatives.
In New York, PETA filed complaints with the New York State Gaming Commission alleging veterinarians administered furosemide to horses who did not qualify for the drug, a fact they say Blasi knew. PETA also alleged that rider Ricardo Santana Jr. used an electrical device, or “machine,” to shock horses while riding for Asmussen.
The New York investigation is ongoing, according to NYSGC spokesperson Lee Park.
“While it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation, it is important to note that the commission has been conducting a full, comprehensive investigation into the matter, which involves verifying the multiple serious allegations that were documented by PETA over a lengthy period, with more than seven hours of video and hundreds of pages of material,” Park said.
PETA also filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, and the New York Department of Labor alleging violations of minimum wage laws, undocumented workers, false identification, and other related labor law violations.
