Asmussen

[beyerguy]

Interesting to see one of the biggest cheaters in the game still allowed at the biggest meet of the year.  He won the opening day stake.  Great endorsement for the sport.

Isn\'t he awaiting punishment on his latest violation?  The hearing in Texas was scheduled for July 18th, but there seems to be no new reports.

[TGJB]

I\'ve posted several times about Asmussen and the drug question. If you do a search you can probably find them. The most recent problem (if there was one, not clear yet) came not with a performance enhancer (move-up), but with an overage (they haven\'t said how much or little) of a topical painkiller that I happen to be using in a patch on my elbow right now, given by an assistant trainer or vet at Evangeline. The guy has 200 horses at various tracks, 2,500 starts a year, the chnaces of someone screwing up are higher than for most. There have been times at FG and Oaklawn his horses have done some funny things, but I haven\'t seen anything unusual in NY or anywhere else recently.

And as I said, I\'ve been involved with many horses that have been given to him to train. I can only think of one with an established top-- Rolling Sea-- that ran a new top after he got it.

[beyerguy]

The guy has had numerous suspensions, including a 6 month suspension this past year.  That is hardly a slap on the wrist.

Did Barry Irwin write that post?  I am just amazed to see Captain Anti Drug Crusader giving someone that probably doesn\'t deserve it the benefit of the doubt.

[miff]

Very strange that the Texas Racing Authority has refused to release the quantity details regarding the Asmussen positive.JB, in a sense, ALL stuff can arguably \"move one up\" a bit.

His Spa horses are running lights out and they have the toughest testing standards of ANY venue being performed at this meet.If he\'s cheating, it must be undetectable stuff.


Mike

[beyerguy]

I had missed the last thread about him.  I caught up.  It doesn\'t change my opinion much.  I\'m just getting sick and tired of the negative image these guys are putting on the game.

The trainers of the top horses in the country constantly being in the news for drug violations is certainly doing damage to the sport.

[sighthound]

Both lidocaine and mepivicaine can be used to block joints and nerves, thus can make lame or sore horses sound and if used as such most certainly is a \"performance enhancer\".  One of the originals.

[sighthound]

>>>of someone screwing up are higher than for most.

Yet other trainers carrying large numbers of horses for far longer than Asmussen - Pletcher come to mind anyone? - haven\'t had anywhere near Asmussen\'s number of repeated and varied positives.

Asmussen must have the stupidest and sloppiest lead employees and assistant trainers on the backstretch.  On multiple backstretches in multiple locals.  Can\'t read label withdrawal times for common drugs, can\'t manage to dose the horses appropriately.

You\'d think the straight-up kind of guy to whom the rules of racing were to be respected would do something about that sloppiness and inability to follow the rules of racing within his outfit.  So his reputation would stop being sullied.  So he would stop being fined and in the penalty box.  Repeatedly.

[BitPlayer]

Asmussen\'s hearing in Texas was postponed to September 9.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=3482172

[jma11473]

I\'m not saying Asmussen should be the role model for clean trainers, but it\'s a little premature to say \"Wow, he did well for two days, what a black mark on the sport.\" If it\'s going to bother you that much anytime the guy wins some races, I would think you\'d have stopped wagering long ago, since he\'s constantly winning races everywhere.

[alm]

Oh, so it\'s the trainer\'s employees who are the problem...not the vets who administer the drugs?  Don\'t they bear just a smidgen of the responsibility for the Assmussen mistakes?  And at what point should we recognize that a vet has crossed over from Marcus Welby to enabler, anyway?

[sighthound]

You\'re right regarding the \'caines, they are usually vet-administered (or should be).  But clenbuterol, \'bute, etc. is staff-administered.

Edit:  And the staff (assistant trainer) are indeed 100% responsible for knowing the withdrawal times of all drugs, including those given by the vet.

It\'s basic racetrack 101.  Drugs have withdrawal times.  Here\'s the list of those times.  It\'s no secret.

So if a vet injects a joint, does a nerve block, sutures a wound, etc, yes, everyone involved needs to pay attention to the withdrawal time.  

I can tell a trainer not to run a horse for X days due to withdrawal, and they may or may not listen.  

If they chose not to, then they risk the positive, and it sure as hell isn\'t my fault.  

I ask all the time if the horse is coming up to a race before giving a drug during a procedure.  Some trainers will lie to you and they will try to cut it close secretly.

If the vet doesn\'t mention a withdrawal, it is still incumbant upon the trainer/assistant to ask what drugs were given during a procedure if the horse is coming up to a race.

So yes, I place alot of blame on this particular trainers \"barn corporate culture\", one that apparently plays fast and loose and casual with paying attention to drug withdrawal times.

Obviously not very important to them.

[beyerguy]

jma11473 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I\'m not saying Asmussen should be the role model
> for clean trainers, but it\'s a little premature to
> say \"Wow, he did well for two days, what a black
> mark on the sport.\" If it\'s going to bother you
> that much anytime the guy wins some races, I would
> think you\'d have stopped wagering long ago, since
> he\'s constantly winning races everywhere.

Like many others, you confuse caring about the sport with the ability to profit from it at the windows.