My opinion on Asmussen
 

>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...

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.

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.

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.

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..

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..

I'm not saying it can't or doesn't happen, only that I haven't seenit before. That said if one's reputation relys on what happens in that stall then he/she should be paying very close attention.

The man got TWO recent bad test, not just one.
The man is a NUMBERS man. Quanity, not quality of the races matter to him. He wants to win any race and will do anything to achieve it.
The man is from Texas. The "Cajuns don't like him" because he is a bigger cheater than they are, not because he is "not one of them".
The man calls the shots (literally.) HE tells the vet what he wants for his horses and the vets administer accordingly whether he or his assistant is at the barn.
Anyone that supports this guy is no better than he. He doesn't give one iota about his horses. He has 400+ waiting in the wings. They are all expendable to him.

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!

Wow, you get the Moron of the Day award, sir......Congratualtions!

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.

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

Thats my point ArlJim. AFter listening to a very arrogant dissertation on Dutrow, you would think that a guy who said those things would have to come down hard on Asmussen.
I pride myself on objective analysis. There is no room for personal feelings in an objective argument.
Both Asmussen and Dutrow are high percentage, win at both the bottom level claiming ranks and in graded stakes, are huge off the claim or first time to them switch, and have been suspected of chicanery.
Personally even though I know one and not the other, I think both are outstanding at what they do and are using 21st century vet techniques, sheets to place their horses in spots, had a postive for mepivicaine, and are are both outstanding horsemen. I really see no way how that you can come down hard on one and defend the other. Unless of course you let the fact that you know and like one and not the other cloud your judgement.

hey mike hows tricks .....