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.