Business as Usual

I cannot bury my head in the sand only to have the cheaters of the world kick more sand on top … can you?

I’ve always seen Steve Asmussen at the track. He likes to hang out with the regular folks and watch races near the rail. Before, it was an endearing quality. Last Saturday at Fair Grounds, I saw him more than ever - or at least I noticed him more than ever. With two of his sons by his side, It seemed the famous trainer was just about everywhere I turned. It troubled me.

Back in the day, his older brother Cash was one of my favorite riders. I believe that my honest fanship of his brother caused me to have a favorable outlook of Steve Asmussen as a trainer. It’s funny how that works, but I suppose if Angel Cordero had a younger brother who became a successful trainer, I would not have rooted for him.

Steve Asmussen, by traditional measures, has been a successful trainer. His win totals (more than 6,700), and his lifetime earnings (better than $214 million), place him near the top of the all-time leaders. I, however, would argue that there is more to true success than mere numbers.

I live by the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ legal concept, but clearly, even before PETA, things didn’t smell right in the large Asmussen operation. Less than ten years removed from a six-month suspension for positive tests for banned substances showing up on horses he trained, I must admit feeling rather foolish for letting my own bias color my perception of the second trainer of both Curlin and Rachel Alexandra.

Sure, the 48-year-old trainer dismissed his longtime chief assistant, Scott Blasi, after the disturbing PETA video hit the Internet. No matter how slanted the angle of viewpoint depicted by PETA was in the video, Blasi’s disgusting behavior was undefendable. But what of his boss? Should the buck stop with Cash’s little brother?

I now cringe to think that it was Blasi who oversaw operations while Asmussen was serving his suspension. I cringe to think that the man in this video was the man who took ‘care’ of Rachel Alexandra for the last year and a half of her racing career.

To this point, Asmussen has been quiet about the hellstorm that followed the New York Times story. Perhaps, he is hoping that all this will blow over if he keeps quiet, and his horses, like Untapable and Tapiture, keep winning. You know what? He may be right.

Racing takes care of its own. Take that statement however you want, but it comes with as many pitfalls, as it does benefits. Business as usual is an easy thing to fall into. Shake your head, cover your eyes, but then live and let live.

As Asmussen accepted congratulations for Untapable’s big win in the Fair Grounds Oaks, all I could think was that racing is not willing to make the tough decisions that will really change the many problems within the sport. The inner circles of racing are strong, no matter how rotten certain spokes of the wheel may be.