People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said April 30 it has far more evidence gleaned from an undercover investigator in trainer Steve Asmussen's barn in 2013, but gave no indication when it intends to make it public.
To date the animal rights' organization hasn't announced any activities that would coincide with the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) at Churchill Downs. A video taken secretly in the Asmussen barn was first released to the New York Times in late March.
PETA senior vice president Kathy Guillermo in a statement said "the entirety of the video"–allegedly there are seven hours of tape–was given to the New York State Gaming Commission, and that PETA "is arranging to do so" for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
"Recent statements from prominent members of the racing industry have implied or stated outright that the 9 1/2-minute video that PETA released was not an accurate reflection of what occurred in the Asmussen barn," Guillermo said. "If anything, the video is not as negative as it could be."
PETA said it has more "evidence" of injured horses, injections, horses with sore legs, photographs of drug records, racing of sore horses, mismanagement of pharmaceuticals, immigration violations, and about 300 pages of notes said to describe "chronic soreness, injury, drugging, and suffering of horses." The statement provided no update on the status of the investigations in New York and Kentucky.
"We and the rest of the world are waiting to see if the U.S. racing industry will talk, argue, and do nothing or if it will take meaningful steps to purge itself of the cruelty that is now its hallmark," Guillermo said.
The initial video, since published on the PETA website, offered nothing definitive to support allegations of illegal medication use in horses.
In a follow-up email, Guillermo said: "Definitive evidence is outlined in legal complaints."
