Letters to the Editor: J. Kirk Robison

I am a horse owner and breeder and Steve Asmussen has been one of my trainers for the past 10 or so years. I am writing in response to the PETA video and subsequent letters to TDN, op-ed pieces and comments in the press. What ever happened to due process and innocent until proven guilty in the run-up to drawing conclusions about possible penalties for Mr. Asmussen and Scott Blasi? Until they and Mr. Zayat (who claims no knowledge of hoof problems with Nehro) are questioned under oath about the contents of the PETA video, how can Dan Liebman or anyone suggest life- changing penalties for those he deems guilty? We need also to hear from Dr. Hunt, the undercover PETA agent shown on the video, and her superiors-all under oath with a legal obligation to testify truthfully. Ronald Reagan said “facts are stubborn things” and that should guide us here. The video is a starting point to a possible investigation, but is not conclusive until everyone connected to this issue is heard from in a legal forum in which facts (not mere assertions) are determined. All parties deserve no less than legal conclusions, as does horse racing. Appropriate next steps and possible penalties should not be considered until all facts are known. At this point we can have opinions but, without all the facts, opinions are all we have. 

J. Kirk Robison, owner/breeder