PETA’s Statement on Election of Steve Asmussen to Racing Hall of Fame

It appears that the voters of the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame don’t care about preventing drug abuse in horse racing and are more worried about its reputation than about the safety of horses and jockeys. This shortsightedness is what is killing the industry—and the horses. PETA urges tourists in New York to skip the racing museum in Saratoga Springs and visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown instead.

Evidence that PETA gathered in Steve Asmussen’s own barn showed horses injected on a near-daily basis with sedatives, painkillers, and anti-inflammatory drugs to keep them running. As a result, the New York State Gaming Commission introduced “sweeping new regulations in the wake of Asmussen investigation” and fined Asmussen $10,000 for hormone medication violations, while members of Congress introduced new legislation to protect horses from drug abuse.