LEADING owner Ahmed Zayat has taken the decision to remove the horses he has in training with Steve Asmussen, amid the undercover sting operation on the dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer by animal rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Steve Asmussen: Peta accuses the trainer of "cruel or injurious" treatment
Peta have accused Asmussen and his now former assistant Scott Blasi of subjecting horses to "cruel or injurious mistreatment", administering drugs for non-therapeutic reasons and employing one of their jockeys to use a banned electrical device known as a buzzer.
Zayat last week said he felt "duped" by Asmussen after seeing extracts from a controversial video compiled by Peta and, having originally taken the decision to scratch all horses due to run last weekend under the trainer's name, has now decided to remove his horses from the trainer's care.
After tweeting his decision on Monday, the Daily Racing Form have revealed the owner's horses with Asmussen at Oaklawn Park will be going to D. Wayne Lukas, those at Fair Grounds will head to Dale Romans at Churchill Downs and his horses at Belmont Park will transfer to Michael Wilson.
At the heart of Zayat's decision was his view that Asmussen was not forthcoming about the physical condition of 2011 Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro, who died of colic last year.
Peta's complaints to state and federal agencies in Kentucky and New York were accompanied by a nine-minute video, which as well as featuring several unguarded comments from Blasi, also discussed Nehro's fragile feet, a condition Zayat says he was unaware of.
The complaints have sparked investigations by racing commissions in Kentucky and New York and led to Asmussen on Saturday firing Blasi, ending an 18-year association.
Asmussen, second on the all-time trainers' list in career victories with more than 6,500, has also been removed from the ballot for induction into the Hall of Fame in light of the investigation.