Ny., Ky. investigate allegations of race horse abuse

[RocknRoll]

How much of a factor was Zayat in keeping Nehro in training? Blasi was obviously pissed about it in the video and Zayat is also the same guy who brought Paynter back to racing after he almost died...

[C10hitch]

Here's what Zyat said .....
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/83999/zayat-speaks-out-about-peta-video

Personally I do not fault the owner. The trainer should have said this horse is not fit I will not keep going with this animal. The trainer is being paid to be responsible. 

I worked for one standardbred trainer for just about 5 or 6 weeks. I quit because he lied to the owners about the state of soundness of their horses. I was strictly told the owners were never to see one their horses front legs without bandages because they didn't know he had bowed a tendon the prior year! That wasn't the only horse he wasn't truthful about. Trainers who lie or don't tell the whole truth to their owners are scumbags.

[RocknRoll]

Of course Zayat isn't going to come out and say well I knew Nehro was hurt but I wanted to keep going with him. That horse had been injured so many different times there is no way you didn't know he had problems. Blasi clearly says in the video the reason he was in training was because of the owner. You are a trainer you work for the owner, if the owner tells you hey I want you to do what you can with this horse and you refuse then what...they take the horse or all their horses and give them to someone else that will. How come Zayat took Fast Bullet away from Baffert? Only to see that the horse really couldn't race anymore after the horse failed miserably for Lukas...but after he retired the same "Fast Bullet was a Zayat family horse" speech happened just like they all do.

[C10hitch]

If you are a trainer with any kind of moral or ethical standards you refuse to race a horse with problems as serious as Nehro had.

I've taken care of sore footed horses and there is a point they do NOT go forward on sore feet without some sort of serious help. Dare I whisper the possibility of snake or snail venom? IMHO without serious undetectable drugs or illegal nerving there is no way that horse could have performed at that high level. Even a horse with serious guts cannot race on painful feet, the pain just won't let them.

As far as the owner goes I'm on board with the very real probability that he was kept in the dark about the severity of Nehro's problems. I've worked around the backsides of enough tracks to hear and see how often owners are duped by unscrupulous trainers. Horses being kept in training that shouldn't be, to keep a payday in the trainer's pocket.

[RocknRoll]

Nehro got hurt in the Belmont, had to have surgery on his ankle.

“It’s not career-ending, but it sets us back,” said Zayat. “It’s pretty disappointing. He’ll miss the summer, but we’re still hoping to point to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. I’m trying to see the silver lining — maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.” “This is such an intelligent horse, and he has a huge heart,” Zayat said. “I’ll just have to do what’s right by him and hopefully he’ll come back and show us what he’s made of.”

The horse comes back from this to win an Allowance Optional Claimer, 6th in Oaklawn handicap, 2nd in Pimlico Special and 6th in the Foster before getting hurt again.

Zayat Stables' Nehro, a dull sixth in the Stephen Foster Handicap in his last start, exited the race with an ankle chip and will miss about three months of training, the Zayat family said June 24. Zayat said the 4-year-old Mineshaft colt will spend some time at WinStar Farm in Kentucky and "return to training when he tells us he's ready." Zayat said plans call for Nehro to race as a 5-year-old.

[LVGaryD]

I only worked for one trainer in my life who gave us permission to tell the owner everything about their horses, and that was Don McKirgan.

Every other trainer told us that if the owner asked any questions, tell them "you just don't know much about the horse." One of the greatest trainers in history always told his grooms, "Always tell the owner their horse is doing absolutely perfectly….right up until the day you turn them out in the field."

Transparency was always an issue, but today many owners apparently head straight for the USTA Regulatory page to find their trainers. They seem to pick the trainer with the most positives.

[C10hitch]

IMHO it is not the grooms job to talk to the owner about his horse. That being said, being told by the trainer to bald-faced lie to the owner if you are asked a direct question is also not in the job description of a groom. The lie was necessary in the mind of the trainer because the trainer did not want to deal with the question of "why did Star's groom say you need to ask you about the horse." That kind of comment from a groom implies that there is "something". Just crappy position to put good grooms in.

Really prefer to hear the owner come by and say how's that quarter crack coming, are you feeding that biotin supplement we got from Big Dee's to help it grow out as quickly as possible. Oh yeah and by the way I know how hard you are working and how much extra time you are spending to baby this guy through. So, here's a little something for the great job you are doing for us. We appreciate how you care and even if he doesn't make it back to the races we know you did everything in your power as part of the team. Steve Warrington..... one of the best, most honest trainers I ever worked for fit that style, as did my F-I-L Dick Williams II.

[pezz97]

NO SMOKING GUN!


http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/85220/no-smoking-gun-in-peta-video-sent-to-khrc