Asmussen Eligible for Hall of Fame Nomination

After being cleared of allegations of mistreating horses, veteran trainer Steve Asmussen is eligible to be nominated for election to the Hall of Fame in 2016, the National Museum of Racing confirmed Monday.

Asmussen was a finalist on the 2014 ballot, but museum officials told voters in March that they must disregard him as a candidate after the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released details of its undercover investigation–featuring an obscenity laced video that was later judged to be heavily edited–into wrongdoing at his barn. Christopher Dragone, the museum's director, said that Asmussen's status would be reviewed after investigations by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the New York State Gaming Commission were completed and the findings released. Kentucky regulators said in Jan. 2015 that he was not guilty of the PETA claims. The New York commission found him innocent of the more serious allegations in a 176-page report released in late November. Asmussen was fined $10,000 by New York for medication violations.

In his annual note to Hall of Fame voters requesting that the names of candidates be forwarded to the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, Brien Bouyeau, the museum's communications officer, addressed the Asmussen issue: “In response to questions I have received pertaining to the eligibility of trainer Steve Asmussen: With the state racing commissions' investigations in Kentucky and New York concluded and the allegations of animal cruelty being unfounded, Mr. Asmussen in good standing with both organizations and is eligible for Hall of Fame consideration in 2016.”

Asmussen, 50, was the Eclipse Award-winning trainer in 2008 and 2009. He trained two-time Horse of the Year Hall of Famer Curlin. His 2009 Horse of the Year and 3-year-old female champion Rachel Alexandra is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year. Asmussen ranks second in career wins for a trainer, 7,182, and fourth in career earnings, $235 million.