He's F$%#ing Ba-ack!

Scott Blasi is back, and why shouldn't he be?  That's up to his boss, and to the owners of the horses who, we're told, have been advised of, and are fine, with his return.  As we've said, the snippets of video released to the public showed mostly that Blasi has a foul mouth and an irritable disposition.  As far as the accusations of rule and ethical violations, let the investigations in New York and Kentucky draw conclusions about that.  The regulators in those states will take the appropriate actions if necessary and appropriate.  A spokesperson for the New York Gaming Association said that the investigation is "expected to wrap up soon."  Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think that if the near-completed investigation had been turning up substantive violations, then Blasi would be ruled off the grounds pending its completion.

And we also have this twist: It was reported by David Grening in the Daily Racing Form that the PETA's female investigator who compiled the tapes and compiled the 285-page report had a "personal relationship" with Blasi.  That had been the subject of much (loud) whispering, and was something that I only hinted at here.  But this is the first time I've seen it reported in the press.  And I think you can bet if it's in the Daily Racing Form, whose writers in general (and Grening in particular) have as much or more professional integrity than anyone in the business, than it's no longer mere speculation.  Even if it was not reported in Joe Drape's story in the Times.  However, there hasn't seemed to be much of a reaction to the revelation, at least what I saw on Twitter (which is hardly the entire universe, but it seems like it sometimes).  In fact, I was told that the "Twitter police" did not approve of the reporting.  Maybe it's because it's something that people already assumed.  But still, I find that odd.  Not only do I personally find the entire affair to be seedy and repulsive, I think it changes everything.  (And if it were a male investigator that entered a relationship with a female trainer in order to record her surreptitiously, I'd guess the conversation would be a whole lot different.)

Not only does such a relationship change the entire context of the portions of the video when Blasi and the investigator are alone; but now one can quite fairly question the motivation behind the report.  Once you introduce the bedroom, who knows what was going on?  Perhaps it turned out she was a jilted lover trying to get even.  As far as I'm concerned, you can take all of the video and all of the documents, throw them in the garbage, and use the Times to set them alight.