Leading owner Ahmed Zayat has ordered the scratching of all his horses under the care of trainer Steve Asmussen engaged this weekend.

Justin Zayata, the son of the influential owner, tweeted that he had been directed to inform the stewards to scratch the two Zayat horses entered for this weekend under the care of Asmussen,

The scratches come in the wake of a New York Times report which detailed an undercover investigation carried out in Asmussen's barn in 2013 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The report carried revelations via videotaped conversations of Asmussen’s assistant trainer Scott Blasi discussing the poor condition of the Zayat-owned Nehro's feet with a blacksmith, and a profanity-laced tirade in which Blasi blamed Zayat for keeping the horse in training.

The elder Zayat denied any knowledge of Nehro's feet issues.

“I am emotionally distraught about this,” Zayat told TDN.

“It’s horrifying. I haven’t slept. I can tell you my heart is bleeding.

“I knew zero about Nehro having a foot problem. We never heard about this.

“I was around this horse every day and we knew nothing about this.

“This is insanity. It’s mind boggling.”