Are new Belmont race rules directed at I’ll Have Another trainer?
ASSOCIATED PRESS May 31, 2012 11:33AM
FILE - In this May 16, 2012, file photo, Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O'Neill talks outside his barn at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. O'Neill was suspended 45 days on Thursday, May 24, by the California Horse Racing Board as a result of one of his horses exceeding the allowable limit for total carbon dioxide. But the punishment won't begin before July 1, ensuring he will be able to saddle I'll Have Another in next month's Belmont Stakes. (AP Photo/Garry Jones, File)
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Updated: May 31, 2012 3:17PM
NEW YORK — The trainer of Triple Crown hopeful I’ll Have Another says he doesn’t think New York racing officials are picking on him after the state’s racing and wagering board imposed strict rules for horses in the Belmont Stakes.
Doug O’Neill says “I don’t think so” when asked Thursday if officials were singling him out because of his history of doping infractions. His recent 45-day suspension won’t begin until after the Belmont on June 9.
New rules call for all Belmont runners to be stabled in a stakes barn rather than spread out in different stables around the track. Also, there will be out-of-competition blood testing and close scrutiny of the horses and humans attending them.
Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I’ll Have Another is attempting to become the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years.
