LITTLE ROCK — California racing officials supported a hearing officer’s decision to suspend Doug O’Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner I’ll Have Another, for at least 45 days Thursday, knocking 135 days off the original penalty for a 2010 violation for a performanceenhancing mixture found in one of the horses under his care.
The ruling, coming after a nearly two-year legal battle, won’t take effect until after O’Neill saddles I’ll Have Another in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
California racing officials said O’Neill was not guilty of “milkshaking” the mare Argenta, who ran eighth in a race at Del Mar on Aug. 25, 2010, but they still found him at fault because of a rule that says trainers are ultimately responsible for horses in their care.
I’ll Have Another is two weeks away from attempting to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed 34 years ago. The colt trained by O’Neill won the Derby on May 5 and took the Preakness on Saturday.
The seven-member California Horse Racing Board met in closed session at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., to consider the recommended decision of a hearing officer in O’Neill’s case. The board agreed with the officer’s recommendations, which included a $15,000 fine for O’Neill, who turned 44 Thursday, and that 135 days be stayed as long as O’Neill doesn’t have any Class 1, 2 or 3 medication violations in any state during an 18-month period.
Elevated carbon dioxide is associated with “milkshaking,” but the officer agreed with O’Neill that his horse Argenta had not been fed a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes that enhances performance and combats fatigue. The officer did not indicate what might have caused the overage.
“I’m gratified that the CHRB found that I did not milkshake a horse or engage in any intentional conduct that would result in an elevated TC02 level,” O’Neill said in a statement. “I plan on examining and reviewing all of my options following the Belmont Stakes, but right now I plan on staying focused on preparing for and winning the Triple Crown.”
The suspension comes at a time when racing is under heavy scrutiny for the way horses are prepared for their races.
O’Neill said he spent $250,000 defending himself against his third total carbon dioxide violation in California and fourth in his career.
“I know I didn’t milkshake a horse. None of us around the barn milkshaked any horses,” O’Neill said Wednesday. “You got to have rules and I respect rules, but when you get faulty science involved, it costs a lot of money unfortunately, but you’ve got to fight it and that’s what we’re doing.”
O’Neill was originally suspended 180 days by the racing board after Argenta tested in excess of the permitted level of TCO2 — a Class 3 violation. The horse is co-owned by Mark Verge, the chief executive officer of Santa Anita racetrack and O’Neill’s childhood friend.
The officer found there were no suspicious betting patterns in the 2010 race and there was no evidence of any intentional acts on the part of O’Neill in connection with the incident.
However before the hearing, the parties had stipulated that the Ken Maddy Laboratory at UC Davis detected an excess level of TCO2 in the horse’s blood sample, and CHRB Rule 1887 states a trainer is ultimately responsible for the condition of a horse, so O’Neill was punished.
CHRB Executive Director Kirk Breed will decide when O’Neill’s suspension will begin, but it will be no sooner than July 1.
The Jockey Club has said that elevated total carbon dioxide levels, regardless of cause, are violations of the rules and penalties for excessive TCO2 are severe. It urges trainers and their veterinarians to work closely to identify any procedure or practices that may elevate such levels in horses.
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/25/2012