Of Dougs and Drugs
Racing is injured – and needs immediate care.
When will the powers that be in horse racing come to the realization that they ought to just get drugs out of the game? – Period! Now, in a year we might see a triple Crown winner after nearly half a century (which would do the game so much good in the public’s eye) . . . it has again been tarnished by the accusations of drug use by the trainer, Doug O’Neil. He is the trainer of the fine (and possibly great) horse, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, I’ll Have Another. It really is a laughable tragedy that horse racing shoots itself in the foot time after time . . . and the game continues its inexorable demise.
Without going into the “guilty” or “not guilty” part of the stink (O’Neil has been hit with 4 of the same violations) – the trainer has been given a a $15K fine, and a 45 day suspension (to begin after the Belmont Stakes) for “milkshaking” one of his runners (not, of course, I’ll Have Another) many months back. A “milkshake” is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar, electrolytes, and other stuff that helps prevent a horse from tiring as quickly.
But then – there are scores of legal and illegal substances given to horses by trainers trying to get that little extra performance edge. It’s a constant coming up with new substances and ways to avoid detection. The “game-within-the-game” – has become a circus.
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