NBC News Reports on I'll Have Another

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Whatever you think about the allegations pertaining to Doug O'Neill or the soundness of I'll have Another when he went through the Triple Crown campaign this year, the fact remains that this report on a National News broadcast does little to better the plight of American horse racing. The general public is not going to look any farther than the headlines in the New York Times or the insinuations about the industry in this report. Anyone who thinks that horse racing is fine and well, better think again.

Personally I believe I'll Have Another had serious conformation issues from the very beginning--hence his low price tag. Whether or not the various cocktails and treatments that his trainer doled out helped or hurt the horse remain to be seen. He did win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, most likely feeling no pain. It is worth noting that the Belmont would have been his first and only time to race in New York State, where all eyes were on that syringe.

Do I think that his connections made a decision not to race for financial reasons? Yes. Do I think they knew going into the race that he wasn't going to enter? No. I think that reality caught up with them and they didn't want to risk losing what they had created. Why not go out an "injured" winner rather than a "pulled up" Big Brown?

The simple truth remains that drugs in racing need to be banned and the proper mechanism needs to be put in place to make than ban enforceable. Nothing less than that is going to save the sport, especially when headlines like these continue to make news.