The 2012 Belmont Stakes is still over a week away, but the anticipation is already high. I'll Have Another is attempting to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed accomplished the feat in 1978. I'll Have Another, who just a couple of months ago was considered a bit of a long shot to win the Kentucky Derby, is now the 5/4 favorite to win the Belmont Stakes and secure the Triple Crown.
At the same time as all the excitement and anticipation, I'll Have Another's trainer Doug O'Neill has been handed a 45-day suspension by the California racing board and fined $15,000 for elevated carbon dioxide levels in another horse, Argenta.
While O'Neill was not found to have been guilty of any tampering or doping, as the head trainer, he was deemed responsible for anything that may have happened to the horse under his care. He will serve his suspension after the Belmont Stakes, so he is still able to focus on the task at hand and oversee I'll Have Another as he goes for his place in history.
You can find the press release of O'Neill's suspension decision here.
For lots more on the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, please visit And Down the Stretch they Come.
