The horse racing industry should be deeply shamed that extraordinary security measures had to be ordered to guard horses in next Saturday’s Belmont Stakes from the doping abuses engulfing thoroughbred racing. The horses will be kept in an isolated barn with visitors limited, feed and hay bales checked for drugs, and veterinarians and trainers under daily watch to ensure there is no manipulation of food or medication. If anyone thinks this is an overreaction, they should take a look at the record of Doug O’Neill. He is the trainer of I’ll Have Another, the horse primed for the chance to be a Triple Crown champion after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Mr. O’Neill has a long history of racing sanctions and penalties for administering illegal and dangerous performance-enhancing concoctions. He isn’t an outlier. Of racing’s top 20 trainers, only two have never been cited for abusing medications.
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