Found another one, and thanks to Brian's Twitter for reminding me before the race happens tomorrow.
It has been 33 years since the last Triple Crown, and I really and truly believed there would never be another horse to win the three big American horse races.
But, for the twelfth time in those 33 years, we have a horse two-thirds of the way through the Triple Crown.
Shame the horse and trainer should not be allowed to participate.
You see, "I'll Have Another"'s trainer, Doug O'Neill, was suspended in the state of California for 45 days after giving one of his (other) horses an illegal performance-enhancing substance.
He claims he did not do this, but one has to wonder, especially since the California racing authorities gave him the maximum possible punishment, why is he allowed to saddle "I'll Have Another" in New York?
This is, in fact, the fourth such violation (and third in California) of his career. He was actually to be suspended for 180 days, but most of the suspension was held up if he remains on the straight and narrow.
He was also suspended in 2010 in Illinois for the same offense -- "milkshaking" excessive amounts of carbon dioxide into the horse's system.
But, in fact, as The Albany Times-Union reports, only one of the eleven trainers in the Belmont tomorrow hasn't had at least one similar offense on their record.
Probably largely as a result, the horses were placed in the normal Belmont "detention barn" on Wednesday, at least 48 hours (if not more) beyond any such previous race.
The rationale: That a clean race is run on Saturday.
How on Earth is that possible? Seriously! This race should not be run at all.
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