What to do with Thoroughbred racehorse Doug O’Neill and his most recent drug positive in New York that resulted in a 45-day suspension for the Southern California-based trainer and a ban from participating in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships?
O’Neill was suspended when a gelding named Wind of Bosphorus tested positive for oxazepam, a Class 2 drug considered by the Association of Racing Commissioners International to have a high potential to affect performance. Class 2 drugs include generally accepted therapeutic medications with “high potential for abuse.”
Oxazepam is in the same drug family as diazepam, or Valium, which is a muscle relaxant. According to the New York State Gaming Commission, the drug was administered within a week of the horse’s race June 2, 2013, which is a violation of state regulation.
Though O’Neill has already accepted his suspension, his problems don’t stop in New York.
O’Neill got a lot of unwanted publicity during the 2012 Triple Crown when his stable’s star I’ll Have Another had a bead on the Triple Crown title until injury sidelined him the day before the Belmont Stakes. During a high point of his career, the trainer was also cited for a total carbon dioxide violation in a filly named Argenta when she raced at Del Mar Aug. 25, 2010.