I’ll Have Another trainer nets ban

But Belmont still a go

Doug O’neill, the trainer of Canadian- owned Triple Crown hopeful I’ll Have Another, was suspended 45 days after one of his horses had an excessive level of carbon dioxide, but the punishment won’t start before he saddles his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

The suspension comes in the final weeks of I’ll Have Another’s attempt to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed 34 years ago. The colt trained by O’neill won the Derby on May 5 and then took the Preakness last Saturday.

The California Horse Racing Board met in closed session Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., to consider the recommended decision of a hearing officer in O’neill’s case.

The board agreed with the officer’s recommendations, which included the maximum punishment and fine — $ 15,000 — for the trainer.

While elevated carbon dioxide is associated with “milkshaking,” the officer agreed with O’neill that his horse Argenta had not been fed a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes that enhances performance and combats fatigue. The officer did not indicate what may have caused the overage.

“I’m gratified that the CHRB found that I did not ‘ milkshake’ a horse or engage in any intentional conduct that would result in an elevated TC02 level,” O’neill said in a statement issued after the ruling.

“I plan on examining and reviewing all of my options following the Belmont Stakes, but right now I plan on staying focused on preparing for and winning the Triple Crown.”

The suspension comes at a time when racing is under heavy scrutiny for the way horses are prepared for their races, and which medications are administered to them.

O’neill had vigorously proclaimed his innocence in the 2010 case from the beginning, and said he spent $ 250,000 US defending himself.