Preakness Predictions 2012: Doug O'Neill Controversy Will Taint Triple Crown Bid

A couple of weeks ago, Doug O'Neill was just a happy-go-lucky guy who achieved the biggest win of his training career when his long-shot horse managed to take down the mighty Bodemeister in the Kentucky Derby.

Now, just a couple of days before the second leg of the Triple Crown, O'Neill looks like a fraud, scrutinized as vigorously as Roger Clemens or Alex Rodriguez, and a happy story has become one mired in controversy and suspicion.

O'Neill's I'll Have Another was the unlikely victor in the Kentucky Derby on May 5, becoming the first horse to ever win the race from the No. 19 post position. As people began to wonder how this seemingly no-name horse with an inexperienced jockey beat the mighty, Bob Baffert-trained Bodemeister, his owner's suspicious past came to light.

O'Neill currently faces the possibility of a 180-day suspension stemming from an incident in August 2010, when one of his horses tested positive for  "milkshake," an illegal, performance-enhancing mixture of baking soda and electrolytes, according to FoxSports.com's Dan Wolken.

Wolken also reports that O'Neill, who runs a stable of over 90 horses in California, has had three other horses who have tested positive for the mixture since 2005.

So what are the chances that I'll Have Another is totally clean?

O'Neill has steadfastly denied all of the allegations against him, insisting that the testing procedures are inaccurate. He told the Associated Press: 

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I'll Have Another, along with every other horse in our barn goes through an intense physical exam and a blood and urine exam. We run pure horses. We run a great operation, and anyone who comes to our barn all know that we love the horses and do everything we can to keep them at the top of their game. If I didn't win the Derby, you guys wouldn't be asking that. 

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But something is clearly awry, and as we've seen from the steroid saga that threatened to ruin Major League Baseball, no one repeatedly tests positive for a substance he isn't using.

This isn't just about cheating, either. It's about taking proper care of the horses who make these trainers millions of dollars when they win. According to Wolken, a New York Times expose discovered that O'Neill's horses suffer 12 injuries per every 1,000 starts, which is twice the national average.

The sport of horse racing won't survive if the cheating and the doping doesn't stop. The playing field becomes completely unbalanced, the clean trainers get frustrated and obstinate and the horses break down. Once everyone is cheating, the sport isn't fun anymore for anyone. As Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas told the AP:  

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I think those guys are all good enough they don't need for there to be doubts. I think they can train horses and not have that problem in front of them. They can do it the right way. That's just the way I feel. I would say that if they were standing right here. 

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O'Neill is supposed to be a trainer, a professional who knows how to safely achieve the best results with his horses. A trainer isn't supposed to compromise the health of his animals because of greed and desire. That is inexcusable.

We don't know whether O'Neill is guilty or innocent, but no matter what, if he wins on Saturday, the occasion won't be anywhere near as celebratory as it was at the Kentucky Derby. There is simply too much suspicion tainting his accomplishments.