Belmont Stakes 2012: Controversy Will Cloud I'll Have Another's Triple Crown Bid

The hype surrounding Doug O'Neill's doping controversy was already starting to amplify prior to the Preakness, and now that I'll Have Another is one step way from winning the Triple Crown, it's at an all-time high.

The trainer, whose horse upset favorite Bodemeister in both the Kentucky Derby and in last weekend's Preakness, has come under the microscope in the last two weeks because of a track record that involves violations in four states over giving his horses illegal substances such as milkshakes, a mixture of baking soda, sugar, water and electrolytes that fights off fatigue.

Gatorade for horses, except it's illegal.

While O'Neill has steadfastly denied the allegations, the damage has already been done, to some extent. There is now a cloud of suspicion over a horse came out of nowhere to defeat the front runner—twice—and the trainer with doping in his past who helped him get there.

I'll Have Another's story is one that is hard not to like. The horse won the hearts of thousands before the Kentucky Derby broadcast, when announcers said he was named after owner J. Paul Reddam's standard response when his wife asks him if he wants more cookies. Then, the long shot won the biggest race of the year, and his affable trainer and his children smiled at the cameras and talked about the hot tub they wanted to purchase with the earnings.

Everyone was rooting for O'Neill—before his past was revealed. And now, it's hard to root for a trainer who has a history of cheating, even if this horse is supposed to be clean.

As it stands, O'Neill is facing a pending drug suspension in California, and if it stands, he'll face a possible 180-day suspension. He's denied that charge as well as three others since 2005, saying that all of his horses have been pure and endure rigorous testing to ensure it.

But four false positives? Come on.

Trainers seem to be split on the drug problems plaguing the sport. Some have insinuated that horses wouldn't be able to race without some form of enhancement, while others—most notably, Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas—have condemned any trainer who's been mired in the controversy, including O'Neill.

Lukas recently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gene Collier, "I am very disappointed as a trainer that we have the stigma on some of our Derby winners, who have not carried the banner, so to speak."

Lukas has been able to win the Triple Crown with two different horses without the help of chemical enhancements. If he can do it, so can the rest of the top trainers.

I'll Have Another may be clean. Hopefully he's clean. But even if he's not, it's hard to keep rooting for a supposed underdog who may have cheated to get to the top.