I'll Have Another Out Of Belmont: Doug O'Neill Reveals Triple Crown Bid Is Over During Dan Patrick Show

Not this year.

Despite heavy anticipation that horse racing would have its first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, I'll Have Another is not running the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. During an interview on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Friday, trainer Doug O'Neill broke the news.

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Dan Patrick Show

Doug O'Neill: "I'll Have Another is officially out of the Belmont."

June 8, 2012 3:24 pm via web Reply Retweet Favorite

The three-year-old colt owned by Reddam Racing and trained by O'Neill notched thrilling wins at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was the early favorite at the Belmont Stakes.

The surprise scratch is the result of an injury, with O'Neill telling the Dan Patrick Show that the horse "has the start of some tendonitis in the left front leg.” O'Neill went on to reveal that he doesn't expect the horse to race again.

"The horse is sound and happy, but it's not worth it," O'Neill would later tell The Associated Press.

The New York Racing Association quickly scheduled a press conference for 1 p.m. on Friday. During the press conference held at Belmont Park, it was announced that I'll Have Another is retired from racing.

Very early on Friday morning, O'Neill had worked out I'll Have Another, getting the chestnut colt out on the track at Belmont at 5:30 a.m., according to the New York Daily News.

"He is fit and ready to go and we are just trying to let him bring as much energy to the table tomorrow as possible," O'Neill told the News hours before announcing the scratch during a radio appearance, later adding, "We are ready to roll."

I'll Have Another is far from the first horse to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown before failing to finish it off. The scratch for I'll Have Another marks just the third time in the history of the Triple Crown that a horse has won the first two legs but not run the Belmont. During the 1930s, Burgo King and Bold Venture captured the Derby and the Preakness but did not start the Belmont.

Here are the alibis (or excuses) for some of the other notable horses that came close but never celebrated the feat.

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• Tim Tam (1958

  The Calumet Farm bay colt finished second to Cavan by 5 1/2 lengths after running the final quarter-mile with a broken bone in his right front ankle.

• Carry Back (1961)

  A scrawny, unattractive little colt was poised to make another thrilling stretch run to victory, but when jockey Johnny Sellers asked for more, Carry Back "spit the bit" - a racing term meaning he simply didn't feel like running anymore. He finished seventh behind 65-1 long shot Sherluck.

• Majestic Prince (1969)

  The great jockey Bill Hartack was criticized by many for moving too late in the stretch in losing to Arts and Letters. It was Majestic Prince's first loss in 10 starts.

• Spectacular Bid (1979)

  Considered a cinch to give racing its fourth Triple Crown winner in the 1970s, the Bid stepped on a safety pin in his stall the morning of the race. He finished third behind Coastal after young jockey Ron Franklin gunned Bid to the lead and the colt faded in the stretch.

• Silver Charm (1997)

  After reeling in rival Free House with an eighth of a mile to go, Silver Charm was on his way to immortality. But with 75 yards to go, jockey Gary Stevens saw another horse out of the corner of his eye. It was Touch Gold, and Silver Charm didn't see him either until 10 jumps from the wire. By then, it was too late.

• Real Quiet (1998)

  A year after trainer Bob Baffert had his heart broken by Silver Charm, another of his horses - Real Quiet - took a run at greatness. But jockey Kent Desormeaux was criticized for making his move too early, and by the time Real Quiet was a furlong from the finish at Belmont, he began staggering home. Victory Gallop, runner-up in the Derby and Preakness, was bearing down and the two hit the wire together. After several agonizing minutes, the photo went against Real Quiet.

• Charismatic (1999)

  Trainer D. Wayne Lukas' Triple Crown quest ended with a quarter mile to go, when Charismatic fractured two bones in his left front leg but still finished third behind 29-1 long shot Lemon Drop Kid.

• War Emblem (2002)

  Baffert has had some tough luck chasing the Triple Crown and his front-running speedster was done in early - he stumbled out of the starting gate and finished eighth behind 70-1 long shot Sarava.

• Smarty Jones (2004)

  After fighting off strong challenges from Rock Hard Ten and Eddington along the backstretch, Smarty Jones and jockey Stewart Elliott opened a 3 1/2-length lead into the stretch. But the early duels proved to be Smarty's undoing. He tired in the stretch and was caught in the final 70 yards by 36-1 long shot Birdstone.

*Captions via AP

Comments

[emmahorton7]

01:11 AM on 06/10/2012

I just watched Secretariat run and win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. I'd seen the videos before, but not for quite a while. What a beautiful, perfect animal he was. He ran so effortlessly. Always in the back and then all of a sudden he came creeping up and took the lead and kept it.

The finish at Belmont was unbelievable. He's so much fun to watch. The video of him running in a pasture at the end is lovely. He was such a large, muscular horse, and ran with such joy.

Just Google "Secretariat, triple crown wins".

[Royce09]

05:42 PM on 06/09/2012

Maybe I have my stories mixed up, but a trainer was recently caught or charged with drugging horses, and I thought I'll Have Another was one of the horses he worked with.

So did the horse really get hurt or is this a cover up. Maybe I misunderstood the story too.

[Revka]

05:09 PM on 06/09/2012

I would love to see him run but not to see him break his leg and die on the track.
Great horse.......keep him alive.

[Math Maestro]

03:17 PM on 06/09/2012

Like the line in "A Christmas Carol", Ebenezer Scrooge's most popular remark, "Ah, Humbug"!

[beenthere75]

02:23 PM on 06/09/2012

I wonder how the horse feels about this? Hmmm

[haimchaim]

11:02 AM on 06/09/2012

being protective & well prepared made for interesting coverage ..horse had a chance of making history .. can't be of any help now ..

[DJlaysitup]

10:13 AM on 06/09/2012

I was thinking about the whole Belmont deal last night and I couldn't help but wonder...why would you go to the effort and expense to have an "isolation barn" at Belmont where you can monitor the contact with the horses 24 hours a day a few days before the race...if you were fully confident in your medical/veterinary tesing procedures? You wouldn't.

Also - and I'm sure this is a question that NBC Execs are asking this morning - why would you have your strictest scrutiny of the horses in the last race of the triple crown? Why not have the same procedures at the Derby and the Preakness? This is an issue that horse racing has to fix.

That said, I hope I'll Have Another has a nice long life at stud.

[Jab Jab Jab]

10:29 AM on 06/09/2012

My question is why was IHA rode at 5:30am yesterday instead of the usual 8:30 run? Was it to avoid the other horses as said or was it to give amble time before the OTB opened for bets at 9:am?

[DJlaysitup]

10:32 AM on 06/09/2012

I would have to guess that it was to get on the track while few other people were around...as far as "why"...I have no clue. Well actually I could make a guess - but that would just be a guess.

[Jeff Sadowsky]

10:11 AM on 06/09/2012

Such a shame! While only 1 in 2 who have a chance for the triple Crown, win the Belmont Stakes, there is little like the excitement during the two and half minutes at Big Sandy (Belmont race track) during the Belmont stakes when a rare horse is gunning for the triple crown.
The greatest of Belmont Stakes races here the triple Crown was on the line was 1973 when Secretariat (Big Red) lengthened his lead to an astounding & record setting 25 + lengths down the stretch in a time that still stands as a Belmont record (3 wks after setting the Preakness record). The roar during his phenomenal stretch run remains with me to this day as does the Great Belmont in 1978 where Affirmed and Alydar ran neck and neck during the entire last mile - never done b4 or since and Victory gallop coming from Way back to nip Baffert's tiring Triple Crown Candidate, Real Quiet at the wire.

I guess i am going to have to convince my longtime best buddy that we should go to the next Belmont where the crown is on the line for there to be another crowned as we were there together for the last three & none since

ps The Woodford Stakes on Turf in the 10th should be a nice race as it often is!

[Joan Reeves]

09:24 AM on 06/09/2012

Worth more in stud fees anyway.

[fblake4]

11:20 AM on 06/09/2012

maybe not, breeders might be worried of this problem in the bloodline.

[Watch The Vote]

08:52 AM on 06/09/2012

Sad story...great horse!

[Stoplyingtous]

08:24 AM on 06/09/2012

After watching a local newscast showing a Tennessee Walking Horse being chemically "soared' and being beaten into submission with a stick to the face.... I applaud all the people involed with I'll- Have- Another's care.

If you truly love horses you'll spend lots of money.....but it's not the money that counts.

Owners , Trainers and Staff.....you are all awesome.............

[RealistBC]

08:06 AM on 06/09/2012

Awwwww! The Poor Horsey Set! What a tragedy!

Meanwhile, in Syria, . . . In Afghanistan, . . . In Yemen, . . .

[Winthorpe]

10:39 AM on 06/09/2012

Not much of a multi-tasker, are you?

[Mulebone]

08:01 AM on 06/09/2012

He could have raced him, and he might have won; but McNeil did the right thing.

I salute you, sir!

[playflute2]

09:55 AM on 06/09/2012

Agreed. I'm so glad they had the good common sense to pull this beautiful animal and not, perhaps, run him right into the ground. That has happened far too much in the world or horse racing.

[evian]

06:46 AM on 06/09/2012

I hope he dosent get the same fate of those other 3 champion horses sent to the slaughterhouse. (Google it ) so evil is. This world I wouldn't be suprised if someone intentionally damaged that horse. Fkn basterds.

[1differentdrummer]

06:18 AM on 06/09/2012

Awesome horse.