Although I'll Have Another will not participate in the Belmont Stakes tomorrow to compete for the Triple Crown, the New York Racing Association has announced that I'll Have Another and jockey Mario Gutierrez will lead the Belmont Stakes field post parade onto the track in spite of the tendonitis in the horse's left front leg.
Horse trainer O'Neill at Preakness
Although I'll Have Another is not considered lame, the owner J. Paul Reddam and trainer O'Neill decided that it would be best to withdraw from the race and they have decided to retire the colt.
In a press conference, O'Neill discussed the process that led to the three-year-old colt being scratched from the race which had been hoped would end a 34 year drought without a Triple Crown winner. On Thursday, O'Neill became aware of some "heat" in the colt's left front leg, but the heat was gone on Friday morning and O'Neill sent the horse out for a gallop.
The problem with the leg returned, prompting O'Neill to call in Dr. James Hunt to scan the horse. The scan showed the beginning of tendonitis. Although the horse is not considered "lame" at this point, the owner J. Paul Reddam and trainer O'Neill decided that it would be best for the horse to withdraw from the race and they decided to retire him before any additional damage to the leg occurs .
"He's been doing great," O'Neill said at the press conference at Belmont Park this afternoon. "It's a freakish thing. It's like a human athlete. When you give 110 percent every time you step on the court or on the track, it's something that can happen.
"I'd been hoping and praying that he'd stay healthy.""He's been doing great," O'Neill said at a hastily-arranged press conference at Belmont Park this afternoon. "It's a freakish thing. It's like a human athlete. When you give 110 percent every time you step on the court or on the track it's something that can happen.
"I'd been hoping and praying that he'd stay healthy.""He's been doing great," O'Neill said at a hastily-arranged press conference at Belmont Park this afternoon. "It's a freakish thing. It's like a human athlete. When you give 110 percent every time you step on the court or on the track it's something that can happen.
"I'd been hoping and praying that he'd stay healthy."