A critical look at the horse racing industry

Air Date: June 7, 2012

I'll Have Another, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner goes the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Hour 1

All eyes are on Elmont, New York this Saturday for the running of the Belmont Stakes where the three-year old thoroughbred I’ll Have Another is poised to win the coveted Triple Crown. If he pulls it off, he’ll become the 12th Triple Crown winner in history and the first horse in 34 years to win the honor. Last week, the horse’s trainer Doug O’Neill was given a 45-day suspension and $15,000 fine by the California Horse Racing Board after they found that in 2010 he had raced a horse with elevated carbon dioxide levels, a sign of illegal performance enhancing drug administration. O’ Neill has had a history of similar penalties in the past. In recent years, the horse racing industry has been under pressure to reform its practices regarding the doping of horses by implementing more serious penalties. Joining us to talk about the Belmont Stakes, I’ll Have Another and the abuses within the horseracing industry are Daily news sportswriter DICK JERARDI and New York Times investigative reporter WALT BOGDANICH who co-authored a recent expose on the issue.

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[audio: 060712_100630.mp3]

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