Trainer Doug O'Neill, who will send two horses to this weekend's Breeders' Cup, has been hit with a complaint requiring him to appear before stewards at Los Alamitos regarding medication administration to a horse in his care.
According to the complaint filed on Oct. 22, investigators received a tip this summer that a horse from O'Neill's barn that had already been entered in a race may have received illegal medication. Investigators at Los Alamitos inspected the barn July 5 and discovered the unidentified horse did not have a sign on its stall door indicating it was running within the next 24 hours.
Assistant trainer Sabas Rivera told investigators he had treated the horse the previous day with oral pastes called Bleeder Shield and Un-Lock, which meant they had been treated within 24 hours of race time.
Un-Lock is marketed as a supplement containing amino acids and electrolytes to reduce muscle fatigue and prevent tying up. Bleeder Shield purports to contain the Chinese herb Yunnan Baiyao to prevent exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. Neither product is approved by the Food and Drug Administration because the FDA does not inspect or approve dietary supplements for horses or humans. California rules do allow the administration of oral pastes like these, but not within 24 hours of a race.
The complaint issued Oct. 22 does not constitute a ruling against O'Neill, merely a requirement that a hearing take place. A date was not provided in the complaint for the hearing.
In 2013, O'Neill appeared before California stewards after a barn foreman administered an amino acid paste to runner Cinco de Mario, who was entered to run within 24 hours. Cinco de Mario was subsequently scratched from the race. At the time, O'Neill said the foreman made a mistake and was meant to give the paste to a horse in the next stall who was more than 24 hours out from a race. At the time, the trainer also said he would time the administration of oral supplements like that one 25 to 30 hours out from a horse's race, because he believed they could still be effective in that window without violating the rules. He received a $1,500 fine in that case.
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