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It won't be another for Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another, who was pulled from Saturday's Belmont Stakes with tendonitis in his left leg.
The swelling was noticed yesterday by after the horse's morning gallop but it was thought by trainer Doug O'Neill that the swelling had subsided. After his Friday morning workout in anticipation of tomorrow's race, I'll Have Another again showed signs of swelling and the decision was made to pull the horse from the race.
"Yesterday afternoon we noticed a loss of definition in his left leg," O'Neill said in a 1 P.M. press conference in which he made the decision official.
"Cooling out you could tell that swelling was back and I didn't feel very good."
Racing fans were left with a sick feeling as well, as the hopes of what was expected to be a crowd of over 90,000 fans hoping to see history now leaves an emptiness about Saturday's race. After winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, I'll Have Another had a chance to be the sport's first Triple Crown winner in 34 years but the injury now will not only derail his chance at racing immortality but also his career.
A determination was made by Dr. James Hunt of the Ruffian Equine Medical Center that the horse wouldn't be able to run in the race. O'Neill, weighing his horse's accomplishments and his future as a stud, said that the Preakness win of three weeks ago will be the last race the horse will run in.
"[Dr. Hunt] said it was the start of tendonitis in his front left tendon. Give him three to six months and start back with him," O'Neill said.
"It was unanimous to retire him."
