I'll Have Another, who was trying to become the first horse since '78 to win the Triple Crown, was scratched from Saturday's Belmont Stakes Friday morning due to tendinitis. Trainer Doug O’Neill appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” and said, “He galloped great yesterday and then in the afternoon he had a little bit of swelling in his left front leg. This morning he looked perfect. I took him out and I just did a little something with him and after training that swelling came back. I had the vet come over. He scanned his left front leg and he’s got the start of some tendinitis in that front leg. So he’s not 100%, and we ain’t taking any chances and pulling him out." He added, "It’s not tragic, but it’s a huge disappointment, and just so bummed." O'Neill said he was told that I'll Have Another "probably needs about three months of a whole lot of nothing, and then we can start back with him." O'Neill: "I'd love to see him back in my barn in a few months training again. But realistically, you’ll probably be seeing a lot of beautiful mares.” A crowd of more than 120,000 was expected for the race, and O’Neill said, "Hopefully they’ll still have a full house. ... I hope I’ll Have Another’s defection doesn’t shrink that too much. I’m sure NYRA wants to slap me around a little bit, but just got to do what’s in the best interest of the horse” (“The Dan Patrick Show,” 6/8). A 1:00pm ET press conference is scheduled, and O'Neill said that he will "walk the horse in front of the media to show that he still looks OK." When asked if the horse had run its last race, O'Neill said, "If I had to wager, and being an O'Neill, we like to wager, I would say yes" (NEWSDAY.com, 6/8). Paulick Report's Ray Paulick wrote, “A punch in the gut for those looking forward to tomorrow's Belmont Stakes.” CNBC's Darren Rovell: "Any Belmont bets made in advance on I'll Have Another will have to be refunded. Bigger question is how Belmont might handle tickets.”
IMPACT ON TV COVERAGE: NBC Friday afternoon released a statement saying, "While we are obviously disappointed that our show won’t feature I’ll Have Another going for the elusive Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes is still an iconic event on the sports schedule, and the NBC Sports Group broadcasts will treat it as such. We’re working now to adjust the game plan accordingly” (NBC). ESPN’s Andrew Brandt wrote, “Thud you just heard was NBC executives banging fists on table.” The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre wrote, "Bummer for NBC. Probably hoping for a MONSTER ratings day (Triple Crown, Stanley Cup), now have to deal with I'll Have Another, LeBron.”
