When is a suspension not a suspension?

[Caradoc]

When you are Doug O'Neill and the body that governs you is the CHRB.

One of O'Neill's runners at Del Mar in 2010 had a pre-race TCO2 level of 39.4 ml.  That was the fourth instance of an O'Neill horse exceeding the legal limit of 37.0 ml.  O'Neill could have been suspended for up to 180 days, but after some wrangling, the CHRB and O'Neill agreed to a stipulation whereby O'Neill would only serve 40 days, the remainder stayed so long as O'Neill meets certain conditions.  The 40 days began Sunday, and runs through the end of the low-profile Fairplex meet, so in substance, O'Neill's suspension is far less than even the 40 in the stipulation.  

The 2-page stipulation (available at http://www.chrb.ca.gov/Board/admin_actions/oneill_agreement.pdf) is a very thin document.  In addition, it is an embarrassment, giving the impression that it was quickly typed out in the moments before it was signed, containing typos, and leaving important terms up for future dispute.  It is a shameful illustration of how racing is administered.  One significant omission is that it nowhere prohibits O\'Neill from having contact with his employees, as Jay Privman noted in the DRF.  And so that brings us to the Pacific Classic.

While O'Neill is suspended, O\'Neill\'s horses will run in the name of Leandro Mora.  Mora has been O\'Neill\'s assistant for about ten years, and before that was an assistant to a number of other trainers.  While he seems to be a skilled horseman, it is fair to characterize Mora as a career assistant trainer. Over the weekend, Richard\'s Kid (a 7-year old horse, with uncertain value as a stallion) was sold to a group of owners who generally use O\'Neill as their trainer. The purchase price has not been disclosed, but has been reported to be in the neighborhood of $1M.  The hope is to recoup a large part of that this weekend, when RK runs in the Pacific Classic.  The winner\'s share of the purse is $600K.  It is not realistic to believe that this ownership group (which also includes the Santa Anita CEO – think on that one for a minute) would invest that sum on a 7-year old horse, whose racing days are numbered, hoping to recover a large portion in a quick turnaround, and did so knowing that Leandro Mora – and not Doug O\'Neill -- would be training the horse in the week leading up to the race.

Beyond that, it is obvious O\'Neill remains to some degree involved in the operation of his stable despite the suspension.  Rafael Bejarano had been given a call by Baffert on RK in the Pacific Classic, but the new owners wanted Victor Espinoza to ride and gave him the call.  Bejarano's agent is understandably unhappy, and threatening to involve the Del Mar stewards.  According to Privman\'s article, O\'Neill texted Bejarano\'s agent after the suspension began, trying to smooth over the problem.  Of course the problem is that communicating in that manner is not prohibited by the stipulation, even though the text obviously implies O\'Neill\'s continuing involvement in the management of his stable during a suspension.  The absence of any prohibition on that and other similar communications makes the stipulation a largely toothless document.  By its terms, the stipulation does not explicitly prohibit O\'Neill from communicating in any manner with Mora, \"advising\" as to what training regimen RK should have (remember -- that\'s not training; racing managers try to do the same thing regularly), feeding, shoeing, and the like; consulting with RK\'s veterinarians; observing RK\'s training (anyone can stream a workout, or a veterinary exam for that matter) and offering suggestions as to his preparation for the Pacific Classic, and so on.  In addition, it does not prohibit O'Neill from communicating with his owners during the suspension, and it is doubtful whether these "suspensions" have any force unless there is an absolute prohibition on communicating with owners during them.

The blame for this charade should be directed to the CHRB, a body which at this point could fairly be accused as enabling horsemen such as Doug O'Neill.