[TouchOfGrey]

Joe Drape strikes again:

Tougher Drug Rules Ordered at Belmont, With Extra Scrutiny on O’Neill

The steps taken by the authorities also include a set of specific safeguards directed at I’ll Have Another’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, who has racked up multiple violations in a handful of states and was suspended for 45 days last week by California regulators for yet another violation. O’Neill will not have to serve the suspension until after the Belmont.

Among the requirements for O’Neill, according to a confidential e-mail obtained by The New York Times, are that his horses cannot in any way be treated “without a board investigator present,” and that he should not allow treatment of any of his horses “by mouth or in feed without conferring with a board investigator, who will first log the treatment and discuss the reason(s) for treatment.”

O’Neill must also provide veterinary records for I’ll Have Another and any other horses he may be running over those days at Belmont “no later than 10 a.m.” each day after any treatment.

Reached late Wednesday afternoon, O’Neill said he had not been notified of the rules that appear to be set out for him, but he said he had no problem with following them.

“I’ll comply,” he said by phone. “I understand they are trying to protect the horse, the betting public and the integrity of the sport.”