Horse Racing

Bob Baffert and Wayne Lukas were sitting next to each other at a recent racing function when Baffert said to Lukas, "Everyone used to hate you. Now they hate me." It's as clear as a giant flowered hat, and just as ugly. At rowdy Churchill Downs today, the only thing more quietly despised than Bob Baffert will be a Breathalyzer. The 128th Kentucky Derby will feature 19 horses, 150,000 fans, and one villain. Baffert will saddle longshot War Emblem.

The bizarre and complicated world of thoroughbred blood testing and sanctions reached the mainstream Thursday, when the California Horse Racing Board penalized the trainer who has won the first two legs of the sport's Triple Crown. The seven-person, governor-appointed board, ruling on a case that has been argued and litigated since the summer of 2010, suspended Doug O'Neill for 45 days and fined him $15,000. The penalty actually carried an additional 135 days of suspension, but that will be voided if there are no further findings involving O'Neill in the next 18 months.

J. Paul Reddam might not be the type of businessman for whom people suffering through the recession can bring themselves to root. Reddam, 56, is president of Anaheim-based CashCall, the mortgage refinancing and high-interest personal loan company who critics say has unfairly capitalized upon people's financial woes during the country's economic and employment crisis. But the Sunset Beach resident is also owner of Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another, who could provide horse racing with a huge shot in the arm Saturday with a victory in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

The fate of trainer Doug O'Neill, charged by California Horse Racing Board enforcement officials with a substance abuse violation involving one of his horses, will be addressed Thursday morning at a board meeting at Hollywood Park. These are usually low-profile procedural meetings, but the item on the agenda involving O'Neill, whose I'll Have Another will take a run at racing's coveted Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes June 9, has triggered much interest and speculation. Racing's enforcement officials ruled that an O'Neill-trained horse, Argenta, tested positive for high levels of carbon dioxide after a race Aug. 25, 2010, at Del Mar. High levels of carbon dioxide are considered evidence of the use of a "milkshake" to illegally boost a horse's stamina.

BALTIMORE -- The amazing story moved up to incredible. I'll Have Another ran true to his name. On a Saturday that brought blue skies, perfect temperatures and a record crowd of 121,309 here at venerable Pimlico racetrack, the horse who has never been favored in a race and has been mostly under-appreciated by the public, even the racing public, won the 137th Preakness. Now, it is I'll Have Another who will take a shot at history. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978.

BALTIMORE -- Triple Crown horse racing season is a respite. It allows a deep breath for a sport that is desperately seeking reason. The Preakness is similar to pro golf's Saturday. They call it moving day, because it is the last chance to get in position for the big prize. The difference is that, when 11 horses load into the gate here Saturday afternoon, only one can land the big prize, the Triple Crown. That one, Kentucky Derby winnerI'll Have Another, is not only a horse to be admired, but a story with lots of weird chapters.

BALTIMORE -- All along, they had been so relaxed. So when it came time for Team O'Neill's horse to make his charge -- a historic one -- the colt moved forward almost nonchalantly. I'll Have Another glided past Bodemeister to win the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, setting up a chance at the first Triple Crown since 1978. The California-based horse is the 12th to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown since Affirmed edged Alydar in all three races.

The Breeders' Cup will hold a luncheon Wednesday at L.A. Live to confirm one of the worst-kept secrets in horse racing in recent years — that the 2012 Breeders' Cup will be held at Santa Anita. This year's Breeders' Cup will be Nov. 4-5 at Churchill Downs. Dates for the 2012 Breeders' Cup, while not yet announced, are likely to be Friday and Saturday, Nov. 2-3. Several racing officials acknowledged Friday, without wanting to be named, that Santa Anita beat out Churchill Downs and Belmont Park for next year's event.

Seldom has a horse been better named for taking the second step in pursuit of racing's Triple Crown than I'll Have Another. Doug O'Neill's Kentucky Derby champion has already moved in at Pimlico in Baltimore, site of the May 19 Preakness, and O'Neill applies simple logic to the unusually early arrival. "We really didn't have any opinion on the surfaces at either Churchill Downs or Pimlico," he said, "so we just decided to get him settled in at Pimlico. " O'Neill was back at Hollywood Park on Monday morning.

BALTIMORE — In the midst of the greatest time of his professional life, horse trainer Doug O'Neill is being followed around by an asterisk. Reporters want to know about his Kentucky Derby-winning horse, I'll Have Another. They want to know about O'Neill himself — how he got started, who he is, what he thinks about any number of topics. They want to know about young jockey Mario Gutierrez, who should have been way too green to ride the kind of race he did at Churchill Downs. They want to know about owner J. Paul Reddam, who made his money in the loan business and who named the horse by reprising a scene at home, where he sits on the couch, eats a cookie and requests another one from his wife.

Recent history has been fairly kind to Derby starters who move forward to the Preakness. Some may go even further to call it a two-horse race. However, the way the Derby pace played out points to other possible outcomes. For one, Bodemeister ran blistering fractions for the first half mile and first six furlongs. His ability to go so fast so early and still hit the board was impressive, and in fact had never been done before. But he has raced only four times and has never been brought back so quickly after a race.

BALTIMORE -- The amazing story moved up to incredible. I'll Have Another ran true to his name. On a Saturday that brought blue skies, perfect temperatures and a record crowd of 121,309 here at venerable Pimlico racetrack, the horse who has never been favored in a race and has been mostly under-appreciated by the public, even the racing public, won the 137th Preakness. Now, it is I'll Have Another who will take a shot at history. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978.

BALTIMORE -- All along, they had been so relaxed. So when it came time for Team O'Neill's horse to make his charge -- a historic one -- the colt moved forward almost nonchalantly. I'll Have Another glided past Bodemeister to win the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, setting up a chance at the first Triple Crown since 1978. The California-based horse is the 12th to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown since Affirmed edged Alydar in all three races.

BALTIMORE -- Triple Crown horse racing season is a respite. It allows a deep breath for a sport that is desperately seeking reason. The Preakness is similar to pro golf's Saturday. They call it moving day, because it is the last chance to get in position for the big prize. The difference is that, when 11 horses load into the gate here Saturday afternoon, only one can land the big prize, the Triple Crown. That one, Kentucky Derby winnerI'll Have Another, is not only a horse to be admired, but a story with lots of weird chapters.

J. Paul Reddam might not be the type of businessman for whom people suffering through the recession can bring themselves to root. Reddam, 56, is president of Anaheim-based CashCall, the mortgage refinancing and high-interest personal loan company who critics say has unfairly capitalized upon people's financial woes during the country's economic and employment crisis. But the Sunset Beach resident is also owner of Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another, who could provide horse racing with a huge shot in the arm Saturday with a victory in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

BALTIMORE — In the midst of the greatest time of his professional life, horse trainer Doug O'Neill is being followed around by an asterisk. Reporters want to know about his Kentucky Derby-winning horse, I'll Have Another. They want to know about O'Neill himself — how he got started, who he is, what he thinks about any number of topics. They want to know about young jockey Mario Gutierrez, who should have been way too green to ride the kind of race he did at Churchill Downs. They want to know about owner J. Paul Reddam, who made his money in the loan business and who named the horse by reprising a scene at home, where he sits on the couch, eats a cookie and requests another one from his wife.

Poor old Noor should be allowed to rest in peace. He earned that with a thoroughbred racing season in 1950 that track old-timers remember fondly. Endangering Noor's after-life resting place is that great American symbol of progress and ingenuity, the real estate development. Noor currently rests in Grass Valley, in the old gold mining country near Nevada City, Calif. His resting place is the former site of Loma Rica Ranch, which is on the drawing boards for eventual bulldozers, leading to cement and condominiums.

Katie Fitzgerald, a little girl with glasses from Lewisville, N.C., was at Bob Baffert's barn at Churchill Downs, hoping to meet the trainer of Point Given and Congaree, the favorites in today's Kentucky Derby. Baffert obliged, breaking from his busy schedule. Katie, 9, suffers from acute lymphocytic leukemia, and is here because the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted her wish to attend the Kentucky Derby.

Talk about promotional magic. Mark Verge, the new head man at Santa Anita, hit the jackpot with one of his brainstorms and took 32-year-old Greg Politano of Pasadena along with him. Verge came up with the idea of a "Derby Owner for a Day" for the Santa Anita Derby. Politano entered (entries were free), had his name drawn and got to go to the paddock and the winner's circle when I'll have Another won the race. Verge's promotion was that, not only did Politano get to act and feel like an owner for a day, but Santa Anita gave him $1,000 to bet on the Santa Anita Derby winner in the Kentucky Derby.

Seldom has a horse been better named for taking the second step in pursuit of racing's Triple Crown than I'll Have Another. Doug O'Neill's Kentucky Derby champion has already moved in at Pimlico in Baltimore, site of the May 19 Preakness, and O'Neill applies simple logic to the unusually early arrival. "We really didn't have any opinion on the surfaces at either Churchill Downs or Pimlico," he said, "so we just decided to get him settled in at Pimlico. " O'Neill was back at Hollywood Park on Monday morning.