Doug O'Neill - Controversy

Controversy

As a result of medication violations, O'Neill has been nicknamed "'Drug' O'Neill." According to New York Times investigative journalist Walt Bogdanich, O'Neill has had 15 medication drug violations during his career and has been found to have milkshaked horses -- an illegal treatment for fatigue that involves inserting a tube down a horse's esophagus.

In a 2012 interview with NPR, Bogdanich criticized a lack of enforcement of drug rules in American horse racing. Bogdanich noted that although O'Neill faced a 180 day suspension for milkshaking, any punishment imposed upon him have would little impact on his livelihood: "He could turn it over to his assistants, his stable, and never miss a beat. The horses keep running. If they win, they keep getting their purses. You know, that's what America lacks that the rest of the world has. They have law and order."

In May 2012, after a two-year legal battle, the California Horse Racing Board found that O'Neill was responsible for a horse that tested with excess carbon dioxide levels above the permitted level of TCO2. As a result, though he was not found guilty of "milkshaking" the horse - providing an "illegal performance-enhancing mixture," O'Neill was deemed responsible for the animal's care, barred from horse racing for 45 days and fined $15,000.