Doug O'Neill

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Marisa Monserrate has been banned 18 months after her trainee, Can't Beat Me, tested positive for the banned substance 2,5 Dihydroxybenzenesulfonic Acid after winning at Finger Lakes on July 14. According to Equibase, Monserrate has been training since 2023, winning...

With a rocket in his pocket and a willingness to take on all comers in stride, 'TDN Rising Star' Brant (Gun Runner--Tynan, by Liam's Map) put up his dukes in the GI Del Mar Futurity Stakes and landed Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his record 19th score in the seaside oval's signature race on closing day. Every moment the colt has had an opportunity to hit the track he has done so with a gusto to the stop the clock as soon as possible--no sundials here. After going to...

Bob Baffert will send out a capable quartet in Sunday's closing-day GI Del Mar Futurity, a race he has won the last four years and a remarkable 18 times overall. After sending out future GI Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm (Silver Buck) to scoop the event for the first time back in 1996, he added the next six renewals. His personal honor roll is a veritable Hall of Fame, including champions Midshipman (1998), Lookin At Lucky (1999) and American Pharoah (2014) among the champions to have succeeded at the seaside....

MGISW Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief--Violet Wave, by Violence), whose strong resume made him the leading miler on dirt in North America, is likely to be retired from racing after being diagnosed with a suspensory injury to his left foreleg according to his co-owner Craig Dado. The news was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's Steve Andersen on Saturday evening. The 4-year-old is campaigned by Dado's Great Friends Racing and Yuesheng Zhang. According to trainer Doug O'Neill Sunday, the injury occurred after the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Mile at...

Tuesday's immigration raid at Delta Downs--which resulted in the reported apprehension of 84 undocumented individuals--reminds industry stakeholders once again of a frustrating conundrum. On the one hand, they must navigate an environment of ramped-up immigration enforcement, and the potential that what happened at Delta Downs could happen at any other racetrack around the country. On the other, they face a long-broken system that makes sourcing legal immigrant workers a bureaucratic nightmare. "It's insanely difficult," said trainer Doug O'Neill, about a visa system that's necessary to properly staff the racetrack backstretch....

I recently read with great interest Mr. Campbell's Letter to the Editor feeling remorse as to why he did not vote Christophe Clement into the Hall of Fame before Mr. Clement's death. His sentiment reminded me of other instances where all of us in racing just scratch our heads and ask, "How is this possible." I remember when Hall of Fame voters failed to vote jockey Garrett Gomez into the Hall while he was alive, yet three months after his death he got in. Before his death, Garrett had distinguished...

Trainer Christophe Clement sadly passed away without being inducted into the National Museum of Racing's 2025 Hall of Fame class, and I freely admit that I did not cast a ballot for him again. Something is amiss because it feels like a failure on my part, the voters and by the system. When the envelope has arrived in the mail these past few years and I look down at the list of trainers it always fills my cup full of dread. Take your medicine, I tell myself, but it's so...

Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) made it back-to-back triumphs for trainer Doug O'Neill in the $1 million G2 Godolphin Mile sponsored by Emaar, producing an explosive performance from the front under Frankie Dettori to follow up his GI Malibu Stakes success at Santa Anita on Boxing Day. Closely attended by Mufasa (Chi) (Practical Joke) for much of the contest, Raging Torrent was soon in control once that rival cried enough inside the final two furlongs, powering clear thereafter to win by three and a half lengths in a time of 1:36.69....

When he has the right horse to do so, California-based conditioner Doug O'Neill isn't the smallest bit hesitant to showcase them on the foreign stage. On Apr. 5, the 56-year-old will send out Grade I winner Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) in an attempt to win the G2 Godolphin Mile for the third time in his career and the second time in succession. "It's a real honor to have a horse that's classy enough to travel to meetings like this," said O'Neill, a two-time winner of the GI Kentucky Derby whose...

With two weeks remaining until the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan Racecourse, riding assignments for the American raiders are coming into focus. Perhaps the best chance for U.S. victory on the program, champion and recent G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint hero Straight No Chaser (Speightster) will look for more desert riches in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen with his regular rider John Velazquez back in the irons. The veteran reinsman's agent Kiaran McLaughlin also confirmed that Velazquez has the call aboard Il Miracolo (Gun Runner) for trainer Antonio Sano...

Lucky Seven Stable and Sharaf Mohamed Alhairi's Rattle N Roll (Connect), who rallied from the back of the back to finish a creditable fifth to Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) and Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G1 Saudi Cup on Feb. 22, has officially been invited to participate in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse Apr. 5, trainer Ken McPeek tweeted Mar. 21. The 6-year-old failed to draw into last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic and was rerouted for the GII Clark Stakes Nov....

A total of 122 horses of all ages have been catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton Digital March Sale, which opened for bidding Mar. 13 and will close Tuesday, Mar. 18 at 2 p.m. ET. The catalogue offers horses of racing age, breeding stock - including mares with foals at foot, two-year-olds in training, yearlings, and a no-guarantee season to Nyquist, who was represented by his eighth Grade I winner when Cavalieri remained perfect in five starts in the Mar. 8 Beholder Mile. "We have great quality in this March sale, including...