FOXNews.com: Triple-Crown Tragedy: Leg Injury Puts 'I'll Have Another' Out of Belmont

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Triple-Crown Tragedy: Leg Injury Puts 'I'll Have Another' Out of Belmont Jun 8th 2012, 17:26 I'll Have Another — the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner — will not run in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, trainer Doug O'Neill said Friday during an appearance on the "Dan Patrick Show."  O'Neill said the horse has a "little problem" in his left hind leg, and then suggested the thoroughbred will never race again. I'll Have Another was set to attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. The horse was listed as the odds-on favorite at 4-5 in Wednesday's morning line. Asked by Patrick if I'll Have Another had run his last race, O'Neill replied: "If I had to wager ... yes." The New York Racing Association will hold a 1 p.m. news conference to release additional information. Dennis O'Neill, brother of the horse's trainer, said I'll Have Another galloped Friday morning and after a veterinary scan, the tendon seemed "kind of tender." "The horse is sound and happy, but it's not worth it," Dennis O'Neill told The Associated Press. Triple Crowns have historically come in waves. While Affirmed was the last horse to win the vaunted Triple Crown, its historic run followed a similar feat the previous year by Seattle Slew. Secretariat pulled off horse racing's hat trick in 1973. There were four Triple Crown winners in the 1940s and three in the 1930s. "It's devastating. I thought this was going to be one of the greatest races in history, and I wanted the opportunity to be part of it," said Dale Romans, trainer of second favorite Dullahan. "But this is bigger than that. This is terrible news." I'll Have Another came out of a losing effort in the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga with shin problems last September and then took the remainder of 2011 off. In February, he returned to racing, winning the Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, putting the colt firmly on the Triple Crown trail. O'Neill and owner J. Paul Reddam immediately gave I'll Have Another two months off leading up to the Santa Anita Derby, which he won by a nose in April. He followed with victories in the Kentucky Derby on May 5 and the Preakness two weeks later to set up a highly anticipated bid to become racing's first Triple Crown winner in 34 years. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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