George Weaver

Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Jan. 16-22

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Daniel Kenney has been banned18 months and fined $12,500 for possession of the thyroid drug, Levothyroxine, which HISA has listed a banned substance. Kenney's ban began on Oct. 5, 2023. In a brief explainer on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) website, HIWU Investigators allegedly found the Levothyroxine—otherwise known as Thyro-L—in one of Kenney's tack rooms at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado on Aug. 25, 2023....

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Main Event Springs 11-1 Upset In Fort Lauderdale

Main Event (Bernardini) punched his ticket to the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Saturday with a thrilling gate-to-wire win in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. at Gulfstream to close out Pegasus Preview Day in south Florida. Raced exclusively in New York for his 4-year-old campaign, the OBSAPR grad returned to Gulfstream for the first time since picking up two wins out of three starts to begin his campaign nearly two years ago. A stakes winner over the grass in the Cutler Bay S. back in 2022, Main Event picked up...

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Cindy Hutter to be Honored by Turf Writers

Cindy Hutter, who continues her inspiring recovery from a severe brain injury sustained in a training accident in July 2022, has been named the 2023 winner of the Bill Mooney Award for displaying courage in the face of tremendous adversity by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. Hutter started riding at a young age before going to work for trainer Bruce Miller after she turned 16. Hutter later worked for D. Wayne Lukas, galloping such stars as Winning Colors, Thunder Gulch, Open Mind and Flanders, and later for Todd Pletcher,...

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No Nay Mets Continues Winning Ways In Colonial's Exacta Systems Rosie's S.

Undefeated on American soil, No Nay Mets showed promise on debut in taking Gulfstream's Royal Palm Juvenile S. May 13 to earn a spot in the gate for Royal Ascot's G2 Norfolk S. After selling for £800,000 at Goff's London Sale just before the Ascot meet, he was soundly beaten in the Norfolk. The Irish-bred then returned to the East Coast with a dominant win as the heavy favorite in Monmouth's Tyro S. last time out July 30. Despite running over his fourth track in as many starts, No Nay...

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No Nay Mets Headlines Skidmore

Coming in off a gate-to-wire victory in the Tyro S. on July 30, No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never) looks to extend his record to three-for-four in Friday's Skidmore S. at Saratoga. Trainer George Weaver was so impressed with his juvenile pupil's recent performance at Monmouth Park that he decided to send the two-time stakes winner to another start less than three weeks after seeing the winner's circle. "It's hard early on with these 2-year-old races to know exactly what you're running against, but when you win by five...

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Brocknardini a Hometown Win at the Spa

Owner Tom Brockley admitted he had moderate expectations when Brocknardini (Palace Malice) went to the post for the first time Wednesday at Saratoga. "In my mind, she was really more of a dirt horse, but this race came up and she was ready to go," Brockley, who owns the 2-year-old filly with his wife, Daryn, said. "She had a good work from the gate 10 days or so ago at Saratoga. [Trainer] George [Weaver] said, 'We've got to race her.' The race that came up was this. So I said,...

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No Nay Mets Rebounds With Dominant Tyro Win At Monmouth

An upset winner at 10-1 in his Gulfstream debut tackling the Royal Palm Juvenile S., No Nay Mets rebounded from a poor performance at Royal Ascot in the G2 Norfolk S. with a nice showing in Sunday's Tyro S. stateside on the Jersey Shore. The popular wagering choice at 4-5, the 2-year-old looked to repeat his Florida effort by again going straight out for the early advantage, quickly opening up a length on the field in this five-furlong sprint despite a minor bobble at the gate. Showing the way under...

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Wet Paint Surges Late to Claim the CCA Oaks

Favored to earn her first taste of Classic glory in the GI Kentucky Oaks in May, Godolphin's Wet Paint (Blame) could only manage a fourth-place finish behind stablemate Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief). Fast forward through a runner-up effort in Ellis's Monomoy Girl S. last month followed by a trek to upstate New York, the bay finally bagged her own Grade I, taking Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga. "She's a super consistent filly who always comes running," said trainer Brad Cox, who won the 2018 renewal of the Oaks...

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Graded Preview: Turf Battle Set For Lake George

If you are searching for some Saratoga race name history, then head about 30 miles west from the horse hubbub in the complete opposite direction of Lake George. On Route 29 just outside Johnstown, New York, you'll find Johnson Hall, an impressive Georgian structure that became a historic house museum. In 1763, a century before Saratoga Race Course was founded, the manor was literally carved out of the wilderness as a symbol of refinement by power couple Sir William Johnson and his common-law wife, Molly Brant. On their turf they...

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Graded Stakes Fireworks Set For Saturday

Ellis Park will host its first Grade I race in its 100-year history Saturday, but there are plenty of other graded stakes scheduled before the Fourth of July at Belmont Park, Delaware Park, Woodbine Racetrack and Gulfstream Park. Here's a rundown of what's on tap. Showdown in Belmont's Dwyer One of two graded stakes on Saturday in Elmont is the GIII Dwyer S. Going a mile, the race pits Fort Bragg (Tapit), who was forced to scratch from the GI Woody Stephens S. by trainer Bob Baffert when the 3-year-old...

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Seven Days: A New Force Emerges at Ascot

Pack away your hats and spend a joyful week in jeans and trainers. Royal Ascot was fabulous, as it always is. Though we may have tipped into the meeting being padded with too many handicaps, the results throughout the five days provided plenty of great storylines, even beyond the headline-hogger that is Frankie Dettori.  Unquestionably, though, the best race anywhere in the world in the last week came at Hanshin on Sunday. In the Takarazuka Kinen, Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) ran the kind of race that few horses can...

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'It Couldn't Be Better': Living the American Dream at Ascot 

ASCOT, UK--There's plenty of red, white and blue draped about this most patriotic of race meetings, but the Union Jack had to give way for the Star-Spangled Banner during the early rounds of Royal Ascot's Wednesday fare. First Crimson Advocate blazed a trail in the G2 Queen Mary S., and even through she was all out at the line in an attempt to repel the fast-finishing Relief Rally (Ire), her nose was down where it mattered, providing the 27 owners who had travelled from America in support with a day...

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