Wesley Ward Suspended and Fined by KY Stewards

Trainer Wesley Ward has been suspended 30 days and fined $500 as a result of Averly Jane (Midshipman) testing positive for the diabetes medication metformin after winning the Kentucky Juvenile S. at Churchill Downs on Apr. 28 last year, according to a recent Kentucky stewards ruling.

Fifteen of those 30 days have been stayed, however, due to Ward's overall record and number of violations, and on condition that the trainer receives no Class A or Class B medication violations over the next year.

Ward will serve the other 15 days of the suspension between Jan. 26 and Feb. 9.

Averly Jane was also disqualified and all purse monies are forfeited, according to the stewards ruling dated Jan. 25.

Not an equine medication, metformin is among the most commonly prescribed human medications in the U.S. It is used in the treatment of type II diabetes, reducing glucose production in the liver and the uptake of glucose by the intestine.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International classify it a Class 2B drug.

According to Ward's attorney, Darrell Vienna, Ward had not administered metformin to Averly Jane and that all the evidence suggests it was a case of environmental contamination.

As such, Vienna said that he presented the following question to the stewards.

“What is more plausible: That a trainer like Ward with an international reputation would have administered or caused to be administered an easily detectable substance with no impact on performance in minute quantities? Or that it resulted from contamination of feed, hay, human contact?”

According to Vienna, “there was not a single bit of evidence on the regulatory side other than the detection of a small amount of this substance in the horse's system.”

That amount, Vienna said, was in the parts per billion.

According to Vienna, the nature of the violation didn't warrant a suspension.

“I searched all the records in the United States and I found two prior cases [of metformin positives] that resulted in $1,000 fines,” Vienna said.

Vienna also explained that in 2019, the Kentucky legislature approved a rule change essentially modifying the trainer absolute insurer rule “by permitting trainers to introduce what they deemed substantial evidence of mitigating circumstances for which a lesser or no penalty would be appropriate.”

The mitigating circumstances in this case, Vienna argued, further supported the rendering of a fine only.

After her win in the Kentucky Juvenile S., Averly Jane had two easy victories in the Skidmore S. at Saratoga and in the Indian Summer S., at Keeneland.

Her last racecourse appearance was a fifth-place finish in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Averly Jane is owned by Hat Creek Racing, a partnership led by Keeneland's vice president of racing, Gatewood Bell, himself a former Kentucky Horse Racing commissioner.

Over the last 10 years and comprising 4,615 starts, Ward has been penalized for two other medication violations, according to the Thoroughbredrulings website.

The KHRC issued Ward a $500 fine when Arcelor tested positive for methocarbamol after finishing first in the fifth race at Turfway Park on Dec. 2, 2016.

Prior to that, the New York State Gaming Commission served Ward a 30-day suspension and $1,000 fine after Sunset Time tested positive for clenbuterol after finishing third in the second race at Belmont Park on June 20, 2012.

“It happened and that's it,” said Ward, at the time. “I'm responsible for whatever the stewards give me. It is what it is. There are a lot of reasons it took so long for this to get resolved. It's for a medication I used to use to keep the lungs clean and everything working good. Unfortunately, this particular filly went over the permitted level. The rules are different now, and I don't use it at all.”

In June of 2020, the Florida Division of PariMutuel Wagering issued Ward a written warning after Summer Sangria tested positive for omeprazole sulfide, otherwise known as the ulcer medication Gastrogard.

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Wesley Ward Suspended 30 Days Over Positive Test For Diabetes Drug

Trainer Wesley Ward has been fined $500 and suspended for 30 days by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission due to his trainee Averly Jane testing positive for metformin in the $150,000 Kentucky Juvenile Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 28, 2021.

According to medlineplus.gov, metformin (a Class B drug) is used to treat type 2 diabetes by decreasing the amount of glucose absorbed from food and the amount of glucose made by the liver; it also increases the body's response to insulin. Metformin has been examined in several studies regarding equine metabolic syndrome.

Fifteen days of the suspension have been stayed by the commission due to mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall
record), provided Ward does not have an additional Class A or B positive during the next 365 days. The dates Ward will serve are Jan. 26 through Feb. 9, inclusive.

“It's the fifth-most dispensed drug in the United States for diabetes,” Ward told the Daily Racing Form. “It was four nanograms. It's just a shame. I don't know how it got into the horse's system, and it obviously didn't make her run faster.”

Ward also told DRF that a shipping company employee informed him he has taken metformin twice a day for 30 years to manage his diabetes. Ward and attorney Darrell Vienna argued in a hearing with the KHRC that the case was environmental contamination, but Ward told DRF he respects the final decision of the stewards.

Averly Jane has been disqualified from her victory in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes and purse money forfeited, moving Vodka N Water (Steve Asmussen) into first. The filly's record includes two additional stakes wins in 2021, the Skidmore at Saratoga and the Indian Summer at Keeneland, before she finished fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Averly Jane wins the Skidmore

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C-A-T-S, Cats, Cats, Cats! UK-Bred Averly Jane The Favorite In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

Already a national titlist in volleyball and rifle this year, the University of Kentucky seeks another championship — beyond the annual expectations for John Calipari's Wildcats. UK is the breeder of the unbeaten 2-year-old filly Averly Jane, the 5-2 favorite in Friday's $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, part of the weekend's 14-race Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar.

Averly Jane was foaled and raised at UK's Maine Chance Equine Campus, the university's research and teaching farm on the north end of Lexington. UK purchased the historic property from Elizabeth Arden in 1967 as an expansion opportunity for agriculture research and programs.

The University of Kentucky equine students are hoping that Maine Chance — once home to Kentucky Derby winners Aristides and Jet Pilot — will add a Breeders' Cup champion. Owned by Gatewood Bell's Hat Creek Racing partnership and trained by Wesley Ward, Averly Jane is 4 for 4, with three stakes wins over males: Churchill Downs' Kentucky Juvenile, Saratoga's Skidmore and in her turf debut Keeneland's $200,000 Indian Summer, which gave the filly a fees-paid berth in the corresponding Breeders' Cup race.

“It's been awesome to watch a horse that came up from UK Maine Chance,” Brittany Sparks, a graduate of UK's equine program who was involved in the filly's care, said after the Indian Summer. “We foaled her, weaned her, prepped her, sold her. It's been an amazing process to watch her go along.”

Bell, Keeneland's Vice President of Racing, purchased Averly Jane for $35,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale last year.

While he'd never before purchased a horse from the UK consignment, he said: “I always go back there and look at them. I love just looking at all the smaller consignors' stuff. And Dr. (Laurie) Lawrence who runs the program, I took her class like 20 years ago when I was at UK.”

The third-generation horseman, who earned a finance degree with honors from UK in 2004, jokingly added: “I don't think I got a good grade in it.”

More seriously, he said: “It's an awesome program. The kids take a lot of pride in it. They do a great job. (Averly Jane) was at the sale and I kind of just fell in love with her. I bought two fillies off of them.

“It wasn't like a sympathy case,” he said of his purchase. “It wasn't like I was trying to make a bunch of students' day. Because they're not getting the money. The money goes to fund the program. I thought she was a really nice filly.”

Who now is worth far more than her purchase price, Ward observed.

“She's done everything right,” the trainer said. “Undefeated. We've got all of UK rooting for her, so we've got that in her favor as well.”

UK did not nominate Averly Jane to the Breeders' Cup as a foal so Bell and his partners paid $12,000 in July to make her eligible.

“They can't really afford to pay the $400 foal nomination,” Bell said of the UK program. “The nominations (for 2-year-olds) were due in like two days, or it would become $100 grand. I called Wesley and said, 'Hey, we think she's really nice. But $12,000 is $12,000.' He said, 'Nominate her.'”

UK student Claire Wilson, also an intern in Keeneland's publicity department, said of watching a filly go from foal to stakes-winner: “There's not really anything like it, and I think that's why people stay in this business as long as they do. We're having a great time cheering her on.”

The UK program has about 35 mares in its primary herd, with mares and stallion seasons donated by industry participants.

“The University of Kentucky — through our equine education, research and service — serves as the backbone of one of Kentucky's most important and vibrant industries,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “We are home to the only scientific institute in the United States in which nearly all faculty are conducting full-time research in equine health and diseases. Against this backdrop, we are thrilled to see that a horse of our own — one born and raised by Maine Chance and sold by our UK team — has emerged as a favorite in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.”

Averly Jane is by far the best horse the university has bred. Until Averly Jane, their only prior stakes-winner was Twister in Oz, who won Kansas' $10,000 Anthony Thoroughbred Futurity in 2007, which doesn't really count.

Now, however, UK is the breeder of a Breeders' Cup horse whose combined winning margin is 22 1/4 lengths while earning $313,140.

Daniel Deatrick was the student that led Averly Jane into the ring at Fasig-Tipton. Now he's hoping she is led into another ring: the Breeders' Cup winner's circle.

“I learned a lot from her,” Deatrick said. “It's crazy what she's done in just that time frame. It's a lot of fun, and we're really proud of her.”

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Flurry Of Breeders’ Cup Potentials Work At Keeneland Saturday

Seven horses with aspirations to compete in the Nov. 5-6 Breeders' Cup World Championships – including four stakes winners during Keeneland's Fall Stars Weekend on the opening weekend of the Fall Meet – worked over a turf course labeled good Saturday morning at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Peter Brant's Blowout (GB), winner of the Grade 1 First Lady Presented by UK HealthCare and a candidate for the $2 million Grade 1 Maker's Mark Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 6, worked a half-mile on her own in :50.80 for trainer Chad Brown.

Phoenix Thoroughbred III's Tiz the Bomb, winner of the Grade 2 Castle & Key Bourbon and a candidate for the $1 million Grade 1 Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5, worked five furlongs on his own in 1:01.80 for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Also working for McPeek was Arriba Arequipa's Reina de Mollendo (ARG) who covered five furlongs in 1:06.40 on her own in preparation for a possible Filly and Mare Turf start.

Trainer Wesley Ward worked a trio of runners headed by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg's Golden Pal, winner of the Grade 2 Woodford Presented by TVG.

Winner of last fall's Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and a candidate for this year's $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Golden Pal drilled five furlongs in 1:00.80 with splits of :24.20, :37.20, :49, and 1:00.80. (Click here for a video of the work.)

Other Ward workers were Hat Creek Racing's Averly Jane, winner of the Indian Summer Presented by Keeneland Select, and Gregory Kaufman's Kaufymaker, second in the Indian Summer. Working together for possible starts in the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, the undefeated Averly Jane covered five furlongs in 1:03.40 and Kaufymaker went the distance in 1:03.80.

Calumet Farm's Channel Cat, prepping for a possible second start in the $4 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf, worked five furlongs on his own in 1:02.20 with splits of :25.20, :38.60, :50.40 and 1:02.20 for trainer Jack Sisterson.

Three other possible Breeders' Cup runners posted works on the fast main track.

Also working for Calumet and Sisterson was Lexitonian, who covered 5 furlongs in 1:00.60. Winner of the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt two starts back, Lexitonian is a candidate for the $2 million Grade 1 Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Peter Brant's Dunbar Road, runner-up to Letruska in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster, worked a half-mile in :49 for trainer Chad Brown in preparation for a likely third start in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1).

Dare To Dream Stable's American Sanctuary, fourth in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, worked a half-mile in :48.40 for trainer Chris Davis. He is possible for the $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

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