According to a ruling posted Tuesday to the Association of Racing Commissioners International website, trainer Wesley Ward has been suspended 15 days and fined $2,000 over a positive test on July 15, 2022, at Monmouth Park.
Ward trainee Insanity It Seems won the first race on that date, and later returned positive tests for both naproxen and metformin. An evidentiary hearing was conducted before the Monmouth Park Board of Stewards on Feb. 28, 2023.
Under the absolute insurer rule, the New Jersey Racing Commission stewards issued a 15-day suspension, from June 23, 2023, through and including July 7, 2023, as well as a fine of $2,000. Insanity It Seems was disqualified and purse money ordered redistributed.
According to medlineplus.gov, metformin (a Class B drug under ARCI classifications) 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.
Ward had another metformin positive in Kentucky when his trainee Averly Jane tested positive for the drug in the $150,000 Kentucky Juvenile Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 28, 2021. He was issued a 30-day suspension in that case, served in 2022 from Jan. 26 through Feb. 9, inclusive, with 15 days stayed provided Ward did not have an additional Class A or B positive within 365 days from the date of the ruling. The ruling was dated Jan. 25, 2022.
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