Weaver relieved to be training again after metformin suspension is lifted

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer George Weaver made the relatively short walk from his Saratoga barn to the Oklahoma training track Friday morning. While it’s one he’s made countless times before, on this morning it had a bit of a different feel.

“I want to get back to business,” Weaver said. “It was an incredible amount of stress worrying about your whole livelihood being taken away from you.”

In April, Weaver was notified his 3-year-old filly Anna’s Wish had tested positive for the banned substance metformin after her third-place finish in the Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct on March 16. Metformin is an FDA-approved diabetes medication for humans, but is not approved for use in horses.

Weaver was looking at a potential two-year suspension for the positive but earlier this week the Horseracing Welfare and Integrity Unit lifted the suspension after saying that the use of metformin in horses needs to be studied further.

“We didn’t give metformin, never would, never thought about giving it, not really sure what it does, not sure it does anything,” Weaver said. “For something to jump up like that and the next thing you’re like oh [crap], I might have to get rid of all of my horses and completely lose all the business I’ve been working 20, 30 years for.”

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While appealing the suspension and before Tuesday’s announcement by HIWU, Weaver did transfer his horses to a former assistant, Peter Gulyas. Horses entered for races during the four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival were to have run under Gulyas’ name. Weaver will be eligible to enter horses in New York beginning Tuesday when entries are taken for the Friday and Saturday cards at Aqueduct.

Weaver, who has about 70 horses in his care, argued that the finding of metformin in Anna’s Wish was contamination. He said the filly’s groom takes metformin.

Weaver is in favor of the concept of HISA/HIWU as it pertains to cleaning up the sport. But he expressed frustration when trainers with clean records face hefty penalties.

“The point is to be tough on people that are cheating,” Weaver said. “They have a hard task what they’re doing and I appreciate the fact that there’s been cases of them being flexible.”

Being under suspension cost Weaver thousands of dollars in lawyer’s fees. It also cost him the chance to run Crimson Advocate in the Group 1 King Charles III at Royal Ascot on June 19. Weaver saddled Crimson Advocate to victory in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot last year. Crimson Advocate is now with John and Thady Gosden.

“They don’t allow you to change trainers within two weeks and it’s important the filly has a chance to run over there,” Weaver said. “She’s going to run with John Gosden and probably stay over there. There’s just more opportunities for her over there.”

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The prospect of a potential long suspension provided added stress for Weaver, whose wife Cindy is still coping with issues from injuries suffered in a training spill nearly two years ago.

“I’m relieved to get back to doing what I want to do and get back to some normalcy,” Weaver said. “It was a stressful time period for me. It cost me a lot of money and hopefully after they do some studying on the stuff they’ll realize it shouldn’t be a banned substance. Either way, we never intentionally administered it.”

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