George Weaver

Scratched from the GI Woody Stephens S. on the blockbuster GI Belmont Stakes program at Saratoga June 7, 'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma) will be given 60 days off, per co-owner Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing. "He's at Fair Hill right now with Bruce Jackson," Wolf said. "Dr. Yarborough and (trainer) George (Weaver) didn't like the way that he was moving. Even though--we'd been pointing to that thing for some time--it was a tough call, it was the right call. He'll probably be back in 60 days or something like...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized in Louisville, Kentucky and will not return to training, according to Lukas family members. In a release sent out by Churchill Downs, the family shared that Lukas had been battling a severe infection that had worsened his condition, and has reportedly declined an aggressive treatment plan in favor of returning home to spend his remaining time with his loved ones. In a succession plan put in place by Lukas Enterprises, Inc., horses previously under Lukas's care have been transferred to...

1st-BAQ, $85K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:10p.m. Mathiesen Racing's ELLA GRACE (Nyquist) gets her start for trainer George Weaver, who calls on the services of the red-hot Flavien Prat. Bred by Killora Stud, the Kentucky bred is out of MSP Golden Artemis (Malibu Moon), herself a first-out winner who tasted limited success on the racetrack. Her greatest achievement to date is producing My Conquestadory (Artie Schiller), who also won at first asking in the one-mile GII Summer Stakes in 2013 before adding a victory over a synthetic surface in the...

Wathnan Racing's Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), who annexed the 2023 G2 Queen Mary Stakes for George Weaver, returned to the scene of her greatest triumph with a decisive victory in Wednesday's G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. Her 1 3/4-length tally provided the Gosden stable with a record-extending sixth win in the one-mile contest. Crimson Advocate had previously registered a second stakes win in Goodwood's Listed Conqueror Stakes last month, her third outing and first win for John and Thady Gosden since joining from the Weaver stable, and the four-year-old landed a...

Barn 28 on the Belmont Park backstretch has been placed under a precautionary 14-day quarantine by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) until further notice due to a positive case of strangles in the barn. NYRA, the New York State Department of Agriculture and the NYSCG remain in contact should the need arise for further precautionary measures. Barn 28 houses horses trained by George Weaver, Todd Pletcher and Rudy Rodrigruez and the quarantine is effective immediately. The Weaver-conditioned 2-year-old gelding Mo Curls was...

Jake Ballis didn't know quite what to expect when he sent Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) to the 2023 Royal Ascot meet, where she won the GII Queen Mary Stakes. He says now it was one of the most exciting days of his life, and he has vowed to get back there every day since. Ballis, who heads the Black Type Racing partnership, couldn't find a runner in 2024 that he thought could win at one of the most competitive meets in the world. But he never stopped looking. "It was probably...

'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma), the 6-1 fourth choice on the morning line for Saturday's $500,000 GI Woody Stephens at Saratoga, will be withdrawn from the race, according to his trainer, George Weaver. "Since his last breeze, he hasn't been moving on the track to our satisfaction," said Weaver. "He's been jogging and galloping but just not moving 100%. He's not hitting the ground the way we would like. We don't have time to get really concrete diagnosis done [before the race]. We're going to get it done, but we...

A group of former Todd Pletcher assistant trainers have pledged to donate a percentage of their earnings from the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to support the mission of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), the organization said on Thursday in a press release. Michael McCarthy, George Weaver, Jonathan Thomas, Whit Beckman and Amelia Green have each committed a portion of their festival earnings to the TRF, underscoring their dedication to the welfare of retired racehorses. Click here to learn more about helping the TRF.

Harrell Ventures and Starlight Racing's Colloquial (Vekoma), tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a scintillating seven-length maiden victory at Aqueduct in February, continued preparations for his graded stakes debut in the June 7 GI Woody Stephens Stakes with a five-furlong work in 1:03.25 over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga last Thursday. "We've been happy with him," trainer George Weaver said. "We've been waiting for this race for a long time, and now we're getting close." Colloquial followed up his 6 1/2-furlong maiden win with a 2 1/4-length victory going...

'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma), a front-running winner of Keeneland's Lafayette S. Apr. 7, will make his next start in the GI Woody Stephens S. on the blockbuster GI Belmont Stakes program at Saratoga June 7. He worked four furlongs in :47.60 (5/54) at trainer George Weaver's Keeneland base Thursday morning, his second breeze since winning the Lafayette. He'll ship up to the Spa this weekend, per Weaver. "He's training well, we're looking forward to raceday," Weaver said. "He's proven that the talent is there. Now, it's just a matter...

When it comes to American trainers winning races at Royal Ascot, Wesley Ward has no equal. He's won 12 races there. But he might want to look over his shoulder as there's another American trainer intent on winning races at the prestigious meet. In 2023, George Weaver won the G2 Queen Mary Stakes with Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) for his first Royal Ascot winner. This year, he'll be back with Sandal's Song (Mendelssohn), the winner of last Saturday's Royal Palm Juvenile at Gulfstream. The Royal Palm is a qualifier race for...

Sandal's Song (Mendelssohn) booked his ticket to the Royal Meeting and earned a $25,000 voucher for the trip with a late-running score in the Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon. Making his debut as a 7-1 shot here the colt chased a pair of pacesetters up the backstretch in favorite Squire (Leinster) and Beers On Me (Catalina Cruiser). The chestnut tipped off the rail around the far turn with a three-wide move. Showing plenty of zip down the lane, the 2-year-old cleared inside the final furlong and...