Diabetes.

[stark]

Anybody have any guesses as to why the sudden positives are popping up for Diabetes medicines in horses....

PED? Sloppy grooms? New tests? I have no idea.

A filly trained by George Weaver tested positive for metformin, a banned substance, after racing at Aqueduct on March 16.

Anna's Wish, a 3-year-old daughter of Dialed In, tested positive for metformin after finishing third of four in the black-type Cicada Stakes.

She has been suspended while the case is pending, according to a Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit posting Thursday. Weaver did not reply to a request for comment.

[stark]

HISA regulations dictate that a banned substance finding is punishable by a two-year ban and fine of up to $25,000. However, HIWU has provided drastically different outcomes in several adjudicated cases of metformin positives.

Trainer Jonathan Wong was issued the full two-year suspension and $25,000 fine by a HIWU-appointed arbitrator when he could not present any credible evidence of contamination.

Conversely, trainer Michael Lauer served just a 75-day suspension after providing evidence that the horse's groom had a valid prescription for metformin.

[CoronadosQuest]

Anybody have any guesses as to why the sudden positives are popping up for Diabetes medicines in horses....

PED? Sloppy grooms? New tests? I have no idea.

A filly trained by George Weaver tested positive for metformin, a banned substance, after racing at Aqueduct on March 16.

Anna's Wish, a 3-year-old daughter of Dialed In, tested positive for metformin after finishing third of four in the black-type Cicada Stakes.

She has been suspended while the case is pending, according to a Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit posting Thursday. Weaver did not reply to a request for comment.

Metformin is also given to people with PCOS (which I actually take it for!) and those who are trying to lose weight. While I don't know if it's connected, I know as a woman, I have received a lot of ads on social media from weight loss companies who have promoted it along with other medications that are for diabetes that are now being used for weight loss promotions. Not sure if men take Metformin for weight loss too though, as I am not that gender so I cannot tell you

[Curtis]

Anybody have any guesses as to why the sudden positives are popping up for Diabetes medicines in horses....

PED? Sloppy grooms? New tests? I have no idea.

A filly trained by George Weaver tested positive for metformin, a banned substance, after racing at Aqueduct on March 16.

Anna's Wish, a 3-year-old daughter of Dialed In, tested positive for metformin after finishing third of four in the black-type Cicada Stakes.

She has been suspended while the case is pending, according to a Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit posting Thursday. Weaver did not reply to a request for comment.

Metformin is also given to people with PCOS (which I actually take it for!) and those who are trying to lose weight. While I don't know if it's connected, I know as a woman, I have received a lot of ads on social media from weight loss companies who have promoted it along with other medications that are for diabetes that are now being used for weight loss promotions. Not sure if men take Metformin for weight loss too though, as I am not that gender so I cannot tell you

Thyroxine and its cousins under different names from different manufacturers if you will, is often used to speed up a horse’s metabolism in the interest of weight loss. Two years ago our daughter’s QH, Harley, came down with a bout of Laminitis. We caught it early and he’s still a happy pensioner. One of the things we did to combat it was to give him thyroid medication. He gets 1/2 a dose now daily for maintenance and always will unless it starts to adversely affect him. Since giving an on track TB thyroid meds is verboten, it surprises me not at all that something the same only different would become all the rage on the backstretch.

[Tessablue]

A few years back, a bunch of scientists who study aging started taking metformin off-label so they could live forever, or something. Not sure if it's still popular for that purpose, or if they've jumped onto whatever the next anti-aging fad is. Aging scientists are a bunch of weirdos.

Anyways. Any substance that impacts the metabolism is going to have possible effects on athletes... based on a very quick and low-effort search, research is all over the place for this one. But if there's one thing I've learned about trainers, it's that they have no understanding of biology and no desire to learn. These positives could range anywhere from "my groom needs to wash his hands" to "my buddy told me that his buddy told him that he heard somewhere that this would help." Either way, it's not something I'd want to find in my horse without reason.

Thyroxine and its cousins under different names from different manufacturers if you will, is often used to speed up a horse’s metabolism in the interest of weight loss. Two years ago our daughter’s QH, Harley, came down with a bout of Laminitis. We caught it early and he’s still a happy pensioner. One of the things we did to combat it was to give him thyroid medication. He gets 1/2 a dose now daily for maintenance and always will unless it starts to adversely affect him. Since giving an on track TB thyroid meds is verboten, it surprises me not at all that something the same only different would become all the rage on the backstretch.

Very different mechanisms, and thyroxine has a long history of abuse in athletes, but... yeah, see above. It wouldn't shock me if a trainer just said "eh close enough." But it is also a pretty commonly prescribed drug, so who knows. From the DRF article, it sounds like the adjudication will depend heavily on whether trainers can prove that a groom has a prescription.

(slight aside, but I've also come to believe that some bizarre positives can be attributed to cross-contamination from sketchy compounding "labs")

[Curtis]

A few years back, a bunch of scientists who study aging started taking metformin off-label so they could live forever, or something. Not sure if it's still popular for that purpose, or if they've jumped onto whatever the next anti-aging fad is. Aging scientists are a bunch of weirdos.

Anyways. Any substance that impacts the metabolism is going to have possible effects on athletes... based on a very quick and low-effort search, research is all over the place for this one. But if there's one thing I've learned about trainers, it's that they have no understanding of biology and no desire to learn. These positives could range anywhere from "my groom needs to wash his hands" to "my buddy told me that his buddy told him that he heard somewhere that this would help." Either way, it's not something I'd want to find in my horse without reason.

Thyroxine and its cousins under different names from different manufacturers if you will, is often used to speed up a horse’s metabolism in the interest of weight loss. Two years ago our daughter’s QH, Harley, came down with a bout of Laminitis. We caught it early and he’s still a happy pensioner. One of the things we did to combat it was to give him thyroid medication. He gets 1/2 a dose now daily for maintenance and always will unless it starts to adversely affect him. Since giving an on track TB thyroid meds is verboten, it surprises me not at all that something the same only different would become all the rage on the backstretch.

Very different mechanisms, and thyroxine has a long history of abuse in athletes, but... yeah, see above. It wouldn't shock me if a trainer just said "eh close enough." But it is also a pretty commonly prescribed drug, so who knows. From the DRF article, it sounds like the adjudication will depend heavily on whether trainers can prove that a groom has a prescription.

(slight aside, but I've also come to believe that some bizarre positives can be attributed to cross-contamination from sketchy compounding "labs")

I understand the differences but I have a hunch we’re talking more about mad backside—there’s loaded adjective—scientists and not veterinary scientists.

[Tessablue]

I understand the differences but I have a hunch we’re talking more about mad backside—there’s loaded adjective—scientists and not veterinary scientists.

Oh yeah, definitely. Another thing I've learned is that some vets are only marginally more informed of biology than their trainers....

[stark]

So, in summary, there's reason to believe that HISA is correct in punishing these trainers because it might've been intentional?

[Curtis]

So, in summary, there's reason to believe that HISA is correct in punishing these trainers because it might've been intentional?

Unless there’s a recent proliferation of diabetic grooms now as opposed to several years ago or Into Mischief—appropriately—is siring diabetic offspring. I’m guessing sugar cube manufacturers are now close to Chapter 11

[HB1994]

So, in summary, there's reason to believe that HISA is correct in punishing these trainers because it might've been intentional?

Unless there’s a recent proliferation of diabetic grooms now as opposed to several years ago or Into Mischief—appropriately—is siring diabetic offspring. I’m guessing sugar cube manufacturers are now close to Chapter 11

Do grooms even have health insurance to afford diabetes medication?

[Curtis]

So, in summary, there's reason to believe that HISA is correct in punishing these trainers because it might've been intentional?

Unless there’s a recent proliferation of diabetic grooms now as opposed to several years ago or Into Mischief—appropriately—is siring diabetic offspring. I’m guessing sugar cube manufacturers are now close to Chapter 11

Do grooms even have health insurance to afford diabetes medication?

You conspiracy theorists!

[Tessablue]

Metforrmin is actually very cheap, it wouldn't shock me if there really are a good number of grooms on it. Why is there a sudden uptick in positives? Well, I don't have any numbers to back it up, but I think there's been an increase in all positives since HIWU took over. But that's a whole new jar of worms.

[Squeaky]

delete

[Flanders]

Why is there a sudden uptick in positives? Well, I don't have any numbers to back it up, but I think there's been an increase in all positives since HIWU took over. But that's a whole new jar of worms.

No you hit the nail on the head. Maybe its something that jurisdictions just didn't report to the public. Because they all only released information if there was a positive after the 2nd test. So if they thought "environmental contamination" it wouldn't have even come out in public.

[Tessablue]

No you hit the nail on the head. Maybe its something that jurisdictions just didn't report to the public. Because they all only released information if there was a positive after the 2nd test. So if they thought "environmental contamination" it wouldn't have even come out in public.

It's hard to forget D. Wayne Lukas's comments about the Medina Spirit case. We'll never know just how many positive results were "poured down the sink," metaphorically or otherwise.

[Izvestia]

In general, how hard is it to run a clean barn? Contamination -wise and cheating-wise?
I worked at the track for 6 years and I don’t recall any weird positives.

[Flanders]

I feel like every trainer is going to have a positive or two for something. Even the ones that don't get them often or it feels like ever, still are going to have one or two. I can't come up with a trainer that doesn't. Even McGaughey has one.

[HB1994]

I feel like every trainer is going to have a positive or two for something. Even the ones that don't get them often or it feels like ever, still are going to have one or two. I can't come up with a trainer that doesn't. Even McGaughey has one.

Christophe Clement?

[Flanders]

I feel like every trainer is going to have a positive or two for something. Even the ones that don't get them often or it feels like ever, still are going to have one or two. I can't come up with a trainer that doesn't. Even McGaughey has one.

Christophe Clement?

He had one too.

[Gemini]

Considering that human patients often experience terrible gastrointestinal side effects from metformin (not to mention lactic acidosis, drowsiness, and dizziness)…it seems like an odd choice. I know horses may be different and perhaps the dosage isn’t large enough to impact horses that way. All I know is that metformin’s best quality is being cheap. There are much better medications for Type 2 diabetes now.