HISA asks to have metformin suspensions deferred

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority requested that the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit defer active provisional suspensions for metformin positives.

In a news release, HISA said the request came after the recommendation of the anti-doping and medication control standing committee.

Metformin is a common prescription for type 2 diabetes in humans. It also may be prescribed for a horse who cannot exercise because of laminitis or if insulin levels are very high. Penalties for positives in racing have been controversial, and HISA earlier adjusted its rules regarding provisional suspensions and to make detection limits uniform.

“In line with HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control requirements, metformin is included in the prohibited substances list because there is no recognized therapeutic use for the substance in horses involved in Thoroughbred racing,” Charles Scheeler, chairman of the HISA board, said in the release. “In addition, HIWU has intelligence that some horsemen may be using metformin to try and gain a performance advantage. However, there is limited scientific information available regarding the substance’s use in horses. The HISA board feels that further expert analysis on the topic is necessary to determine if any refinement of HISA’s rules is appropriate.”

HISA and HIWU, the authority’s anti-doping arm, have asked the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium’s scientific advisory committee to conduct a review of the available science relating to metformin.

HISA said that, following RMTC’s board of directors approval, any conclusions drawn and guidance produced regarding the committe’s review will be shared with HISA’s ADMC Committee.

HISA expects the review will take “a few months. When it is complete, ADMC Committee and the HISA Board will determine whether any policy changes regarding metformin should be submitted to the Federal Trade Commission for approval.

In this interim period, metformin remains on the prohibited substances list and, as such, regardless of the source or the existence of any mitigating circumstances, any ADMC program violation resulting from a positive finding of metformin will result in the automatic disqualification of race results of the relevant horse.

The deferral of provisional suspensions is applicable only to the responsible person. Horses that test positive for metformin are still subject to a provisional suspension.