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Top Mid-Atlantic Trainer Farrior Faces Possible Suspension For Metformin

Trainer Anthony Farrior is facing a possible suspension after a horse he trained allegedly tested positive for the banned substance Metformin, according to a posting Friday on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit website.

His status is listed as “Pending: Provisional Suspension–Postponed.” Alexa Ravit, the director of communications & outreach for HIWU explained that the wording means, “that B Sample analysis has been requested following a positive A Sample result, so the implementation of the Provisional Suspension is postponed unless/until the B Sample comes back positive.”

Farrior will be allowed to train at least until the B sample is turned over to HIWU. If he is unable to beat the charges, he faces a suspension of up to two years and a fine of $25,000.

The infraction allegedly took place Nov. 5, 2023 at Laurel with the $10,000 claimer Geothermal (Gormley), who did not finish the race. According to the Equibase chart, Geothermal sustained an injury through the backstretch run, was pulled up entering the far turn and was vanned off. According to sources, the horse was euthanized, but the TDN has not been able to confirm that with its connections.

HIWU has penalized at least six trainers for Metformin positives, including Jonathan Wong, a top trainer on the Northern California circuit. In humans, Metformin is used to treat type 2 diabetes. Wong has said that he takes Metformin. The Federal Drug Administration has approved Metformin for use in humans but it is not officially approved for use in animals. Metformin has been used in horses to counteract the effects of equine metabolic syndrome, which is a disorder associated with inappropriate blood insulin levels and increased fat deposition.

Farrior's lawyer, Drew Mollica, said that to the best of his knowledge, Farrior does not take Metformin. However, he was adamant that in Farrior's case, the finding is a matter of environmental contamination.

“We are in the process of evaluating the evidence and intend to vigorously follow the evidence,” Mollica said. “We absolutely believe this is case of contamination. We are in the midst of fact finding and I think that it will be quite clear that Mr. Farrior is not liable for any wrongdoing. We are investigating any and all possibilities and eventualities. We firmly believe this is a case of contamination and when all the facts are in, it will be found that he was not liable or negligent on any manner.”

When asked what steps he would take if the B Sample came back positive, Mollica replied: “We'll cross that bridge when we get there. We ordered the B sample and are following the science. We believe that when we have all the science and the facts are in, we believe he will be exonerated.”

Farrior has been training since 2011 and has 837 wins from 3,708 starts. He is currently racing at Laurel, Charles Town and Mahoning Valley. He is leading the Charles Town standings with 134 wins on the year through Thursday. At Charles Town, he is winning with 25% of his starters.

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HIWU: Efforts to Harmonize Laboratory “Testing Sensitivity” Underway

In a statement Thursday, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)–the enforcement arm of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)–said that an internal review of the six accredited laboratories used by the agency had unearthed different limits of detection in blood for metformin, a banned substance at all times under HISA.

“Following this review, which was conducted in collaboration with the laboratories, it was determined that not all applied the same Limit of Detection in analyzing samples for the presence of Metformin. HIWU has since met with all six laboratories to establish an updated, uniform Limit of Detection,” according to the HIWU statement.

Furthermore, “there are efforts to harmonize testing sensitivity across the laboratories through an external quality assurance program that includes single- and double-blind quality assurance samples and a passed sample exchange program,” according to the HIWU statement.

“Additionally, substances will continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that all laboratories contracted by HIWU report uniform results for the same substances present at the same levels in different samples,” the statement reads.

All HIWU-contracted laboratories contracted are accredited by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium.

According to HIWU, HISA's Equine Analytical Laboratory Accreditation standards are currently in development, and HIWU expects the process to continue through 2024.

Because of this flaw in testing uniformity, HIWU has lifted the provisional suspensions it had initially imposed on trainers Guadalupe Munoz Elizondo and Javier Morzan for metformin positives.

The agency wrote that it will also be withdrawing the Equine Anti-Doping Charge letters against Elizondo and Morzan “due to their Covered Horses testing positive for Metformin at levels in blood that would not have been reported as Adverse Analytical Findings under the updated Limit of Detection.”

Elizondo trainee, Quinton's Charmer (Quinton's Gold), tested positive for metformin, a common type 2 diabetes drug in humans, in a sample taken June 11 this year.

The Morzan-trained Lady Liv (Bal A Bali) tested positive for metformin after finishing third at Delaware Park June 24.

Elizondo and Morzan were two of five trainers this past week who have seen their provisional suspensions lifted by HIWU. Besides the metformin cases, two were for cocaine positives, and one was for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

On Tuesday, Michelle Pujals, HIWU general counsel, sent Elizondo a letter explaining the decision behind lifting the provisional suspension.

In the letter, Pujals wrote that “HIWU has determined that there was variability across laboratories with respect to Limit of Detection for this Banned Substance, and, in order to eliminate inconsistency in enforcement based on interlaboratory capabilities, HIWU is determining whether this finding will be pursued as an Adverse Analytical Finding.”

On Wednesday, TDN submitted to HIWU a list of questions about the contents of the letter, including further explanations on what was meant by “variability across laboratories,” and “inconsistency in enforcement based on interlaboratory capabilities.”

TDN will follow-up with HIWU about the remaining questions unanswered by Thursday's statement.

There remain three trainers with pending hearings for metformin positives whose provisional suspensions have not been lifted by HIWU. They are Jonathan Wong, Angel Sanchez and Michael Lauer.

In Thursday's statement, HIWU wrote that the review of and update to the metformin limit of detection in blood represents “progress from previous state-based regulatory structures in which laboratories historically operated independently of each other, resulting in substances being controlled differently depending on the laboratory conducting the testing.”

The statement adds that “HISA's national structure enables HIWU to oversee all testing across the country and facilitate uniform enforcement of the ADMC rules. HIWU is committed to the harmonization of its laboratories and continues to work with them to reach this goal.”

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Wong Provisionally Suspended After B Sample Confirmation

Trainer Jonathan Wong has been provisionally suspended after being alerted late Wednesday that the B Sample confirmed the presence of Metformin in a post-race test taken from his trainee, Heaven and Earth (Gormley).

Heaven and Earth broke her maiden at Indiana Grand June 1 but subsequently tested positive for the prescription drug Metformin, a type 2 diabetes treatment classified as a banned substance by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

During a conference call Thursday morning before representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) and a judge, a full hearing on the merits of the case was scheduled for Sept. 25, said Wong.

“There's zero sense of urgency,” said Wong. “I've been put out of work since July 2 because they hadn't adjusted the rules until 27 days later. But by then, I've lost my horses. I haven't made a paycheck for a month. And now it's going to be going on three months.”

Technically, this is the second time Wong has been provisionally suspended as the case has unfolded.

As a matter of protocol at that time, HIWU initially provisionally suspended Wong at the beginning of June when the A sample returned a positive finding for Metformin.

Late last month, the HISA Authority announced that it had modified the rules surrounding provisional suspensions. Under the new provisions, responsible parties who request B Sample confirmation following a positive test for a banned substance won't face any potential provisional suspension until the B sample findings are returned.

“If the B Sample confirms the A Sample, the Responsible Person shall be Provisionally Suspended upon Notification of the B Sample confirmation,” the new rules state.

Though that announcement technically permitted Wong to return to training while the B sample was being processed, he said that his owners did not wish to transfer the horses back with the B Sample results expected imminently.

“If I would have gotten notified on this positive today, I would still be allowed to train and go on as normal until my B Sample came back,” he said. “But I wasn't afforded that opportunity.”

Wong–who potentially faces up to a two-year suspension and a $25,000 fine–voiced frustration with other aspects of the way his case has been handled. This includes, he said, how the B samples of blood and urine were sent separately for testing.

“They were separated by eight days, which according to everybody I've spoken with is not how it's supposed to be done,” Wong said.

“If this would have happened a few weeks prior, this would have been a 15-day penalty,” said Wong, alluding to how trainer Wesley Ward served a 15-day suspension for a Metformin positive in a July 15, 2022 race at Monmouth. “Now they're threatening me with up to two years.”

As such, Wong said that he's considering his future in the sport, even if the full merits hearing skews in his favor. “I don't know, when all this is taken care of, if I want to go back to training,” Wong said.

“It brings a lot of stuff into perspective,” he said. “I've a wife, a 13-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 10-month-old. I miss so much of their life by putting work first and them second, for it all to be literally thrown away in a day over something I didn't even do.”

Despite these frustrations, Wong said that the concept of HISA is necessary for the sport.

“First and foremost, I'd like to give them credit for making the changes [to the provisional suspension provisions]. I applaud them for listening to people's complaints and suggestions, adapting and working to it,” Wong said.

“I totally have zero problems with HISA. I think it's something that's much needed. I just think it needs to be tweaked. It's a learning process. They're learning. Owners, trainers, jockeys, we're all learning as we go along with this,” said Wong.

“But when you're completely not awarded any opportunities from day one until your hearing, that's pretty much being charged as guilty until proven innocent,” Wong added. “I feel like I've been locked up and had the key thrown away.”

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Wong Suspended for Metformin; `Our Game Has Been Hijacked’ Says Attorney

by Sue Finley and Stefanie Grimm

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has provisionally suspended trainer Jonathan Wong after one of his horses tested positive for a banned substance last month.

Heaven and Earth (Gormley) broke her maiden at Indiana Grand June 1 but subsequently tested positive for the prescription drug metformin, a type 2 diabetes treatment.

Wong was notified that his horses will need to be moved to the care of another trainer and potentially faces up to a two-year suspension and a $25,000 fine.

While metformin is a permitted medication by the U. S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for humans in athletic competition, the National Institutes of Health published a study indicating it has an effect on athletic performance. In a study of 10 men, they determined that “time to exhaustion was significantly higher after metformin than placebo ingestion,” and that “metformin improved performance and anaerobic alactic contribution during high-intensity exercise.”

Wesley Ward is currently serving a 15-day suspension for a metformin positive in a July 15, 2022 race at Monmouth. His attorney, Drew Mollica, said that the Monmouth stewards did not impose a significant fine or suspension because they agreed the metformin positive was the result of contamination.

Wong has retained attorney Alan Pincus.

“Jonathan Wong has a prescription for metformin,” he said. “It is one of the most widely prescribed drugs for humans with diabetes. He uses it, and apparently, he inadvertently contaminated his horse. So they give him the notice yesterday, on a holiday weekend, you're out of horse racing. `Get rid of your horses.' We have requested a split sample and a provisional hearing, but since you're not allowed the data pack from the lab until the split comes back, it makes it very difficult. In fact, their whole system makes it very difficult.”

On Thursday, the TDN published a report saying that HISA had temporarily suspended full enforcement of their intra-articular joint injections rules. Under HISA's rules as written, trainers are prohibited from giving their horse intra-articular joint injections within 14 days prior to the post-time of a race, and within seven days prior to any timed and reported workout. According to HISA Chief Executive Lisa Lazarus, between 15 and 20 trainers have breached the rule surrounding intra-articular joint injections prior to a workout. The reason HISA decided to temporarily modify its enforcement of the rule was due to “confusion” among trainers about the specifics of the rules related to workouts, Lazarus said.

“It's a nightmare,” he continued. “It's unconstitutional. It's unfair. And our game has been hijacked by a bunch of know-nothings posing like they know what they're doing. Lisa Lazarus waved her mighty hand and told 20 trainers who have violated the intra-articular injection rule, `I'm going to let you go.' Even though there is nothing in the regulations allowing her to do so. I imagine when the names of those people come (public), there will be some pretty privileged people. But unfortunately, Jonathan Wong is not one of them. She said the trainers were confused. But confusion is not a defense to strip liability. It's hypocritical. It's not in the regulations, and it just shows they don't know what they're doing. None of it makes sense. And no one will say `boo.' ”

Pincus said that this was the second such case he has had.

“The first one I had was Mario Dominguez,” said Pincus. Dominguez's horse Petulant Delight tested positive for cobalt May 24 at Parx. “Cobalt and the old ARCI guidelines calls it a positive at 25 parts per billion, but since cobalt is in all horses at all times, they say if you have between 25 and 49 parts per billion, the trainer should just get a warning letter. Unfortunately for Mario, if it had happened three days earlier, he gets a warning, but (now), he's thrown out of racing. They give you the notice. You're out. Horses have to be transferred to a new trainer that has nothing to do with you. You lose your owners. You lose your stalls and you lose your livelihood.”

In Dominguez's case, Pincus said that Dominguez asked for a split sample and was asked to send $2,000. He said seven months earlier, Pincus had a case where the same split sample was $750. “So the gouging begins,” said. “He is indigent, and they took away his only means of support, and like most trainers he's living month to month.” He said that Pincus had been unable to afford the fees for the provisional hearing, and had been asked for over $4,000 for the hearing. “They have put a monetary barrier toward someone getting due process,” he said. “We are now 19 days in, and he has not been charged with anything.”

Pincus said that the lack of due process “sickens” him.

“You take a person who has worked their whole life. They're not out there robbing a 7-11. They're out there working seven days a week to try to build something. You're telling me that some person comes to you on a holiday weekend and says `good luck in your next career.' You've not been charged with anything. You have something that would have resulted in some small penalty–as well as it should. But it's going to happen more and more and more, but the idea that you let your friends off because they were confused? It sickens me. This is the game I have been in my whole life. They're an occupying force, and no one will stand up to them. But (trainers) are playing Russian roulette every time they go to the test barn.”

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