Glatt trainee tests positive for metformin after Los Alamitos start

Positives for metformin and gabapentin were identified in Mark Glatt trainee Vanzzy after a second-place finish at Los Alamitos on Dec. 6. It is the first metformin finding published to the list of pending violations through the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Authority since September.

But based on a June 2024 announcement by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the provisional suspension related to the case is deferred pending a still-ongoing scientific review of metformin. The finding was previously reported at Thoroughbred Daily News.

Vanzzy, a three-time stakes winner at ages 2 and 3, is an 8-year-old Verrazano gelding who has been running in the claiming ranks since 2023. He finished second, a length behind Leyas Candy, in a $16,000 claiming dirt mile at Los Alamitos on Dec. 4. He has raced twice since. He finished third as the odds-on favorite for an $8,000 tag at Santa Anita for Glatt on Dec. 27, then third for a $12,500 tag at Turfway for trainer Ben Colebrook on Feb. 28. Though he moved barns, he was owned by William A. Branch, William C. Buster Jr. and Mark L. Cohen for all three of those starts.

According to a comment by Glatt's attorney Drew Mollica, cited in the TDN, an internal investigation revealed that a barn employee had been prescribed metformin and gabapentin.

HISA and HIWU tasked the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium with reviewing the science around metformin to determine whether it should remain on the banned list or be handled differently. Metformin is an anti-hyperglycemic, commonly prescribed to humans with type 2 diabetes and also sometimes prescribed to horses with high insulin, or who cannot exercise due to laminitis. Under HIWU rules, it is banned in horses, and controlled in out-of-competition testing, post-work testing and post-race testing.

Gabapentin is listed in the HIWU database as an anti-convulsant, but it also is used for pain relief. It is a controlled substance under HIWU rules. It is controlled in post-race testing, though not out-out-of-competition or post-work testing.